Opinions from Red Canary

I Do! Offers that Start a Good Sales Marriage

Lee Salz — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 17:36:03 GMT

When companies negotiate offers, while they may "win" the candidate, they damage the relationship. This person is on-boarded with the worst scar tissue of all, a lack of trust

After a lengthy screening process, the hiring committee feels they have found the right sales candidate for the company. Now comes the tricky part, how do you design an offer and go through the offer stage of the process without damaging the relationship with the candidate? Damaging? Many companies are not prepared to go through the offer step of the process and, due to that, damage the relationship with the candidate. This leads to one of two unfortunate conclusions. Either they lose the candidate or the candidate comes on-board, but with scar tissue. Applying some of the best practices from the sales world into a sales talent screening program helps to avoid that scenario. The offer stage of the hiring process parallels the proposal phase of sales. Best practices in sales say that you don't present a proposal until a thorough needs analysis has been completed. If a sales person is presenting a proposal to a prospect, he has acquired the information needed to design a solution, has discussed budget, has a full understanding of their solution requirements, and has set an expectation on pricing. This is certainly the case if the sales person is going to be successful in winning the account.

Many sales talent screening programs focus exclusively on screening the candidate for fit, but do not consider the needs for the offer phase of the process

Looking at this process in contrast to the offer stage of the sales talent screening program, many of the same best practices from sales hold true. During the screening program, information needs to be gathered from the candidate to determine their financial requirements. Unfortunately, many sales talent screening programs focus exclusively on screening the candidate for fit, but do not consider the needs for the offer phase of the process. This leads to a last minute scurry to mine the information from the candidate or they design the offer blindly. Neither of those are best practices for the offer stage. In sales, it is said that if you are going to lose, lose early. This prevents you from making a huge investment in a relationship that will not generate revenue. The parallel to screening sales talent is understanding the financial requirements of the candidate early enough to stop the process before over-investing in the relationship. There is no point in continuing a process with a candidate that requires a compensation level 25% above what you can offer. This probably seems logical, but hiring executives rarely focus on this as a de-selection element early in the process. Just like discussing pricing with a prospect, the financial needs discussion requires finesse. The candidate knows that you are asking questions about their financials, just like a prospect knows a sales person is fishing for budget information. The better-skilled sales people tell their prospects, "I don't want to waste your time by getting you excited about a solution that will not fit in your budget constraints…"

The compensation plan should be reviewed at the point where you have a genuine interest in pursuing the candidate and they have a complete enough understanding of the company that they will be able to comprehend it

In much the same way, this discussion can be had with the candidate, "I don't want to excite you about an opportunity that might not be a match for your financial needs. As you look at making a change in position, what thoughts have you given to your compensation requirements?" With continued finesse, you can dig further into the mix of salary versus commission. Some candidates may rebuff this discussion as they feel the information will be used against them. In some instances, they are justified for having that concern. Hopefully, that is not the case in your company. We'll come back to this point later. The bottom line is that the two goals of this phase are to gather information that allow you to formulate an offer and to de-select those candidates whose requirements exceed your financial package. In sales, the proposal phase should not be like a magic show. The prospect should not be shocked by what is included in the proposal. In essence, the proposal is the documentation of what has already been discussed. No surprises. The same holds true for candidates. The time to review the compensation plan details is not after they are hired, or even at the offer stage. The compensation plan should be reviewed at the point where you have a genuine interest in pursuing the candidate and they have a complete enough understanding of the company that they will be able to comprehend the compensation plan.

Develop an offer based on what was learned from the candidate that represents the best offer you are willing to make

One of the core requirements associated with any process is that it is measurable. The offer phase of the sales talent screening program should be measured statistically to determine effectiveness. The key statistic is number of offers made versus ones that are accepted. If the acceptance level is less than 80%, the process should be reviewed by asking the following questions. 1. At what point of the process are the candidate's financial requirements reviewed? 2. When it is known that the candidate's financial requirements exceed the package, is the candidate removed from the process? 3. At what step is the compensation plan reviewed with the candidate? 4. In what level of detail is the compensation plan reviewed with the candidate? 5. How often is the initial offer to the candidate rejected, and subsequently, negotiated successfully? The last bullet in the list above ties back to my opening position about damaging the relationship. Again, this ties back to lessons that can be learned from sales. Many years ago, a procurement training specialist shared a pearl about the counsel he gives to sales people who ask about pricing strategy. He said, "Provide us with the best pricing that you feel comfortable providing and either way you are happy." This always puzzled sales people so he explained further. "If you provide your best pricing and are selected, you are happy because you won the account. If you are not selected because we found lower pricing elsewhere, you are happy because you would not have been happy at that price point. Again, either way you are happy." Consider this when making an offer to the sales candidate. Develop an offer based on what was learned from the candidate that represents the best offer you are willing to make. Early in the process, tell the candidate that you don't negotiate offers, but rather put your best offer on the table upfront. It demonstrates a professional message to the candidate and reduces their fear of attempts to lowball them. When companies negotiate offers, while they may "win" the candidate, they damage the relationship. This person is on-boarded with the worst scar tissue of all, a lack of trust. The sales person will always be on the look out for the company to try to cheat them. As with any component of the sales talent screening process, preparation is the key to success. Organize your team and design a process that achieves your desired results. This will allow you to create longlasting, fruitful sales marriages.

Lee B. Salz is a sales management guru who helps companies hire the right sales people, on-board them, and focus their sales activity using his sales architecture® methodology. He is the President of Sales Architects, the C.E.O. of Business Expert Webinars and author of “Soar Despite Your Dodo Sales Manager.”

