By Kirk Mann, Executive Vice President and Head of Transportation, Vendor Solutions

Mitsubishi HC Capital America

Early in my career, I had the chance to shadow the CEO of the equipment finance company for which I was working. He was incredibly intelligent, kind and motivating. I loved listening to him, gaining perspective and applying what I absorbed in many areas of my life.

One day, I learned one of the most important keys to success in business – perhaps life – not from a tip or experience he shared, but from a question he asked.

“Kirk, where are you at for the month?” was the singular question. My response – “I have no idea, but I know I am doing the things that will get me there” – didn’t go over well, and produced an unsettled look on the CEO’s face. He wasn’t used to someone in a sales management position not knowing, estimating or even frantically guessing where they would land for the month at any given point in time.

Looking beyond quantitative measures

From my standpoint, I was more concerned with doing the things I continually needed to be doing to build a bigger and better territory. And I knew that what I was doing worked. In previous years, my territory generated record volumes. I always focused on growing the business beyond any quantitative measure, to be the best and biggest possible, to create the greatest opportunities. It wasn’t until that exchange with the CEO that I realized, and could put into words, how and why what I was doing worked.

Iteration. Wikipedia defines it as “the repetition of a process in order to generate a sequence of outcomes.” In business, it translates to being more concerned with the repetition of a process than with the often-frantic and limiting notion of “where are you?”  No matter what industry, type or size of business, there are never any guarantees that even the best work will close a deal, that revenues will increase or that expenses will go down. But there is something you can guarantee: the next thing you do, the next step you take. You always have control over what you choose to do next. 

Practical iteration

Four actions define how to put an iterative process into practice in a business context.

• Always be talking to someone – with purpose. Depending on your role and position, that may be a customer, a prospect, an employee, a vendor, a colleague or other. The point is not just to exchange pleasantries, but to learn more about their needs, attitudes and perspectives. Over time, you’ll identify potential areas of growth.

• Always be looking for a way to create a better, more focused or different customer-centric process. Take what you learn from the conversations you have and put your mind to work creating options for what could make life better for your company’s customers. Not every idea you have will be a winner. Again, it’s an iterative process. The more you think, the more you create, and you’ll find the ideas with the greatest value.

• Always acknowledge the hard work of colleagues, the success of customers and the accomplishments of peers.
  
  
• Always seek to understand the success of your company’s and your industry’s most successful employees. Look beyond any jealousy or resentment, and find out – for good or bad – how they are succeeding. You’ll learn more about yourself in the process, and can better judge if, or how, you want to adjust your efforts.

In conclusion, develop a bigger, more encompassing outlook and approach than where you stand at a given point. By continually looking ahead, you will take on new responsibilities, learn new systems and ways of solving problems, identify more opportunities and work with new people. Chances are high that you’ll surpass goals, challenge yourself, never become bored – and have a lot more fun in the process.

Stay iterative.