First (very small) steps into Python

My first attempts into coding - Python (Why couldn't they have chosen a less snake like name?)!

So it's time for me to step up my eldest boy's IT lessons and include some basic coding.  I've chosen to start him on Python, simply because it looks simple enough for me to master that I can confidently ensure he learns it well.

DK have a very good child friendly project book "Computer Coding Made Easy) so that's where our little journey begins. Having downloaded Python (version 3) I've set myself up to do the first few pages of tasks - so far so good!

Having cracked the basic commands of making my Turtle draw some rather basic shapes, I think my boy will love this.  Excuse just how basic this is, but I'm only just starting out:

>>> forward(100)
>>> right(90)
>>> forward(100)
>>> right(90)
>>> forward(100)
>>> right(90)
>>> forward(100)

Gets you something like this:

That's it for now, but expect more to come as we both learn more about coding and Python.  Who knows, perhaps this could lead to bigger and better projects - have my sight set on some Raspberry Pi robots...

Normal Services Will Resume...

Wow, it's been 8 months... this is pretty bad for a blog!

In my defence, life has thrown some very interesting and at times difficult things at me this year. One of the best for my career though has been joining Kaia.  Everyone has a career move that either makes sense or is a complete mistake - I believe it's something that can teach you a lot though.  For all the negatives, I did learn some valuable lessons in regards to running a business, taking a risk and going the extra mile when you feel it's right.

I've joined a company that has the same frame of mind as my own - Kaia is very much similar to how I would like to do business, but its something more.  The thing that makes this company so different is the level playing field - we have no managers, no underlings no office politics - it's refreshing. I have always believed the best management method was to give people as much rope as they need to go and do what they need to - the end result has always been rewarding (Both the rope giver, and the one at the end of it) - for that I think I am very lucky.  It's not often you get to land on your feet and find yourself running well.

This mentality has enabled me to really push myself as an individual, but still feel connected to the company and an integral part of it. The proof is in the performance I guess, as the last 3 months I have outperformed the last 3 years in terms of output, sales volume and job satisfaction. (My own personal records have been beaten and I am pretty pleased with it!)

Since moving I've also run into a few problems with housing - both cases induced by really very bad Landlords.  The first decided that as the market appeared to be doing well he would sell - so we had to go.  I get everything sorted, and move the family to a new town, all in short notice but we do it.  This led to other problems, that ultimately just made us all unhappy.  As a worker (not just as a sales person, but anyone doing a job) it's really important to have some balance in life, and to be happy at home.

Sadly the balance was not there, so 5 months in and we move again.  This time, unfortunately we got struck by some really quite petty and moronic landlords.  We used an agency, that referenced us, took the deposit and had everything sorted. We were due to move in, then 2 hours before we get the keys the landlords decide they won't rent to us, and will not tell us why!  So... 1.5 days left in the old house, with nowhere to go. The answer? Resort to my normal method of dealing with stuff - solve it.

After visiting every estate agent we could, I finally found a property with a landlady willing to take us in, and we settled all the paperwork that afternoon. The next day, everything moved from one house 25 miles away and handing the keys back for 6pm. Result: Instantly more relieved and happy - despite the massive stress, the turmoil and upset those people put us through, we were happy.  We had achieved something that seemed pretty much impossible.

In between all this hassle, getting used to a new job and just not allowing myself a moment to reflect something quite amazing happened.  I noticed that my 7 year old was choosing to read a book, he was sat quite happy and instead of his usual routine of playing Lego or with his brother he wanted to read.  That's not too surprising, for a young boy of his age - the surprising thing was the book he was reading.  It's aimed at kids much older than him and he was reading it without help proficiently - its to my wife's credit that she has taught him to do that, but his "term" time has finished now.  He is doing it by choice, because he wants to get to the last book in the collection. (There are over 90 books, and he is now on the 6-7th one)

I think too often people forget to have goals, and forget why they start something in the first place.  Goals are important, without them we have no way of defining how good we are at something, or what we need to do to achieve better for ourselves.  Maybe once in awhile, we should all just sit and think what am I doing? What got me here? What is influencing my decisions currently and does it match up to what I wanted to do?

