Just now I find myself surrounded by questions of attention. Maybe it’s because I’m teaching a class via Zoom about being better at hosting Zoom calls (cue the “coffee table book about coffee tables” jokes here) while also reading Tim Hwang’s book, “The Subprime Attention Crisis.” Whatever the cause, it’s got me thinking critically about attention as a depleting natural resource.
Back to the Zoom question. Salespeople and other execs decry the lack of attention and focus they receive on screen-to-screen calls, especially with bigger groups. Microphones are muted, cameras are dark. Even when they aren’t, eyes and minds are elsewhere. “Why,” many ask, “aren’t they paying any attention to me?” We tell ourselves that back when we were all in person it was better (it wasn’t) and that we used to be able to read body language (we couldn’t) and built a deep connection with our customers and colleagues (we didn't.)
Back to Tim Hwang’s book. If we accept the premise that attention in today’s world is finite – a scarce resource – we start to understand how to truly earn and deserve the attention of others, whether it be on Zoom, in a conversation with a friend or spouse, or in assorted in person “real world” interactions.
The key is being Attention Neutral. Like Carbon neutrality, it means we generate at least as much as we take out. In an honest evaluation, most of us would have to admit that where it comes to responsible stewardship of attention, we’re driving away in gas guzzlers and leaving the lights and AC running. We are simply demanding far more attention – Watch my presentation, check out my TikTok, read my email! – than we are putting into the world.
Back to Zoom. Want attention? Then pay more than your share. Do the work up front to really understand those on the other side of the screen. Engage in pre-meeting communication and planning to really align with their needs. Greet people when they show up. Have a second question to ask and really care about the answer.
As for me, repentant sinners make the best preachers. For a couple of decades (OK, longer) I never met a microphone I didn’t like. And yes, it’s probably still the needle in my arm. But I’m going to work to be Attention Neutral going forward: for all I get, I’ll try to put back that much and more. I won’t just listen as much as I talk; I’ll care as much as I want to be cared about.
You read just over 400 words in the last couple of minutes. I owe you.
Original Illustration by Eric Sands.
In my career I’ve seen about eight of these economic pullbacks, six of them in the digital era. No one can say exactly how long, precisely how deep, or specifically which companies come out better. But I’m confident in offering one blanket prediction and one bit of universal advice.
We here at Upstream appreciate the hard job you do. May a look at this list give you the extra lift you need in a moment of challenge.
Most of us show up for our hard-to-book C-Suite interactions with an agenda that’s far too junior and tactical, and we get swiftly delegated or – worse – ignored. It's because we don’t fully realize what the C in C-Suite stands for.
Too many of us plan meticulously for much of the meeting, but fail to do any planning for how it will end. Too much time is spent early on exposition and data, and too little is left for the disciplined closing process that could actually lead to a sale. Another mad, disorganized packing job ensues. And the probability and next actions we post in our CRM are little more than educated guesses. It doesn’t have to be this way.
As sellers and executives, we’re both sporadically connected to our colleagues and yet consistently alone in our work, accompanied by only our numbers, hopes and doubts. At Upstream Group, we are asking – humbly and curiously – what our role should be in this Season of Both. Why do our customers and community truly need us now? We are finding answers and developing strategies based on a handful of questions… questions I’d like to share with you today.
We spend an overwhelming share of our time building stories and presentations and proposals – our sandcastles – and almost no time on the closing and qualification strategies that would help them withstand the rising tide of the customer’s conflicting agendas and the waves of our competitors’ subsequent proposals and ideas.
We all get to decide how we show up. Leaning into these decisions won’t necessarily change the numbers or the circumstances, but they will change the narrative from one of anxiety and randomness to a story of perseverance, growth and personal victory. They may not change your Q3 number, but they will change YOU.
The world of work we shut down in March 2020 is gone. Thinking we can just go back to it by getting on the train and turning on the lights is unrealistic to the point of delusion. Attracting, hiring and retaining valuable employees has never been trickier. What you could solve in 2012 with more money and a bigger title requires much more thoughtful answers today. Your competitive future depends on them.
You are shooting yourself in the foot and it’s clouding your vision, mucking up your forecasts and making your sales cycle longer and more unstable. And it doesn’t have to be that way. Here are three self-inflicted wounds that can be fatal to your win-rate, but that are also easily corrected.
This afternoon in San Francisco a man named John Durham died after many years of serious health problems. Those are the facts, but not the story. To those of us who knew and loved him so much, he was THE DURHAM: a life force, a gentle soul, a fantastic dresser and a terrible speller. In short, he was THE DURHAM. To his friends, no explanation is necessary. To those who were never touched by him, no explanation is possible.
I wrote this post about the value of attention a few years ago, pre-pandemic and pre-Zoom. Lightly-edited, it seems even more relevant now. Making others feel fully-attended earns us their attention in return. Read on.
Last week I used this space to share several of the leading themes from Write this Down: Memes and Metaphors for a Better Life in Sales, a book that I've begun working on. This week, a few more, including some challenging advice for both managers, individual contributors and their fellow humans from many walks of life.