Lee is an online columnist for Sales and Marketing Management Magazine, a print columnist for SalesforceXP Magazine, and the host of the Internet radio show, “Secrets of Business Gurus.” Look for Lee's new book in February 2009 titled, "The Sales Marriage” where he shares the secrets to hiring the right sales people. He is a passionate, dynamic speaker and a business consultant. Lee can be reached at lsalz@SalesArchitecture.com or 763.416.4321.

Alberta: Can Government Funding Actually Kill High Tech?

Suzie Dingwall Williams — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 15:45:51 GMT

"It is (as) cash-starved and emaciated as the Olsen twins"

Borrowed from the blog Venture Law Lines

Even with the current influx of oil and gas money, many Alberta companies complain that local investor interest in high tech businesses is non-existent. Inovia Capital's office in Edmonton is one bright development. Last June, there appeared to be a second shot in the arm announced by the Alberta Government: a three-year strategic plan to deploy $178 million of government funds into Alberta's high tech sector (sorry; make that "knowledge-based sector"; let's not scare away the cattlemen). $100 million of this will be used by a new Crown corporation, the Alberta Enterprise Corporation. Sounds promising, doesn't it? That is, until you read the call for applications for the Chair and Independent Board members to serve on the corporation. What becomes clear is that the AEC is no lifeline to the high tech community; instead, it's a nicely-sized government subsidy for venture capital funds who will agree to invest in Alberta. Here's what the notice says (available on Ray & Berndtson's Canadian website): "$100 million has been allocated to the fund by the Province of Alberta to co-invest in a number of early stage capital funds. Through its activities, matching private investment will be attracted, and a number of new venture funds will launch operations in Alberta, directed by experienced fund managers. "

I'm all for job creation, but job creation for fund managers and VCs is not going to boost the growth of the Alberta high tech community.

A government led fund of funds? Those of us who have endured this in Ontario can tell you what that means (p.s. it's not good). Anyone trying to raise a fund in or related to Alberta will have a very tough time convincing any other LP to participate until this whole AEC scheme is worked out. Ask any Ontario VC how much they have enjoyed having their fundraising efforts brought to a complete standstill by the Ontario government's fund of funds, which struggled for over a year to select a manager and to start operations. It's also a colossal mistake to assume that a share of a $100 million is appealing enough to attract top tier venture fund managers to the region. Which will further delay deployment of capital to new funds. Which in turn means there's even less (not more) near term cash floating around for Alberta companies. I won't itemize the other woes this approach creates, but those of you nearby know what I'm talking about. Those of you in Alberta who want more details, buy me a shot of scotch and we'll talk. I'm all for job creation, but job creation for fund managers and VCs is not going to boost the growth of the Alberta high tech community. It's important to note that the Alberta high tech community is hardly in its infancy. Companies abound, many of them led by second and third time successful entrepreneurs. I can start in Edmonton with Semanti, run by the ex-Intuit team and keep going south until I hit the US border. What it is is cash-starved and as emaciated as the Olsen twins. I'm going to say what every Albertan as been waiting for a Torontonian to say: don't follow our example on this one.

Kicking the bad habits of Software Project Management (VIDEO)

Craig Fitzpatrick — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 13:51:11 GMT

Craig Fitzpatrick, Founder and CEO of Devshop gives a 50 minute talk on how to kick the bad habits of project management.

Tips for evaluating sales resumes

Mario Laudi — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 20:21:34 GMT

How do you know a great software sales resume when you see one? For me, it starts with the language. To prove my point, we copied-and-pasted the resumes of a dozen top-performing software sales professionals into one big file, then did the same to a dozen 'average' sales resumes. Then we poured all the words into two 'wordles' -- web-based software that arranges and emphasizes words according to their frequency. By the way, we ignored the words 'sales, executive, management, account and software' as they were dominant in both. Here's a visual representation of how the language differs.

Top Performers

Average Performers

The word QUOTA is a word I always look for when I scan a resume, and it appeared more often in great resumes' than in good ones. Makes sense, doesn't it? Another notable difference is the use of the word 'sell'. Both resume groups mention SELLING, but stars talk more about what they SOLD. The former may have prospected, but failed to close much business, while the stars performed time and again. Other words that stuck out include CLOSED, ACHIEVED, RELATIONSHIPS and CLUB. So next time you're browsing sales resumes, don't just focus on or search for 'sales manager' or 'account executive'. Try words like quota, club, closed and others that you see above. The best people, it seems, use the same language.

Startup secures significant investment, seeks significant talent

Stealth Startup — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 15:38:29 GMT

Last week we closed a significant seed round financing with key players involved with Facebook, Workbrain, PayPal, Taleo, LinkedIn, Research In Motion, Slide, Thompson-Reuters, and Gini.

Six months ago we blogged about our new company on Red Canary

We had a great new idea. We had experience as co-founders of one of the biggest software companies in Canada.

We were for looking for talented and motivated developers with a passion for innovation and a will to succeed.

Thanks to Red Canary, we found them.

Now we have taken our vision and built a great core team, solution, and engaged user community.

We have built a small and closely-knit team of star developers focused on pragmatic problem solving. The team finds joy in tough challenges and tackles them together.

We are very hard working and like to have fun together. The agile mindset permeates our team; everyone is considered an equal.

We want smart, confident peers who will be essential in future feature development and who can contribute to our common vision.

Our customers tell us: "This is exactly what my people want"

The last half-year has been a blur of user-driven iteration and innovation.

Our solution (a web-service) solves a core social and productivity problem.

Recently, we attracted world-class capital as a result of our pace of our growth, the quality of our team, and large market opportunity ahead of us.

We continue to build a highly skilled team that can launch superb services with high impact. We move fast and expect to learn faster. We experiment and get users using our tools as quickly as we can.

