Learn Earn and Return

I recently had the pleasure of mentoring a 24-year-old who had just joined a new tech company and was looking for career guidance. The first thing he told me was things were not going as expected (remember, age 24 and this is his second job, ever). I asked, “Why did you leave the job you had, the one that sounded pretty fun?” The reply: I received a significant base salary increase”. Hmmmm... I didn't like that answer and his response brought me back to my last blog and to the idea of Learn, Earn and Return. Some people may, have the impression that the first 18 years of my career were pretty straightforward; all about money, progression, and smooth sailing up the career ladder.

Wrong. 

In my last blog I talked about this great guy Dave Schwickerath being pivotal in hiring me for my first real sales job but what I didn't include was he also gave me the boot after only six months! I’d been hired to be a customer service representative cleverly disguised to do two things. The first: mainframe MIPS upgrades (for those who don’t know, MIP = millions of instructions per second = the way you license a mainframe). The second: merge contracts of acquired companies. This was really a financial engineering role that was made particularly tough as we literately had no tools - no computers to do the calculations. I failed miserably at both. It led to a meeting with Dave who said—to my face:

“Jon, this is not good news. I am taking you out of this CSR job and sending you to Oklahoma as part of our new distributed business. You’ll be selling our new products to new customers.” (Brutal!)

So, to be clear: I didn’t just have all of Oklahoma; I had all the territories made up of companies that didn’t own a CA product and certainly didn’t know CA (Hint: no one wanted this job.) Dave then said, “Go home, drink a beer, kick something, and then make a choice.” That’s exactly what I did, at least, the going home and drinking beer part. (I could only afford to buy Keystone Light because of my 20K salary. ) But I was single with no kids, no bills so after getting over my emotions I chose to embark on a series of new challenges. The change that Dave made for me was pivotal, it forced me into becoming a hunting, resilient, new business sales person.

So, off I go, leaving Arizona to fly to Oklahoma every week to CA’s not-installed account territories. I got to know all the “big places,” like Lawton, Stillwater, Ponca City, and I would occasionally be blessed with some sales calls on small companies in big markets like Oklahoma City, Tulsa; driving through those green fields every week, with no distractions except call on technical managers of mid-size companies who had no clue who I was or what I was selling, just tons of time learning how to sell new business. It was everything I said about performing, but through the next 18 years of ups and downs, it would first be about learning (there would not be EARN for quite some time).

I quickly learned, for example, that in order to survive I had to adapt to local cultures, vary my style according to my customers, and learn how to overcome objections. (“No time, no need, not money” meant time to get to work!) 10, 4, 2, and 1 was born because in order to perform I had to start tracking my activity rigidly and holding myself accountable to goals every week. I learned the importance of getting badged in, knowing how to speak Oklahoma (i.e., say things like “Y’aall”), and bringing your boss and other key resources with you wherever you go. These are principles I teach to this day. This journey to the desolate territories was just beginning after Oklahoma, I was tasked next with VSE mainframe accounts in West Texas, parts of Kansas, and Colorado, if you don’t know what a VSE mainframe is its basically the cheapest system you can buy and was the least favorite accounts to have. There was nothing but hard work, and no short cuts in these assignments but later I would be thankful for this type of business upbringing. 

Only recently after joining a new company I heard the term “Learn, Earn and Return” from a client and friend Kathy Scheirman who was asking why I had joined BMC. I replied I believe I can learn here. While I never formally used Kathy's term, when I reflected back on my journey it made so much sense. Oklahoma started that journey for me.  As I changed multiple jobs at CA, and then jobs, companies and geographies through the years, I kept absorbing lesson along the way. And I still do.

So back to the advice I gave to that young salesperson:

1.    Get your Malcolm Gladwell 10K hours getting your teeth kicked in! Consider all career changes as failing forward and value the experience. Save your commissions and don't buy stupid stuff. It will pay off later

2.    Dysfunction will teach you what not to do. I had great bosses and I had not so great bosses. I learned from both. Don’t QUIT!

3.    Some people run into fires, some run away. Make a choice. Just because people around you are quitting or being negative doesn’t mean you have to. Find the opportunity in dysfunction, change it, and learn along the way

4.    Learning shows up in many unexpected places: customers, other salespeople, bosses of the boss, HQ visits, pre-sales engineers, observe who is doing it right and be a sponge to those people! When you have the right attitude and are willing to do all the crap jobs in the spirit of learning, you will be prepared for the long haul.

5.    Attitude is everything. With the right attitude and my eyes open always looking for a way to help, I was able to find new unique challenges—and learn— every step along the way. This isn’t selling cars you’re in the technology industry where everything changes very quickly…. get ready for it!

6.    The goals and vision you set for your life should be yours, not that of your parents, spouse, coworker, neighbor’s, friend’s brother’s daughter, cousin, Facebook friends or Instagram followers. Are you still learning? That’s a good enough test for whether or not you’re in the right place right now.

7.    Know and be grounded in who you are. Without self-knowledge and self-esteem, it’s hard to make the Learn Earn Return a way of life. You might start to identify who you are with your job and that won’t work. (More on my views on Self Esteem and leadership in another post.)

8.    Long term career success is all about learning, NOT about salary, RSU’s, how many people work for you or your title, and keeping the long haul in mind while knowing the earning then will solve itself.

In conclusion the words of my dad, Dan Hunter say it best:

“ Don’t chase money, son; get really good at something and let money chase you.” 

Can you remember the grind in your early days? Do you think there is a young up and comer out there right now who could use your wisdom?