Growth Dynamics Get Down

Like you and most everyone else in this country, I want to be back to work. Not this work from home sort of working stuff, but the real work of full days on the calendar and the sense of not having enough time to get done what needs to be done. I miss the frantic moments of traveling from city to city by planes, trains, and automobiles. I trust it is coming back and business will rebound for all of us. At least that is my best desire for all.

You made it to Friday! Did you know it was Friday or are you down to three days of the week: yesterday, today and tomorrow like we are in the Waple house? Do weekends even matter anymore?

A few months ago, I made a very deliberate decision to avoid contributing any negative or political commentary on social media. There are plenty of folks there that express opinions like mine, so me not adding the conversation is not causing anyone to be short on agreement or disagreement to fuel their personal agendas. Plus, I just do not matter that much in the bigger scheme of things going on in the world. The current affairs have certainly given me plenty of opportunities to break my silence, but still I resist joining the fray. As a reward I have found myself being very open to the amazing creativity people have shared as ways of coping with the Coronavirus pandemic and its influence on our day to day living.

As I’ve gotten older my appetite for following sports has waned considerably. I still have favorite teams that I follow although not as fervently as I did at a younger age. Watching a good pro or college football or basketball game on TV keeps my attention most of the time, but I don’t think about the scores or the players much beyond the final buzzer. I view it as strictly entertainment only with little or no impact on my life or my concern.

Symptoms:
Linda was frustrated by her prospect's unwillingness to make a decision. Her prospect said he needed some time to digest the three options outlined in her proposal before making a decision. The prospect added that he was pleased with the proposal and that she had done her job well. Now she found herself in the "chase" mode because the prospect wasn't returning her calls.

Despite the impact of the statistics on new cases and new deaths, today’s news had some shreds of hope for everyone. There is slight indication that the numbers of people infected and reporting to hospitals in New York City has started to decline. In the parlance of the day, the curve appears to be flattening. Personally, I need to see that type of reporting out of place like Chicago, New Orleans and Philadelphia before I start to celebrate, but there is a glimmer of hope that the tide is turning.

I’ve written about the gift of time this pandemic has given to all of us, and I’d like to explore that a bit more in this message.

A short message again today about a moment that happens in the life of a child. This time it happens to be my nine-year-old grandson.

Symptoms:
One of the most common objections salespeople get is about price: "That's a bit more than we were thinking about paying." "Your prices are kind of high." "That just doesn't fit our budget" are typical comments. Salespeople tend to be very quick to take these comments at face value. They assume these price objections are the real issue standing between them and an order, so the path of least resistance is almost always to begin dropping their price to get the sale. And, more often than not, once the price issue has been "resolved", more resistance comes to the surface.