Our approach:

Iterative
Agile
Data-driven
User-centered

You may be interested in joining us if you:

Consider yourself the best of the best
Want to be part of a world-beating team
Take pride in solving complex problems
Want your code to delight millions of people.
Are curious, learn continuously, and like to be challenged by smart people
Get things done quickly and elegantly
Enjoy a fast pace and constant change
Enjoy life outside the office

The people we are looking for:

Have experience building complex software
Are active online community participants
Adapt quickly, adopt early, and are web savvy
Love user interaction design
Dig rapid prototyping
Are excited by large datasets, statistics, and algorithms
Are familiar with Java, MySQL, GWT, Hibernate, SVN, Ehcache, and Glassfish

Specifically we need:

Front-End Ninja

A web development ninja who has experience on the server-side as well. Experience with large websites and web-based solutions where you implemented novel front-end designs, usability improvements, GUI metaphor inventions, etc. is required.

The ability to quickly prototype solutions using 80/20 rules while developing production solutions in parallel is core.

Star Developer

A highly flexible and experienced developer with a well-rounded background that includes some enterprise and lots of web experience. Innovation and technical know-how are expected. You should assume that quick change of pace and assignments will be common.

A strong sense of ownership and alignment with solution vision are key.

If you think that you might be the right person, please contact us to learn more about the opportunity.

Web 2.0 is about giving up some control

Gerry McGovern — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 16:43:53 GMT

The traditional manager is taught to command and control. Web 2.0 challenges that model.

Web 2.0 is part of the shift away from the dominance of the elite to the innovation of the collective.

Social media is just that-social. Blogging, wikis, rating and voting systems are based on the idea that there is value outside the traditional channels of power.

Web 2.0 and social media mean that for teachers a declining part of their job involves telling. An increasing part is listening to the class and facilitating them in having conversations. Teachers should help moderate these conversations and draw new learnings from them. They need to say less of: 'let's open up a book.' and more of: 'let's open up a conversation.'.

The managers are not the only clever people in the room anymore. The room is much bigger and it is speckled with cleverness. To manage in the Web 2.0 world is to converse, to listen, to be honest and upfront, to collaborate, to moderate, and constantly watch out for the trends and patterns that always emerge when many minds mingle and mix in the network.

The traditional manager is taught to command and control. Web 2.0 challenges that model. I have worked in many European countries. In Scandinavia, management tends to be very collaborative, but the further south you go the more the manager becomes a controller.

In some countries I have heard employees speak of their manager as "Sir." There is not much chance of Web 2.0 succeeding in such deferent cultures. It is, of course, hard to give up control. Even harder when your position brings with it such formal respect.

Companies are not democracies, of course. And social media will deliver little value if it becomes some giant water cooler conversation because not all the best ideas are discovered at the water cooler. Huge quantities of absolute rubbish are talked there too. So, social media and Web 2.0 are not a replacement for management decision making, but rather a support to make better, more-informed decisions.

The naive tool-centric view of Web 2.0 still exists. 'Just give them the blog and the wiki software and get out of the way' has very limited logic. But it is classic IT-thinking. As if the tool was the be all and end all, and the only purpose of life was to discover the right one. As if it was the type of quill that Shakespeare chose that made him the writer that he was.

The naive tool-centric view of Web 2.0 still exists. 'Just give them the blog and the wiki software and get out of the way' has very limited logic.

I have seen the sad results of intranets where anyone could set up a wiki or a blog. Sure, there were good ideas, but the intranet quickly filled with massive quantities of irrelevant and out-of-date junk. And I have seen countless failed attempts by government websites to 'interact' with the public by launching discussions areas that quickly became ghost towns.

So Web 2.0 and social media still need management. They rarely mature on their own. Discussions need to be moderated and channelled. Processes that allow the cream to rise to the top must be put in place. The bad ideas need to be weeded out.

But the managers are not the only clever people in the room anymore. The room is much bigger and it is speckled with cleverness. To manage in the Web 2.0 world is to converse, to listen, to be honest and upfront, to collaborate, to moderate, and constantly watch out for the trends and patterns that always emerge when many minds mingle and mix in the network.

(VIDEO) Devshop V2 Released!

Craig Fitzpatrick — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 15:57:44 GMT

Devshop is a hosted project management application specifically designed for planning software projects. Not planning weddings, or building roads - just software. And now it's even better.

Top 5 reasons to use Devshop: 1. It helps with time estimates by looking over past estimates and adjusts the schedule automatically to account for error (protecting you from unrealistic schedules!) 2. It can track distractions that take you and your team off the project, and automatically adjusts the schedule for individual "distraction rates" so deadlines are realistic, considering all the fires you have to fight. 3. It lets the whole team participate in the scheduling process, for better input, and better transparency. 4. Easier scheduling: eliminates "dependency hell" that some apps force you into. Just drag and drop to prioritize tasks and the schedule fixes itself. 5. Personal profiles: see what each team member is up to, any time!

Developer Compensation: A New Reality?

Suzie Dingwall Williams — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 19:04:31 GMT

"Software developers are in the same position as automotive industry workers 20 years ago. They are frustrated that their skills no longer garner a premium, yet hamstrung by few options currently available."

Borrowed from the blog Venture Law Lines Suzanne is a partner at Venture Law Associates LLPThe compensation plans we have been designing for our later stage software clients have become increasingly light on employee retention and incentive features, such as stock option grants. The trend is an inexorable one, best explained by one client as follows: "Software engineering has evolved from being highly prized to being just another skill set, and compensation has been adjusted accordingly." In contrast to emerging industries like clean tech and biotech, the skills needed to scale a software business are widely available in many parts of the world. Recruiting employees is no longer driven by the need to attract specialists from a scarce candidate pool; now, it is largely driven by cost. (This is not great news for Canada, once the near-shoring alternative for the US, unless our dollar take a tumble). Where does that leave employees? One HR professional summed it up: "Software developers are in the same position as automotive industry workers 20 years ago. They are frustrated that their skills no longer garner a premium, yet hamstrung by few options currently available." In this new software reality, how SHOULD compensation schemes incent software employees? We're working on it.

