Q & A Table of Contents
Is He A Star Or The Whole Galaxy?
From: Andrea, Charlottesville, Virginia
Question: The company I work for is in trouble. My boss and our leading
salesman are like two peas in a pod.
I am the head of our financial and accounting department. I have had numerous conversations with my boss about our operations. He claims that the leading salesman is the only reason why our company is in existence.
Even though the leading salesman does contribute one third of the sales to our company, my boss refuses to believe that all of our men completing the jobs (installers and shop workers actually doing the work for the jobs) and my accounting team are as important to a functioning company as the salesman.
How do I open my boss' eyes to the big picture and get the focus away from one man?
Response: Don't assume you're going to be able to convince your boss with a
lecture. You need to do a lot of homework.
The first homework assignment is to analyze the measurable contributions of
the various elements of the company to profit ? or to the cost of doing business.
In your question you indicate that one salesman is responsible for one-third of the company's sales. "How many salespeople are there, and what percentage of the company's sales do they produce, both individually and collectively? Other than sales volume, how is the star salesman different from other folks in the company, longevity of service, brother-in-law of the boss, etc.?
You should figure out who all the stakeholders are in the company's performance: owners, the various types of employees, clients/customers, suppliers, competitors, end users of the products, etc. Then think about what each type of stakeholders is most likely to care about, what their interests are. Put this on paper and see where there appear to be common interests, complementary interests, and where there may be conflict. We refer to this planning tool as The Negotiator's Interest Map*.
Use the Interest Map to figure out what information you need to be able to influence your boss's analysis of the situation and how to improve things in the company. Ask him questions to do a reality check on the assumptions you have made. By asking your boss questions rather than 'assaulting' him with a lecture, you are showing him respect as well as opening the door to collaborative thinking.
Good luck,
Steve
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