I recommend a couple of new books for Sales Managers or Leaders wanting to get better coaching, managing, or leading salespeople into higher performance habits and greater professionalism.
1. The Power of Habit: Why We Do In Life and Business! by Charles Duhigg
2. This Year I Will … How to Finally Change a Habit, Keep a Resolution, or Make a Dream Come True by M. J. Ryan
Here are some example to think about that affect your ability to change or grow as a leader, manager, or as a person.
The Power of Habit …
A keystone habit. What is one habit, that if changed, would affect many parts of your life? If you could replace it, how would that affect you? How could one area affect many of the other routines in your life or the lives of the salespeople you lead? Mr. Duhigg’s book explores the neurology of habit formation – how to build new habits and change old ones, and the methods. He has written an excellent book for understanding and changing habits.
Find out about “Cues- Habits-Rewards,” and how lives have changed and can change from this knowledge. Tailor what you learn to leading salespeople. You can get better. Learn how and do it. There are new ways to learn to lead others to excellence. Find them and put them into practice. You can.
This Year I Will …
“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit. – Aristotle
Ms. Ryan asks, “What’s the Price of Not Changing?” A great question to ask when we face the need to alter direction in our leadership. She goes on to tell us that Scientists say that we spend 90% of our daily lives in routines – some good, some bad. And, whenever the wake-up call comes, it’s a gift to pay attention to. I love it when she says that we must realize that change takes works and sacrifice and that we really have to “want to bring something into being – deeply, truly, honestly.”
As sales managers, coaches, and leaders we make a difference in the financial and personal prosperity of others. The role contains weighty overtones. These new books by Duhigg and Ryan offer specific and practical instructions for insight and change.
A bonus book that I’ll also mention is Dr. Carol Dweck’s Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. From her research at Stanford, Dr. Dewck explains that some people have a fixed or growth mindset. Her illustrations help by providing us with an attitude about growth that is fundamental to changing performance levels and reaching excellence. I encourage you to read these books. It’s exciting to learn. Lance.