In Software Project Management, Size Doesn't Matter

Craig Fitzpatrick — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 14:37:48 GMT

A frequent Red Canary contributor, Craig Fitzpatrick is the CEO of Devshop, a software-specific project management application, which recently released version 2. This entry was borrowed from his blog, Uncommon Sense (for Software).

A few months ago, I was discussing project management with someone from the financial sector. This person, who is rather good at his line of work, admitted he didn't know much about project management (but had some clients that did).

The organization is large enough...that it becomes difficult to see the direct impact that the top decision maker has on the success or failure of the project.

We were talking about some new ways of looking at project management, particularly, the domain-specific approach that I often advocate.

Wanting to test my theories, he picked up the phone and proceeded to call one of his clients, whom he knew to be a real top-notch expert in project management.

What is interesting is that this project manager client of his was perceived to be an expert not because of any particularly extraordinary skills he had displayed, or even a long list of stellar accomplishments but rather, because he managed really BIG projects - like 4 years, 200 people, $50 million projects. Big ones.

At first, I didn't even think twice. Of course, I thought, I suppose you would have to be really good to handle those kinds of projects. I mean, if co-ordinating 10 people is tough, 200 must be about 20 times tougher.

A lot of people would certainly reason this way. After meeting this manager, which was a rather familiar experience (nothing much new), it triggered a line of thinking: It is often far more difficult to manage a 10 person project than a 200 person project.

Let me explain.

It's not that I'm saying that the person managing the 10 person team is more important that the person managing 200 people on a $50 million project. I'm not equating difficulty with importance - and by difficulty, I'm talking about the project management responsibilities, not other duties they may have to perform.

Just like you shouldn't dabble at coding, dabbling at managing just makes you a manager with a disadvantage

Speaking with this project manager in particular gave me deja vu. It was more like speaking with a CEO than a project manager. In chatting with any "project manager" with a team size of 100 or so people, what you quickly realize is that they're not project managing anymore at all. They're more like a CEO, involved at the capital allocation level, for multi-year operations.

They are running an organization. They're tuned in to major technological shifts and trends, like "If we bet the farm on Lotus Notes, will it still be the platform of choice when we finish in 4 years?" Heh heh. Oops.

When you're talking about a project that big, the head honcho is managing managers, who possibly manage other managers, who have team leads, who lead the people actually producing the work.

They are more like mentors to the managers who are actually managing. The organization is large enough then, that it becomes really difficult to see the direct impact that the top decision maker is having on the success or failure of the project.

While I haven’t managed a 100 person team yet, I can already see the difference between 10 and 35 developers

I liken it to riding (or steering) the wave, rather than causing it directly. How many debates have you heard after some political or fortune 500 scandal where hoards of people say things like,

"Well, you can't blame the top dog for something that some underling in another office did. It's not his fault."

There you have it, by popular opinion, less direct accountability for large teams. If you can't blame the top dog for failures, then how can you attribute success to him? Life in a small team however (say 10 people), is much more likely to give you a heart attack. There's nowhere to hide. The pace is way faster. It's very easy to see the direct impact (good or bad) that each person is having on a daily basis.

When you're managing a software team of less than 10 people, chances are, you're not just the manager, but one of the developers as well (or at least a designer or architect). The dynamic of a 10 person software team is much more clear - one person managing, and 9 people producing. I think it's at about 10 to 15 people, where it is no longer practical for a manager to even touch the source code - in fact, it can be down right dangerous.

Over that last 13 years of managing software teams, I haven’t seen convincing evidence that project management difficulty increases linearly with team size.

Coding is not something you should dabble in. Either let it consume you and be really good at it, or don't touch it. After 15 or more team members, it's quite likely that there will be a lot more delegation. At 15, you may have 1 manager and 1 technical team lead.

At 35, you probably have a Director or a couple managers and a couple technical team leads. At 100, well, you get the picture.

With each round of delegation (which IS necessary by the way), some amount of pressure, and direct accountability is taken away from the top dog. I'm not just theorizing here, I've actually experienced it. While I haven't managed a 100 person team yet, I can already see the difference between 10 and 35 developers, team sizes I have managed.

To manage 35 developers you really need to break them up into teams of 5 to 7, with technical team leads, and a manager or two. So even at 35, there's a couple degrees of separation between the top policy maker, and the folks actually producing code.

In that awkward team size of about 10 developers, you're likely to be as much a producer as a manager. It's really tough to be great at both. Just like you shouldn't dabble at coding, dabbling at managing just makes you a manager with a disadvantage.

It's at the point in time where it is clear to everyone around you that it is no longer practical for you do be doing any producing, but that you should be managing full time, that your project management life actually starts to get a bit easier. At that point in time where you have managers reporting to you, your project management worries get lighter still (though you probably have new responsibilities keeping you up nights).

All this to say, over that last 13 years of managing software teams, I haven't seen convincing evidence that project management difficulty increases linearly with team size. There's a breaking point at which the project management (only) difficulty actually decreases when the team sizes breaks a certain point.

Project management worries then get replaced by other worries (like what the heck should we be betting the farm on... 'cause if I'm wrong, we go out of business - easy stuff like that).

