Diligence - The Precious Possesion
“The precious possession of a man is diligence.” Proverbs 12:27
Diligence is one of the key aspects of character regardless of the profession – sales representative, systems engineer, policeman, doctor, Sunday school teacher... In building a kick-butt sales force, it is an indispensable quality in your sales reps. Can you even imagine a top shelf sales force with lazy sales reps? I can think of no one who accomplished great things without diligence. Maybe you don't want to do great things??? OK. I'm fine with that. My competition has an opening on their team. I think you should apply. You have my heart felt recommendation.
Can you have strong character without diligence? I'm not sure you can. One of the historical “seven deadly sins” was sloth. Thomas Aquinas did not view sloth as being slow or a little bit lazy, but Aquinas and the church down through the ages generally viewed sloth as the sin of not giving one hundred percent in all that you do. Sloth was an absence of diligence.
In his book, “Beyond Band of Brothers”, Major Dick Winters describes the diligence he put into his own preparation for D-Day and the ensuing battles. “Those entrusted to lead must study their profession to become totally proficient in tactics and technology. Prior to the invasion, I read every tactical manual I could lay my hands on to improve my tactical knowledge and professional competence while the other soldiers were out carousing in the pubs. While they were enjoying the social life of the neighboring towns, I was reading and educating myself, getting ready to lead the men in combat.” You have to realize that this preparation was above and beyond all the daily preparation their company went through for nine months in England as they practiced and exercised virtually any tactical situation they might face once they were in battle. His additional study was on top of the twelve-hour days they were already putting in.
As it happened, shortly after they jumped into Normandy for the D-Day invasion, Winters assumed command of Easy Company, because the previous commander was killed going in. Winters was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his leadership in destroying a battery of enemy artillery on that day, an action that is still studied at West Point as a textbook example for an infantry attack on a superior force. His leadership resulted in a great tactical victory and in the saving of many lives, because the artillery was firing on the Allied forces landing on the beaches.
The sales people at Sun must all be leaders. The days of the “Lone Ranger” sales rep are long gone in our company. Each sales rep must learn to lead a diverse team of engineers, product specialists, and partners who do not report to them. There are a lot of attributes that make a leader, but one essential element of a successful leader is diligence.
Posted at 07:25AM Feb 06, 2008 by George Miller in Personal | Comments[1]
Well put George. I especially liked the part that essentially said, "If you're not giving 110%...you're being lazy". You probably already know this, but there was an awesome HBO series called "Band of Brothers" that was based on that book by Major Winters.
Posted by Chris Mason on February 06, 2008 at 10:42 AM EST #