(By Loyd Ford) Like many others, I have been reading the Walter Isaacson biography of Elon Musk. If you like, dislike, or are confused by Elon Musk, there is little question that he is creating amazing innovation and creating Earth-shaking value in a variety of important areas.
You may still be focused on closing out this year, but sharpening how you manage your sales team now can create a lot of benefits for your revenue in 2024 (and that may be more important than ever).
As I learn more about Elon’s unique management style, here are the five processes I know he would put to work for any station under his command:
1. Question Every Requirement.
This made me laugh because Elon doesn’t want to know where requirements come from – he wants to know the actual name of the person who wrote the requirement. He says the smarter the person, the more the requirement should be questioned. By the way, that includes if the requirement came from Elon Musk himself. He is constantly looking to eliminate unnecessary requirements that slow progress.
In any radio company – large or small – there are rules, guidelines, requirements. They all make sense, right? Maybe…not. Of course, there are proper ways to question requirements, but hopefully you work in an organization that can look at the value of judging requirements and how they may slow or impair the selling process.
2. Delete Any Part Or Process You Can
He says you can always add back if you need to, but he also says there is usually too much process or too many parts (or both). Last week we talked about time spent selling. Step 2 where you delete any part or process you can for sellers allows you to refocus their efforts on time spent selling and grow revenue.
3. Simplify And Optimize
Elon says this should only come after step 2 above. He also says that a common mistake is to simplify and optimize a part or process that shouldn’t exist to begin with. It’s human nature to complicate things. Your sales department may have complications that can be knocked down by a smart manager to clear more time for selling for your team and to make their job more enjoyable.
4. Accelerate Cycle Time
Every process can be speeded up. But it should only be done after you’ve gone through the first three steps above. When we can speed up time, it works in our favor every single time. This is a manager’s job: Faster process = more productivity.
5. Automate
This comes last. Any step you can automate saves time and allows focus to roll to what really matters more. This goes – again – back to more time spent selling. You want to be a manager who focuses on how you can eliminate the crap that keeps your sellers off the street or not making meaningful calls.
We were all young once. It’s been a long time since I thought leadership was about being in charge. It is about caring for your team, making their job easier, holding them accountable and encouraging their success.
Maybe you can look at these five (5) things and apply them to those goals you have for 2024 and help your team fly higher.
Loyd Ford is president and chief strategic officer at Rainmaker Pathway Consulting Works (RPC). They help local radio with ratings and revenue. Reach him anytime at 864.448.4169 or [email protected]. Read Loyd’s Radio Ink archives here.