Chief Zack, dancing, and sharing a small bike with a large woman

Kristy Minor — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 13:20:41 GMT

Kristy Minor is an environmental engineering graduate working in Ghana as part of an Engineers Without Borders initiative. Currently working with Community Driven Initiatives for Food Security (CIFS) she is co-ordinating projects and helping to build the capacity of local government and its sub-structures. Kristy will continue to share her experiences and challenges on Red Canary

My favorite person. The Chief of Singa.

"Kristy! It's been a long time."

I return Chief Zack's greeting. Traditionally, the chief is supposed to be greeted first, normally lower than him with your hands closed. These traditions don't really apply to me but I try my best to show respect, as he is one person that I trust and respect fully in Ghana.

I admire him and his life. I only wish I had more time to learn from him.

He tells me about an NGO that will be hosting a cultural dance for a group of westerners. Red flags start popping up in my head, with visions of white people coming for a "village experience".

I agree to come as I am intrigued with the idea of seeing where his family comes from.

I am also ready to challenge these westerners' approach.

To Singa we go

I have decided to go with Amshawu, Chief Zack's younger sister and her child Windnam , both of whom I spend a lot of time with. We board a tro-tro (passenger van) and wait a couple hours for it to fill, while sucking on some mangoes.

Me dressed in traditional Dagomba garb

Finally we are off. It takes about 2 hours or more to reach the closest village to Singa on a very rough road with large trucks carrying sand from the river banks.

We get off the tro-tro and carry luggage filled with food and water down to the river. At the river I see the pumping station which pumps water for all of Tamale (some 300,000 people) and realize the water pipe I saw along the road was the supply pipe.

After taking a course on water supply and distribution in university, I decide it's really too small. No wonder we have a water problem in Tamale.

Not just one water problem

Some small kids are splashing around in the water, and I put my dirty feet into the water and wash my arms off. I look over to another young girl doing the same, and realize that she has scars from guinea worm infections.

I immediately get out of the water, asking if it is infected with guinea worm. "Yes".

My family's Grandmothers and me

Oh god. How did you get it?

Apparently standing in the water will not do it, but drinking it will. I look over at the kids splashing around, in water up to their chins and frown.

Right. Guinea worm. Still a problem.

My mind shifts to the canoe approaching. A small but long wooden canoe, filled partially by water.

We load the canoe with all our luggage and about 6 people. We take off and I look into the water brimming the sides of the canoe.

We reach the other side, only to realize that there is no one waiting for us, only a motorbike. Singa is another 10 miles. Somehow I end up on the back of the bike, sitting behind the man who is driving, a very large Ghanaian woman, and then me and my backpack of course.

Perfect. The sun beats down on my as I try not to let my feet fall to the ground as we bump along what is not a road, and sometimes not even a path.

As we roll into Singa and I can barely

Dancers!

hold on, I see the "Salamingas" or white people. They seem to have a tractor to pull them around, looking at trees.

They all turn their heads and watch as this 3 person motorbike speeds by. I wonder what they are thinking, and smile.

I arrive in Singa at the Chief's Palace, which is a normal compound house, slightly larger then the rest. Chief Zack is exiting the house on a horse with elaborate materials and an umbrella.

There is drumming and a large following of young and old. I can not greet him, as it is tradition not to stop the Chief as he is leaving the compound.

I enter into the compound to meet the many wives of the family I have grown so close to, meeting them and many of their children over the last ten months. I am welcomed with
open arms and excitement of me finally visiting them and Singa. I am to sleep in Hardi's mothers room.

Wrapped to meet a chief

We bathe and get ready to go out, but they (the mothers) decide that I should dress up!! That's right, I had already planned a nice dress, but Hardi's mother digs through her suitcases

These dancers scared the kids!

until a shiny pink stripped cloth appears. Traditional Dagomba attire.

It is basically 3 pieces of material. They wrap the first around my waist, the next they fold over my shoulder and the last they tie around my head. I feel a bit nervous that it will fall off as I walk, but accept this challenge of being part of this family.

The attitude towards the Westerners is friendly, but when I really get down to the real feelings, people seems confused why they have come and why should they trust them. Some are not interested and others are very curious.

I am guarded and ready to defend and challenge. I walk through the main part of town and eyes are looking at me. I greet back in Dagbani, and they realize I am definitely not part of the group of Salamingas.

The festivities are about to begin, and I greet Chief Zack and his elders in front of the crowd that has gathered. I do so by kneeling down very low.

He laughs, as this would never happen in our house. I flash a smile recognizing that we have a secret that no one else knows.

I sit with the elders, with my family.

I feel part of something bigger, and realize that this is part of my community, my extended family. This is what people meant about being part of something bigger.

It is not just an individual achievement that is respected here but the success of your whole family, community and tribe, everyone
working towards the same goal. It finally sinks in, as I see it unfold around me everyday.

The event begins. Chief Zack says a few nice words and the District Chief Executive greets the Westerners and encourages that they work together for the betterment of Singa. I respect that he has come to this remote community on a weekend.

Promises, Promises

The leaders of this group give an elaborate, Western-style speech...while being filmed and surrounded by large fluffy microphones.

I will not cut the speech into pieces here, but I held my tongue at the time and got others' opinion about it. In summary, it was alot of talk about alot of things that sound nice.

Drummers from Burkina Faso

But in the end, who asked for these things? It was not the community.

For the most part, what was spoken about was not achieveable in most of these people's lifetimes – if at all. I am frustrated and ready to challenge all of these promises.

I take a deep breath and realize that this is part of being a development worker, to challenge other's ideas, as well as mine. I will get feedback from others, and present that to them, but also learn more about their mission.... or I will at least try.

When in doubt, dance!

