How do you react and respond in the face of the “no win” scenario?
Once upon a time… One of my team members was given what our leadership eventually admitted was a statistically impossible quota.
Because of this grossly out of whack anomaly with by far our biggest customer, my quota was also not attainable.
It took a couple of weeks to absorb this fact and make peace with the inevitability that we would not hit goal that year. We did, however, make a pact – that we were going to get aggressive, leave it all on the field and “go down swinging.” That was our mantra for the year. “Go down swinging.”
Multiple creative and brilliant deals were created and closed throughout the year. We left no stone unturned.
In the back half of the year, an announcement was made whereby a specific product sale would have its revenue multiplied.
My team hit 114% of goal and my team member had the best financial year of their career. We accepted the tough circumstances, made a plan and executed, letting the chips fall where they may. That’s all we could control. And we won, against all odds.
In Star Trek lore, there is a captain’s test called “The Kobayashi Maru” which is set up in a way to test the character of an aspiring leader in the face of certain defeat. What do you do or have you done in the face of impossible circumstances?
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