Category of None

As part of my preparation for an upcoming event for a large multinational company, I was asked to read Joe Calloway’s book Category of One (2003) to get a sense of the types of challenges the company is facing. The book is about what great companies must do to differentiate themselves in the sea of sameness.

In the book, Calloway shares a scenario which he calls, “Let’s Have a Pep Rally” that struck a chord with me and I thought I’d share it with you.

Every year companies hold a big year-end meeting to celebrate the current year and set expectations for the upcoming year. The storyline reads like an overused Hollywood script:

• It begins with someone deciding that we need to hold a year-end meeting to rally the troops and get them fired up for the upcoming year.   
• The next step is to pick a theme for the meeting that we will use as a rally cry as we move into next year: Be Better than Best, The Power of One, Dominate Your Market, Thrive Not Survive, Faster-Better-Greater, etc.
• Then it’s time to decide when and where the event will be held. A nice resort is selected and the budget is approved.
• Now, it’s time to put together an agenda where we’ll have the business leaders speak and share their view of what happened this year and what we can expect for the next year. But wait! No event would be complete without bringing in some great speaker to motivate and educate the team!
• Don’t forget the stunning visuals and videos along with hard-pumping music to keep the energy high. The event closes out with a big call-to-action and everyone pounds their fist in the air while chanting “Ain’t No Stopping Us Now…We’re on the Move.”
• The event ends and everyone gets back to their office Monday morning with their swag (t-shirts with slogans, cup holders, training binders, etc.).
• Fast forward 3 months later and all we see is the status quo in full effect. Nothing changed!

Sound familiar?!

What happened?

As Calloway concludes, the company never REALLY made a decision to GO. Not really. They talked about it. They had roundtables about it. They espoused what their intentions were. That was the easy stuff! In the end, they never decided to GO! They never decided to be Category of One!

As we move into the 3rd and 4th quarter, I know plans are now being hatched to hold the end-of-year annual event. Much like the definition of insanity, the above sequence of events will be repeated unless you consider these 5 questions Calloway proposes:

1) Will you really mean what you say?

2) How far are you willing to take this thing (i.e., change)?

3) What’s your tolerance for chaos?

4) Are you willing to let go of what’s worked in the past to get to where you say you want to go?

5) Are you really committed?

Your responses will determine whether you’re having a Category of One meeting or Category of None pep rally.

Victor Antonio

Victor Antonio has a B.S. Electrical Engineering, an MBA and built a 20-year career as a top sales executive, then President of Global Sales and Marketing for a $420M company before becoming a sales trainer, author, and keynote speaker. He has shared the stage with top business speakers: Rudy Giuliani, Paul Otellini (CEO of Intel), and John May (CEO of FedEx Kinkos). He's the author of 12 books on sales and motivation and 200+ sales training videos. More info at www.VictorAntonio.com

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