Then the dancing begins and I have a good time with Amshawu, Achiri and Baba Alhassan.

I have never been witness to such a great event of dancing and music from so many different areas and countries. People were there from all over Ghana, Burkina Faso and Niger. I was definitely impressed.

Afterwards, I met up with some of the dancers from Niger, and they invited me back to their place for tea. I had to turn it down, as I was supposed to be back at the family house for
dinner.

I was disappointed but excited to spend some time with the family here.

Windnum dressed in his Friday outfit

I went with Amshawu to pump water from the borehole (which the NGO installed - one point NGO). As I sat with the women waiting for our turn, we spoke Dagbani. Although I stuck out, it wasn't like the other white visitors.

The women made fun of them and I and laughed and felt like I was part of the group. I realized the importance of integrating with the community: touching their culture and understanding their ideas and feelings.

It's given me a totally different and amazing perspective.

Community change, personal growth

I spent the rest of the weekend enjoying time with the family, visiting people in the community with Amshawu, and trying to push the Westerners' idea about development.

What are they doing here? Is it the RIGHT thing? How do they know?

On the last night I thought about EWBs approach – humble enough to question our own approach, but strong enough to challenge others.

So much of what EWB has encouraged and coached me on stands out – integrating with your community, understanding rural poverty, asking good questions, and listening.

I feel that there is no better place for me. There is still work to be done.

I fall asleep under the stars, in the middle of the compound surrounded by the rest of the community.

What Are You People Signing? When Americans Hire Canadians

Suzie Dingwall Williams — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 18:50:07 GMT

Borrowed from the blog Venture Law Lines Suzanne is a partner at Venture Law Associates LLP Accepting a job from an American employer who wants to hire development talent here in Canada? Remember to weed out the Americanisms from your employment contract. We've talked about the differences in termination pay and notice in other posts. Another provision to watch for is the pre-release. This is a term that requires you, if you are terminated, to sign a release before you are entitled to receive your termination pay. The release typically applies to all claims, including ones you ay have as a shareholder. Resist this term. You are entitled in Canada to your pay, release or not. Here's another emerging trend to watch for: some American employers are adding waivers to their agreements that require employees to sue their employers within 6 months of a particular incident. This means that, should you be harassed by your employer for a period of time, and ultimately quit, you will have waived any right to sue unless you bring action from the first date of harassment. Is this reasonable risk management by corporations? Perhaps. Is it enforceable in Canada? Likely not. Before signing up to this provision, make sure you assess the impact of this Americanism on your rights here in Canada. Even if it's likely not enforceable, you probably should not agree to it. Why become the test case?

ProductCampToronto Gains Momentum

Chris Herbert — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 19:30:20 GMT

ProductCampToronto is gaining momentum. Our August 6th pub night is full, our Facebook membership is up to 34 and Toronto Product Management Association has joined us along with you as we move towards our goal of making this event a learning and networking success. We'd like to begin gathering ideas and thoughts around many things but two important areas are around session topics and publicity.

We've started a discussion thread called "call for session topics" where we need you to suggest Product Mgt/Marketing topics that you'd like to put forward for PCT. Also, let us know if you want to lead the session too.
Also, we are looking for those who have blogs to promote PCT. I see two types of bloggers being important to us. First, there are those who will do the odd post to promote and help us out. No complaints here from us! The second type of blogger is someone who plans on persistently blogging on PCT. Either way, we're not picky!

So, if you want to get involved in the "call for session topics" discussion visit our Google Groups site here. If your interested in our planning activities feel free to visit here. If you do a post on your blog or want to become a PCT blogger let me know and we will add you to our Delicious site here.

Product Management: How to Increase Business Value by Transitioning to Agile

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 18:32:18 GMT

Courtesy of Featureplan. Download the podcast or watch the flash presentation.

Presented by Levent Gurses, co-founder of Jacoozi a US-based technical consulting and development firm specializing in transformations through Lean and Agile development practices

The prospect of using Agile methods to accelerate the delivery of value to the customers while reducing feature fatigue has captured the imagination of Product Managers everywhere.

In the past few years a rising number of companies have experimented with Agile practices, hoping to bring the most valuable product features faster to the market and gain strategic advantage.

But many companies have had difficulties adopting the new Agile practices. Some have faced employee or department resistance to change during the transition. Others have failed to demonstrate enough business value to keep the initiatives alive and spread it across the organization.

Clearly, companies have to rethink how they formulate their Agile adoption strategy.

A five-part Agile adoption methodology:

1. Companies need to realize the importance of starting small. This is the time for selecting a pilot project for the Agile adoption. Companies will want to try and fail and learn within the pilot project before they move with a wholesale adoption.
2. Companies should define business value in very clear and concrete terms. It's all too often that projects deliver too many features, mostly useless to the real customers.
3. Activities and technologies need to be evaluated according to their contribution to the business value. Agility promotes faster business value, but not necessarily the latest and greatest technical framework.
4. the companies should carefully select and incrementally adopt key Agile practices. Agile adoption does not have to be all or nothing. Every practice should be assessed with respect to the business goals and only adopted if it makes business sense.
5. Companies should develop a set of objective evaluation criteria to measure the success of the initiative. Since it is very difficult to improve things that cannot be measured, it is imperative to develop a set of measurable goals to assess the success of the Agile project.

This Webinar will outline the principles, tools and transition strategy for a successful Agile adoption.

Speaker Bio
Levent Gurses is a Washington, DC-based technology consultant. He is also the co-founder of Jacoozi, a US-based technical consulting and development firm specializing in transformations through Lean and Agile development practices. As a Certified ScrumMaster Levent helps his clients develop better software through Lean and Agile. His expertise is in transitioning companies to Agile by establishing technical infrastructure, mentoring and coaching for Rapid Product Development (RPD). Through his company Jacoozi, Levent provides vital Agile resources with real world experience such as coaches, project managers, architects and developers.