For the reader who hasn't guessed the motive behind this blog post, there is a lesson in this story - always keep yourself motivated.  If you have a goal, go for it. Do not stop, do not wait for others to catch you up and certainly do not take no for an answer - remember the reason you started and what the end goal is.  I firmly believe (with a lot of "life experiences" to prove it) that anybody can achieve anything if they really dedicate themselves to something.

"If you put your mind to it, you can achieve anything!"

Presenting to IX Manchester, dabbling with YouTube

It's been awhile since I last updated this blog, but things have been very busy and I took time away from blogging over Christmas and the New Year.  

Since I am a member of the IX Manchester Steering Group (A group of member organisations that try to further and improve the Internet Community in Manchester) and I work for M247, I gave a short presentation of the services that M247 provide to the business and domestic community.

The video (I'm not entirely happy with it, but we live to learn and I shall improve) is here:

A lot has happened in the last few months, and it's building up into a great blog post.  Lets see if I can get it up online in the next week for those who wish to see it.  

The Rant. It was overdue, surely?

So.  This would be the rant, it's been festering like a nasty bite from a horrible little bug.

The one thing that I hate most within offices is "office politics" - in my view, it simply has no place in a cohesive and modern working environment.  For the most part, I do manage to avoid it - partly by working remotely and partly because I just don't rise to it.  That's the lesson today, if anything, avoid office politics like the plague.

The worst kind seems to be when you are getting stuck in the middle of something, something that you are not entirely privy to and yet you have on your plate to deal with.  The mature thing would be to just forget about it and move on, but I'm a stubborn type and like to dig and dig until I have uncovered everything I can.  It's probably one of my greatest and weakest attributes in one.

It would be great if we could all work in an environment that excludes this type of politics, where everyone is almost equal (clearly, not everyone will be always be equal, but I have seen companies that try really hard to emulate this, to some degree of success).  Imagine not having to second guess things? You would be free to focus and not wonder what people are really playing at, what are the end goals of your colleagues or superiors?  My wife informs me quite often, that's normal for an office.  Offices are essentially full of bitchy people that like to whine and moan, then go home and repeat the next day.  In some ways, I have been lucky to avoid that so far in my career.

As a sales person, it's important to focus on the positives, and to a degree just ignore and phase out the negatives - they don't help you sell.  However, there is a point where those negatives prevent you selling, and that's just bad for business.  You won't perform to your full potential.

Thats the point where the drawing board needs to come down, and everyone needs to hash it out.  I like to think of it as an imaginary boxing ring.

Next time you find yourself in the position where you are angry at work, or feel frustrated by management, don't be afraid to set the ring and go a few rounds.  Honesty goes a long way - if your employer is worth anything, they will find this refreshing and will engage with you.  You should be able to walk away knowing your employers care for your opinion (they may disagree with you of course) and you both walk away wiser and more prepared to do well the next day.

Clearing the air is the best way to resolve these office politics - otherwise they fester and ruin a perfectly good "thing".

2 Ears, 1 Mouth and the USP

Second post eh? Must be on a roll.

I'm a fan of things like LinkedIn - it's a tool that is very useful to a good sales person if you want to find out if you are talking to the right people.  As a side bonus it also has a large amount of content added to it by normally rather clever people.

Yesterday wasn't one of those days.

I read a post that was trying to say what makes a good sales person and what makes bad ones.  Sadly the writer didn't tackle that, just listed a bunch of things that were light and fairy comments.  It was in the comments section that you actually find the wealth of content and valuable insights though!

This cracker popped up: "We have two ears and one mouth.  Listen twice as much as you speak."

I should point you to the person who said it, but really that saying is so old that i'm sure the source has been lost by now and everyone knows it.  At least everyone should know it.  I have heard it only perhaps once from a "Boss" though - and that boss turned out to be less a boss and more mentor than anything.

It's true though.  The minute you stop talking (ie: Selling) and start listening (also known as data mining) you get a feel for things faster.  Dale Carnegie taught people that everyone wants to talk about themselves.  It's the easiest thing to practice, get people talking about what they do, what has made their companies so great and they will gladly tell you.  A good sales person will soak that up like a sponge and then tailor every product they can to complementing that list of information that people freely give up to them.

