Oh wait! Am I a Numbers Guy?

Everyone knows that first impressions are important. But are they always right? I often wonder about this and have been questioning the validity of that statement in recent years. Don’t worry I have an example! One of my dear friends and I were talking last week about how we couldn’t stand each other when we first met. Over 20 years ago now. We compared notes about what we thought about the other in those early days and man were we off base! First of all, the circumstances in which we met led to a miscommunication that did not accurately portray who we really were. Secondly, we were 16 years old! The point though is that first impressions are important but they aren't everything. This conversation got me thinking about what my peers think of me and what my strengths and weaknesses are.

When I was younger, I enjoyed sports and played everything from basketball and baseball to track and even soccer. Most people knew that and probably thought of me as an athlete. I also started taking piano lessons when I was 5 years old. I played actively until I was about 20 years old. Few people know that and aren’t aware of my appreciation for music. I am very outgoing and enjoy networking. Over the years I have built an extensive network of influential people that have been very generous with their time and eager to help me succeed. If they were polled, I would imagine 100% would say I am extremely extroverted. In many ways I have to agree. However, I go through periods of time where I exhibit introverted characteristics as well. My point is that there is often more than meets the eye. People are complex and have layers. I am no exception.

These days I’m often put in the “sales bucket” when people ask what I do professionally. Whether it's leadership in sales, outside sales, sales process development, or even sales operations it seems that is the category I neatly fit into. Many of my co-workers and previous employees don’t realize that I have a finance degree and love numbers. I aced statistics and set the curve on multiple calculus tests in college. I have always enjoyed numbers and love tracking things. I track my steps for a day, week, month, and year and then try and beat it the next year. I have tracked my net worth monthly since my late 20’s. The exercise of looking at all your accounts and understanding the big picture makes you more aware of how you invest and how you spend. It also helps you keep your finger on the pulse of the market, interest rates, and other economic factors that you normally might not follow.

I love numbers and enjoy the story they often tell. One example of this is my significant increase in posts and engagements on LinkedIn in 2019. As you can imagine I track this monthly as well. I posted consistently one day a week for 6 months and watched my followers grow by 142%. I was astounded by that growth and it was directly attributable to consistent posting, engaging with others, and creating original content. I also took some online courses, reached out for advice from Social Media experts in my network, and made a detailed plan which I stuck to during that period of time.

 I took a break recently and then started posting again with a theme each day and as you can see from the image below my profile views are already up 124% from just last week! All of these numbers are great but if you don’t have a goal, something to compare them to, or context then they often times lack meaning. I recall a story my father told me about one of his mentors Jim Antonio who was famous for asking “what should it be” when it came to numbers. Someone would be giving a board report and say, “we have X dollars in the operating account” and then look to move on to the next item on the agenda. Jim would raise his hand and say something like “that is great but how much should it be.” It is important that we as business leaders track the numbers, but they only have value if we understand them and the story they tell. You have to understand them and the be able to communicate that context in a way your team will relate to the vision and missions of your organization

Numbers don’t lie and thus they serve as a reliable source to help make decisions. I remember in the early days of my first business we were selling a lot and growing like gangbusters. I was hyper focused on sales and lost sight of profitability. The result was cash flow issues. Initially I didn’t understand how we "were doing so well” but struggling to pay bills. Once again it was my dad who showed me the light. He directed my focus to profit. Specifically margin on supply sales and it was then that I noticed we were experiencing significant slippage. After more analysis I learned that one of my leading sales representatives was growing his book of business substantially month over month but was 10% to 15% off our target margin. This unapproved discounting was pulling our overall margin down resulting in less profit per sale than we made previously. Once again numbers helped identify the issue and enabled us to fix it.

Maybe my super power is sales. But I think my secret weapon is numbers.