5 Ways to Get People to Invest in You - A Conversation with Sean Wise

Alan Kearns — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 17:46:59 GMT

Have you ever had to present a new business solution that you thought your company should invest in? Maybe you have desired to start your own business, or you are in sales "pitching" your products to customers. Whether you work for a Fortune 500 company or out of your basement, one thing is for sure, you are asking for people to invest in you. This week's podcast is with Sean Wise, online host of CBC's hit show "Dragons' Den". On this business reality show, you get the opportunity to pitch your business idea to a panel of five multi-millionaires known as Dragons.

Sean is also a leading Venture Capitalist who has helped his clients raise over $2.1 billion dollars to bring their products and services to the global market.

A guy who knows how to sell

Sean has had a very interesting career journey so far. By the ripe old age of 35 he had started 6 businesses, his first business as a clown at the age of 13. "I was dissatisfied with the management at McDonalds, so my parents suggested that if I disliked my role I should figure out a way to do better for myself." Earning $50 per hour as a 13 year old is not a bad way to spend your weekend and it sure beats flipping burgers. No laughing matter (pun intended), over the next 6 years, Sean spent time as a clown to fund his university education, learning how to build a business from scratch.

The only failure is the failure to try. – Sean Wise

He was accepted at the University of Ottawa's joint MBA/LLB program and upon graduation joined Ernst & Young's Venture Capital group. Sean then went on to launch his own VC firm working with emerging companies helping them to raise capital and mentoring their leadership teams. He has recently started a new collaborative venture fund, partnering with Spencer Trask out of New York City. This was the firm that originally funded Thomas Edison for his little idea - the light bulb. As an entrepreneur, Venture Capitalist and online Dragons' Den host, Sean knows what it takes to get people to vote with their wallets and invest in great ideas. In our conversation, he shared

5 key ways to get people to invest in you and your ideas.

The Power of Your Passion - How much do you believe in the idea? Your confidence about the idea is the foundation for pitching your idea. Research, Research, Research - What problem will this idea solve? Why would people buy it? Who are the competitors? How will you make money? Knowing the answers to these questions is the key to getting people to invest. Take Your Idea For a Walk - Nothing is more powerful than getting perspectives from a wide spectrum of people. The more people you approach, the more opportunity to get accurate feedback and to fine tune the idea. Two thumbs up - This is the Roger Ebert principle. Who do you know who has clout and will give you a strong endorsement with your idea? We have been well trained to take action based upon third-party endorsements! Less is more - When presenting your idea to decision makers, simplify the explanation. See if you can present your idea's concept in one PowerPoint slide. As Sean says, "Companies invest in you and your idea, but ultimately they are taking the chance with you." You may be asking, "What if I try and fail?" Sean says, "There are no losers, the only failure is the failure to try."

Speaking of investing in you, according to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, a full 96 per cent of HR professionals agree that hiring a career coach delivers tangible benefits to individuals and organizations alike. So whether you need help drafting a professional resume, securing a promotion, switching jobs or any other career-related move, we are here to help. Join our free workshop, or book an initial consultation with myself. Take control over your career today! Along the road with you Alan

Tech sales: compensate to motivate

Lee Salz — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 15:36:02 GMT

In a nutshell

• Sales people do what makes them money, so sales compensation plans should align with company goals
• Plans should motivate on daily basis
• Long sales cycles require special attention
• The Sales Behaviorial Objective aligns action with results over time
• Starts with assimilation quarter, then bonus/points system

One of the most common complaints I hear from executives is that their sales team is not doing the things they feel are most critical to the success of the company. I then ask to see their compensation plan. After a thorough read, I share my impression of what their plan motivates their salespeople to do -- and ask if this is their intention. They usually look at me blankly and say, "No, our intention is for our sales people to…" And thus the disconnect is exposed.

Sales people invest their time on activities that drive their compensation. Plain and simple.

As one executive shared after going through the exercise, "We want our sales people to focus on selling our new product to our existing clients. Yet, we are compensating the sales people in a way that they are better off pursuing new clients." He got it! The incongruence of sales compensation is one of the biggest disconnects in companies. Executives sit in a board room with strategic plans of grandeur, but the plan collapses when they don't address the compensation for the sales troops. It is a very simple equation. Sales people invest their time on activities that drive their compensation. Plain and simple. The thought that sales people will actively and consistently perform activities that are not in their best financial interests is naïve.

When structuring sales compensation plans, a company should strongly consider the goals for the company. Working backwards, the goals for the company drive the structure of the sales compensation plan.

Further complicating matters, there are instances where sales people are compensated for delivering certain results while their managers are compensated on a different set of results. Thus, the sales managers are driving their team consistently with their compensation message, but inconsistently with their sales team members. It creates the visual of the sales manager pushing a boulder up a hill trying to get their team to focus on activities that contradict their income. Best of luck! When structuring sales compensation plans, a company should strongly consider the goals for the company. Working backwards, the goals for the company drive the structure of the sales compensation plan. Thus, they should be directly aligned. If the company's goal is to gain adoption of a new product in the marketplace, the plan should reward sales people for accomplishing this feat. If the goal is to increase revenue with their current clientele, the plan should reward for that. Anyone should be able to read the plan and derive the intended message. The second consideration, when structuring sales compensation plans, is that sales managers and sales people should have alignment with their respective results. If one is compensated for adding new clients and the other for selling a new product to existing clients, and it does matter which is compensated for which, the incongruence causes a paralysis of performance. Making this more daunting is that in complex sales environments, those that have protracted buying cycles, the standard salary and commission model does not create enough of a framework to ensure that the sales team performs the right activities every day. How do you structure the plan so that the team is motivated to do the right things every hour of every day?

