“Forward! No retreat!”

Some people just naturally have a magnetic personality.  Some people are born to lead.  Some people can stand up in a battle, shout, “Follow me, men!” and have the squad plunge into the Valley of the Shadow of Death with them.  And some surpass all that and are gifted to be System Administrators.

I’m not going to kid you—it takes a certain kind of person to be the spear point for any system, but in particular, a CRM system.  By its nature, CRM touches the most passionate folk, sales and finance, right in their most sensitive spot, the wallet.  By the dynamics of what it does, control, report, and determine compensation, CRM has built in conflict.  A strong, outgoing, hard to offend, personality is necessary for longevity in this field.  Being technical is good, but being a leader is vital. 

Friends, your users are looking to you for guidance.  Some may not realize that fact yet, but they are.  They know what they want, money and success, but they don’t know how to get it.  That’s your job.  Your company sets the business rules and makes the strategies, but your job, like that of a squad leader, is to make sure the troops have the tools and the training to execute. 

Sometimes it’s easy to lose site of why we do what we do.  I joke that at times I actually forget my company sells something.  I get so wrapped up in data quality, adoption rates, and validation rules, that I take my eye off the objective.  That’s the way soldiers get killed and companies go out of business.  Never, never, forget that you and your CRM machine exist only to help other people make money and run a business.  That’s it.  All the rest of it is ancillary. 

That’s the point of this brief column today.  Just a reminder to keep your eye on the target and to make sure the troops have the best weapons you can give them.  Now, go out there and signal, “FORWARD!”