As some of you know, we named our mascot Boldwin during March of the Penguins. As a present to Boldwin for getting his official name, I thought he would like to come with me to visit some customers and coworkers this week.
On day one we learned ALOT:
1) I am afraid of steers - apparently, they are cows with horns and vegetarians (thanks for that most likely untrue fact, Tim Yuan)- but they still scare me...Boldwin is NOT afraid of them
2) I heard the word efficiency more than any other words in all of the conversations we had with customers- '24/'25 planning is all about efficiency and adapting to change in technology (I will get to that).
3) I have made many mistakes these last couple of years. I have gotten complacent in Zoom meetings. Face-to-face meetings and relationship building are key to learning what is REALLY important to our customers and partners. I have failed here- I learned more about customer needs in one day on the road than in weeks of Zoom meetings. Time for me to change.
4) While the leaders of companies are embracing change, their people are afraid to, and their people are the business. Trust, training, constant engagement, and continual education are key. I will focus my time on how to focus past the sale- Time for me to change.
5) No one operates the same. This sounds simple, right? Something I have known for years, but it is not simple. We have products that I fully believe in and that can help any partner operate more efficiently, among a million other wonderful things. But our product HAS to fit each customer's operation model and all of the variations of that model. It isn't simple- again, it's time for me to change.
I could continue this list, as yesterday was eye-opening for me, but I will continue to add to the list today. One last thing- Fort Worth and Dallas are beautiful and full of really nice people who say ma'am and y'all. While I disagree with their sports teams' choices, I would come back anytime to learn more about their history (maybe fewer cow things next time). I'm off to fly to Houston later today - because, apparently, Texas is a large state...who knew!!! Bold Penguin
#bebold #tifandboldwinontheroad
Managing Director & Founder at MITP Agency
2moThought I was coming in early for the urgent “MGMT meeting” but was greeted by mimosa’s and everyone wearing caps. Thanks for making the first day back so enjoyable team 🥰