Bridging the long cycle gap

Employers also face a challenge of hiring sales people who are concerned about the length of time of the buying cycle in contrast to their earnings. The standard solution is to bridge the gap with a draw.

In the 1980s and 1990s, the big buzz term was MBO (Management by Objective). What if you created a Sales Behavioral Objective?

As you probably know, there are two types of draws. There is the recoverable draw which is, in essence, a loan against the sales person's future commissions. Then, there is the other, the non-recoverable draw which is money, free and clear, to the sales person for some period of time. Nothing good comes out of either of these. The recoverable draw, almost always, puts the sales person in a financial hole. They wake up each morning knowing they owe the company money. No one enjoys the feeling of debt. The non-recoverable draw, often times, creates an earnings cliff. Let's say that the draw is for three months at $2,000 per month. In month four, the sales person probably experiences a significant fall-off in their earnings. The end result is relationship damage between the sales person and the company and a poor corporate investment. How do you structure the sales compensation plan to bridge the earnings gap when recruiting new sales people?

A Creative Approach to Compensation

The challenge of motivating sales people and bridging the sales earnings gap can be solved with a creative compensation approach. In the 1980s and 1990s, the big buzz term was MBO (Management by Objective). Business people were provided with a series of objectives, and, following a performance review, were compensated for achievement of such. What if the MBO concept was applied to sales compensation? What if you created a Sales Behavioral Objective or SBO? If you are reading this and think that I've just created additional sales cost, think again. I'm proposing a reallocation of the dollars paid to your sales team. A percentage of the dollars normally budgeted for commissions would be allocated for an SBO bonus. Consider this. A company has a typical buying process with its clientele that is six months long. They pay their sales people a base salary of $60,000. At 100% of plan, the sales person earns $90,000 or $30,000 over their base salary. However, no commissions are earned in their first six months of employment due to the buying cycle. The company, as a means of managing sales behaviors and attracting strong sales talent, budgets $15,000 of the $30,000 of commissions for the SBO bonus. The sales person is then eligible to earn a $3,500 bonus each quarter in year one. At the beginning of each quarter, the sales person has a formal review where the results of the prior quarter are shared and the mission for the second is presented. The SBO changes from quarter to quarter based on the tenure of the sales person and the needs of the business. The SBO is also not a "gimme." 100% accomplishment should be a stretch goal, but achievable for the sales person.

A Sales Behaviorial Objective walk-through

In the first quarter, the overall mission is getting the sales person assimilated into the company's environment. The measurements of success at the end of the quarter are: a business/territory plan, the ability for the sales person to call on prospects, and knowledge of the products.

Results are a function of doing the right things each and every day

As measurement of achievement, the company provides a written test on product knowledge, a scored, mock sales call, a scored, mock, sales presentation, and review of their business/territory plan. Based on the sales person's accomplishments, they will receive a percentage of the $3,500 up to 100%. In future quarters, a points system is put in place, making the SBO entirely objective, tied to performing the activities deemed critical for the success of the business. In each quarter, the goal is for the sales person to achieve 100 points. The main objective in the second quarter for this company is to have face-to-face meetings with qualified prospects. They are looking for their sales person to have twenty face-to-face meetings in the quarter as a way to jump start their sales pipeline. Thus, the SBO compensates five points for each meeting held. At the end of the quarter, whatever percentage the sales person delivers of the 100 points, with a minimum achievement of 75%, is paid as a bonus. This includes those who overperform. Why penalize them for doing more of the right things? What about quality? How do you know they are doing the right things in the prospect meeting? Hopefully, you measured their proficiency in doing those things in the first quarter. The SBO program, in future quarters, is designed by identifying key, measurable sales activities aligned with the needs of the business. Place weighting on the activities commensurate with your expectations of the sales person.

The Benefits of the SBO Plan

Some of you are probably thinking, "No way, I pay for results!" Well, results are a function of doing the right things each and every day. Results are not miraculous. They are formulaic. The reality is that you have skin in the game with the SBO. As a business executive, you and your team are tasked with determining what it takes for a sales person to generate the results you desire. If you have done your job of identifying the success metrics and the sales person achieves those, the results take care of themselves. The SBO is not just for year one since the challenge of managing sales behaviors is perpetual. One important key is to budget enough dollars for the SBO bonus that it gets the attention of the sales people, but not so high that it overshadows commissions. The bottom line is that the SBO program gives you the tool kit to channel the energy of the sales team toward achieving that goal. It also provides you with a mechanism to attract sales talent to your company where, right on day one, they need to perform to earn dollars over their salary. One other benefit of this program for those companies with lengthy buying processes, the SBO provides you with a way to assess the sales person's performance in a way that you can identify, more quickly, those who will not be successful in your company. One thing is for sure, the executive team of the company in the story knows that if they paid a sales person $15,000 SBO bonus in year one, year two and beyond are going to be stellar.

Lee B. Salz is the CEO of Business Expert Webinars, President of Sales Dodo, and author of “Soar Despite Your Dodo Sales Manager.” Known as “The Sales Dodo,” Lee specializes in helping companies and their sales organizations adapt and thrive in the ever-changing world of business. He is an online columnist for Sales and Marketing Management Magazine and the host of the Internet radio show, “Secrets of Business Gurus.” Look for Lee's new book in 2009 titled, "The Sales Marriage… How to Hire the Right Sales People." He is a passionate, dynamic speaker and a business consultant. Lee can be reached via email at lsalz@salesdodo.com, or by phone at 763.416.4321.