d-grunt: noun: someone who’s disgruntled
gomo: noun: someone who goes through the motions
smover: noun: someone who smile & moves
One of the big reasons we’re here is to make good things happen for other people.
It’s simple but for some strange reason, it’s not always easy.
Over the last decade, the Gallup organization has conducted surveys to determine how into our work we are (it’s referred to as ‘employee engagement’). The averages over the decade…
- 29 out of 100 of us are engaged (smovers)
- 54 of 100 are not engaged (gomos)
- 17 of 100 are actively disengaged (d-grunts)
This last group actually ‘works’ to make things worse. Can you imagine how horrible it must be for someone to feel compelled to invest their limited time and energy in tearing things and people down?
Most of us (if not all of us) have been Gomos and D-grunts at times but true D-grunts and Gomos stay there (complaining, watching the clock, entitled, not making good things happen for other people). Unfortunately, sometimes these people will get in the way of you or your team making a sale (or losing a customer).
Here’s my proposal…
As Smovers, 212ers, and people who are SalesTough (aware and responsible), let’s be sure we do our best to lead by example. If we slip, let’s remember we’re obligated to bounce back (Smovish principle #9).
Then, let’s all commit to encouraging someone who’s on the fence between Smoving and being a Gomo (and remind them it’s much more fun on this side… and the customer pays the bills). Maybe, if we each have a small success, the example will awaken and encourage even the D-grunts to reconsider their ways. How amazing would that be?
How do you save a Gomo or D-grunt? I believe it begins by loving our people which as you might guess, isn’t all hugs, kisses, and rainbows. It’s about sweeping away the eggshells (theirs and ours) and going for truth.
For those who’ve not read my latest essay, Love Your People, you can find it here (a 5-minute read at most). We’ve published it in a cool little booklet format with questions and thoughts that can help you get closer to loving your people more consistently (kind of a work/play book).
My presentation of Cross the Line might also be a helpful tool for encouraging someone. You can watch that here or read the essay here.
Gallup’s “State of the American Workplace” can be found here.
Now go sell something.~>
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Copyright © 2010 by Give More Media Inc. This was written by Sam Parker. If you’d like to tell people about it somewhere (e.g., blog, newsletter, Facebook, social media), please reference Sam Parker of JustSell.com as the author and link directly to the article. Excerpts are great but please don’t publish the article in its entirety without advanced written permission (email Sam using the address at the bottom of this page).