Are You Insane?

Of late I have seen more insanity in the workplace that usual. Here are some samples of insanity I have been a witness to:

• A friend of mine told me how one of her peers had her office door removed (without consulting her) so he could “better communicate with his team”.
• I was chatting to someone on a flight to Alice Springs who worked for a major bank. An external consultant recommended that as part of an OH&S audit one of the branches to be sampled was Tennant Creek. An external OH&S lawyer and senior HR person had to travel for a day and a half to perform a 90 minute interview that was not permitted to be done by phone.
• I have personally sat in a meeting called to discuss why we were having so many meetings

Personally, I cannot understand why any of these and many other things happen. I see insanity on the Trade Show and Expo floor also.

At a recent three day trade show, one of the exhibitors was so embarrassed about how her stand was doing, she would not call her manager and tell them their figures at the end of each day. They were 75% down on previous shows. I asked if she had done anything different from a previous show and she said yes. Their new products needed some explaining so they kept the stock out of the customers reach. For almost two days they had this format. Even though in the old format they had made major sales! I told her to instantly change the booth back to have the stock at the front with the new stock to one side. They had not finished the change and it started to make an impact. Visitors saw the stock and came up to ask questions and buy.

Einstein defined insanity as doing the same thing over and over while expecting a different result.

If what you are doing on a show floor is not working, change it. If your greetings and attempts to engage don’t work, change them. If you booth doesn’t look good, change it. If your staff are

not working out, change them. Most shows are at least two days long, don’t get to the end and say “It didn’t work”. That would be insane. If something is not working, change it.

What insanity do you need to change at your next show or in your work place?


Warwick

PS Many people have asked where can they see me speak. I am speaking at an upcoming seminar (that is remarkably affordable – some would say insane!) in Melbourne on How to Get More Face to Face Sales. Get the details here.