The Sales Archaeologist

During World War I the allies found themselves in one of the most notorious stalemates in history. Two opposing armies locked in trench warfare - fighting furiously over literal inches of ground. The root cause of this problem first came to light 50 years earlier in the civil war - the technology of firearms and cannons had surpassed the techniques employed by the infantry. One might have expected the military to have learned and developed new methods over those years however they did not.

Two men had a solution during World War I that would solve the problem and break the gridlock. We call it the tank today. Although their design was available at the beginning of the war it took years for the allies to even try the strange weapon and when they finally did it worked amazingly well. They added more, the gridlock was broken and the war was over.

So the confusing part is this. When William Tritton and Walter Wilson were trying to sell their tank to the allied commanders the timing was perfect. The need was there. There was plenty of pain. The product was a perfect solution to the problem. They were able to demonstrate it's effectiveness. The tank fit in nicely with the overall vision and mission i.e. winning the war. So what was the problem? Why not move forward and save millions of lives?

Interestingly we sometimes see the same issues today. We present a solution, we offer a reference, the timing is right, there is compelling reason to do something is there and an effective solution offered but people don't act. Sometimes people are not capable, qualified or committed enough to make the right decision. The military leadership in World War I was far removed from the front. They were fond of their old antiquated methods. They were not about to listen to two engineers. They were not agents of change - they were resistors of change.

However the real reason was identified by Winston Churchill years later. He of course suffered his own military debacle in the Dardanelles Campaign. He put the blame on a lack of humility. Don't allow a lack of humility stop you from doing what is right for your business. There are areas where we all need help - failing to recognize those is foolish. Yet I consistently speak with  CEO's who will say they need help on the sales front, but the sales leadership will say no we don't and get offended. We talk with CEO's who trust a VP to head not only sales but marketing and business development as well - and they don't need help?

So if you are struggling with finding a new years resolution here is one for you - just be humble in 2010.