Think of it as stealth sales, not many people like sales people, that's pretty much a given these days - so the best sales people (In my biased opinion of course) simply let things pan out and coach prospects along.

I met with a couple of my "competitors" in Manchester yesterday. I say competitors, but I have a dislike of the word.  There are very few real competitors - the Internet Industry is too small, and everyone has to eventually buy from each other at some degree down the chain.  We consider ourselves friends before competitors, or peers in the least.

Competitors are simply companies you have failed to share a vision or idea with.  Most companies have that unique spark that makes them different, even die hard competitors to each other have the ability to create a synergy between themselves that actually fuels the growth of both companies.  In Manchester as an example, we have lots of Datacentre's (Big buildings full of cool technical equipment and providing services to millions of consumers around the UK/EU/Globe) and each one has many selling points.  Most of those points match though, so you have to dig a bit deeper to find true differences, some are more financially sound than others, some have huge market presence, some are ideally placed and others are just simply great at what they do.  We can all work together though, if the right mix of talent, products and services are put out to the market.

The guys I met with I would class as "hardcore" sales people.  They are bloody good at hitting numbers.  They may not win every person round to themselves, but they hit targets and they make employers happy.  They have an approach that works for them, but it isn't for me.  I would say though, they do know how to listen and they get the idea of looking for the weaknesses in what they offer and how to overcome that - great skills that most sales people just aren't trained to do.

Next time you try and sell something, stop yourself from giving the pitch.  Get your prospects to speak to you instead and make them sell you their company and then turn it around as an opportunity to help complement that with your own offering.

Day one, the end of the Earth, no wait... Wrong Blog. Post 1, Selling my way.

That first post.  It's awkward, much like the first date, or first day at school.  Much worse than the first day at a new job, but for me it's something more.

I will undoubtedly spend a few days pondering over what to say and what I feel I should write.  Hell, even if anyone will actually read it? Should I be doing this sort of blog? I'm more into zombies, futuristic wargames and sleeping than offering sales advice to people.  

This blog was partly the brainchild of Mara (Brownie points to those who know who that is) in an effort to get me to teach others how to sell.  Mara, like a few others consider me to be pretty good at this selling game.

Ironically, I don't think I need to teach people how to sell in as much as show them how not to sell.

I am not a fan of sales people generally.  I strive to be anything but a sales person - why be something that you strongly dislike? I don't aim to sell, I simply aim to solve peoples problems.  I once thought about it - what is it that I do differently?

I think the answer has always been that I simply think about everything differently.  I don't try to sell.

If you have the ability to think about things outside the box and pick it apart, you can normally put it back together in your mind and the outcome is greater than the input.  I often come into conflict in my day to day life, I am stubborn and most of the time know I am right (when i'm not right, I certainly try and figure out why and try not to replicate that fault) but as time has gone on, I have learnt its more important to choose the fight than to fight for the sake of fighting.  (My wife is the main source of that wisdom, but don't let her know that) 

It's more important to me that I solve problems and show my customers how I did it, than to make a big profit from them.  In time, those customers stay with you and end up spending far more money on what you provide them than any single big win might.  It is simply a matter of good service.  

I had a real life hit of this not too long ago at a Starbucks.  We all know how good Starbucks is, it's probably my favourite place for coffee (Iced Mocha Frap) and you know what you get there.  My wife showed me one day, they knew her name, her favourite drink and even that she preferred soya milk instead of normal milk for the taste with cream on top.  I had taken for granted the level of service they provide us when we visit until one day it just didn't happen.  The service was poor, the drink's were wrong and we felt very unwelcome.  

It was then that I realised how significant it is to a customer when you drop the ball.  

We all do it, we all make mistakes.  The best people own up to those mistakes and let their customers become part of fixing them.  It's a great little skill - it's about involving everyone around you and making them feel part of it.  If you feel like you have played a role in creating something, you will give more and be more excited when it comes to an end.  

Try not to sell to people, try and get them to sell it to themselves.  Next time you come into a 30 seconds pitch, instead of trying to sell how great you or your product is, try and flip it around.  Those guys around you will talk for a lot more than 30 seconds.  You may just come away with more ability to sell them something than you ever imagined.

So, that wasn't too hard after all.  Even if this is my fourth edit, and 4-5 days late.

Next time, more zombies.