During the civil war General Robert E Lee lost his most talented general - Stonewall Jackson - to friendly fire.  He spoke of this loss as being equivalent to losing his right arm. Of course he had other Generals but none that were as competent and heroic.  We could say that not every General was "General" material.

Occasionally we run into a VP of sales that is competent and heroic - looking out for what is best for the company, not an egomaniac and open to new ideas. But most of the time they are really not VP material.  All CEO's should take the time to seriously question the ability of the person in this role, after all an incompetent VP of sales could push your business right under in this economy. What might be some indicators?

Well, if your CFO didn't want to use a payroll company, an accounting firm or a bank - preferring to handle everything himself and saying something like "I've been doing this long enough to know what I'm doing" what would you think?  If your CIO refused to update your software or protect your infrastructure with the latest expertise would you be confident in him?   If your Marketing Director wanted to keep the old website and saw no need to look into newer mediums that might provide an edge - how does that work for you?   What if your VP of HR refused to use an outside company for background checks or insisted on only posting openings in the Sunday Paper; a little out of step maybe?

Yet - VP's of Sales consistently refuse help with their sales people. They don't appreciate the value of evaluating their people to understand their strengths and weaknesses. Most importantly, they refuse to have someone look at them and tell them how they might improve their systems, processes or people. They are often arrogant about their skills - which are overinflated and ignore their own weaknesses.

So if you are a CEO and you are leaving it to your VP of sales to offer true leadership in this regard, chances are it won't happen. Of course there might be occasions when they are right and don't need any help - is everything perfect? Are all deals getting closed? Forecasts always come in on target?  New Business is the majority of what is closed? Turnover is in check? They have a clear picture of how to increase revenue in the coming year?  Sales is working harmoniously with the rest of your organization? Etc, Etc......

Bottom Line - a VP that refuses to look at what could be improved, a VP that thinks they know exactly what needs to happen and doesn't need any help is probably going to hurt you more than they help you.