I had a passion for sports as I grew up, and in particular, basketball. I was a point guard, and I loved the challenges that went along with playing that position. Point guards have to be fast, eager to learn, and ready to lead. I found myself studying the other point guards of my day, like Nate “Tiny” Archibald, Walt “Clyde” Frazier, and for all of the Washington D.C. sports fans, Kevin Porter. I tried to take a piece of each of their games, and although I never came close to even a whiff of their success, I wasn’t half bad.
Years later, I started coaching basketball, and ended up coaching many teams through the years. I’ll never forget my very first team, however. I stood shoulder to shoulder with a dozen other coaches, and we watched over 100 kids, one-by-one, race up and down the court. We were able to see exactly one jump shot, a lay-up, a dribble down the court ending with one more lay-up. I feverishly took notes, and a few hours later drafted my first team, and felt pretty good about my picks… that is, until they showed up for our first practice.
It had been a week since that fast look at these players, and I was excited about seeing them all together in the gym. When the first player walked in, I was thrilled. He was a little on the short side, but looked fast, eager to learn, and like most point guards, ready to lead. In fact, he looked a lot like me when I was that age. I had drafted a point guard, and I was feeling pretty good about my draft so far. A minute later, player number two came in. He was a little shorter than the first guy, he looked like he had the classic attributes of a point guard, and he reminded me of, uh, me. I had myself another point guard, but every team can use two. Each minute brought another player, and each player looked just like the other. Strangely enough, they all looked just like me when I was their age. Inadvertently, I had drafted players in my own image.
Needless to say, we were small, fast, and fought hard, but as you could probably guess, we struggled to compete with the bigger, more balanced teams. I also found myself with a team of eight leaders, and no followers. The season wasn’t exactly a disaster, but it wasn’t a success either. I had no one to blame but myself; I had drafted this team and I just hadn’t realized what I had done. That team had sure looked good on paper.
In basketball, it’s wonderful to have small, fast players, who aren’t afraid to lead, but basketball is a team sport. To be successful, you need a balanced team; you need strong players, tall players, scrappy players, role players, and more.
Now, I know most of you may not be building a basketball team, but you may be building a team. Take a moment, and think about how easy it would be to inadvertently look to hire team members who you connect with, who communicate in a way that is familiar to you, and who offer skills that look surprisingly similar to your own. It might look good on paper, but what kind of team would that really be? Great teams provide combinations of all sorts of skills. For instance:
- Extroverts like myself will certainly not be afraid to hear themselves talk, but introverts often need to sit back and process information more carefully before speaking. Do you think that kind of balance might be valuable for your team?
- Dominant people will instinctively cut through the clutter and get things moving, while analytical people often counter that with an instinct to measure the moves you are considering. Do you think those kinds of counterbalances might be valuable for your team?
It may be instinctive to surround yourself with people who see things the same way you do, but that theory just doesn’t hold water. You want and need people who actually don’t see things the same way you do. If you aren’t careful, you might just end up, in a sense, bringing in a team of point guards.
What do you get when combine energy, enthusiasm… and great content? You get a “Pocket Sized Pep Talk!” Tune in and you’ll hear a collection of BLArticles®, conversations, and interviews that are sure to teach, motivate, inspire, and dare I say, entertain! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/pocket-sized-pep-talks/id1497772972
I recently appeared on, “It’s Not Rocket Science! Five Questions Over Coffee,” a fun podcast with Stuart Webb. You can listen to the podcast here: https://thecompleteapproach.substack.com/p/five-questions-over-coffee-with-rob#details
If you are looking for something to listen to on your next coffee break you might enjoy this brief chat between me and Tom Bailey, Founder of Succeed Through Speaking and the Succeed Through Speaking podcast. Listen closely if you would like some high value ideas to boost your business results.
You can read the transcript here – https://bit.ly/3BOfU7o
You can watch the podcast here – https://youtu.be/w-QgGvweE2M
You can listen to the podcast here – https://apple.co/2YVGWuN
I Zoomed my way to India to speak with Motivational Diaries, and Ashish Janiani. We spoke for about 30 minutes about sales processes and training for success.
Sales Process To Sales Success || Interview With Robert Jolles – YouTube
If you want to read some “Life Lessons” I was able to share in a recent interview, you’ll find them here: https://worldclassperformer.com/short-life-lessons-from-robert-jolles/
I had the pleasure of appearing on Robert Miller’s, Follow Your Dream Podcast and thoroughly enjoyed the discussion. We go way back in this conversation to my first memories of performance… at age four! I’m sure you’ll enjoy it! https://follow-your-dream.simplecast.com/episodes/rob-jolles-superstar-salesman
I also mixed it up with a wonderful podcaster, Terry McDougall on her Marketing Mambo show. As she puts it, we “Cha-cha-chatted!” If you want to hear sales and marketing go toe-to-toe, you’ll enjoy this show. https://www.buzzsprout.com/1569061/8172686-the-art-of-influence-in-sales-and-marketing-with-rob-jolles
I recently did a podcast with a wonderful, new, and up-and-coming star named Jahmaal Marshall. His podcast is called, “Listen Then Speak.” I’ve done a lot of podcasts, but we got into topics I rarely talk about, and I’m quite sure you’ll enjoy the show! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/listen-then-speak/id1550684472
I’ve appeared on the “Small Business Advocate Show” with Jim Blasingame for almost 20 years now, and you’ll find dozens of our conversations on his website. We just sat down a few weeks ago for a great conversation about selling fundamentals and the strategic use of stories. Here’s a link to over 100 interviews done over the years, including my most recent interview that explores our many behaviors we display that are based more on a default mechanism than actual logic. https://www.smallbusinessadvocate.com/small-business-experts/rob-jolles-134
We posted a video series on delivering amazing online presentations with my friend, Jeremy Webb. We go over some great stuff including:
- How to Select the Best Equipment for Online Presentations
- Pro Tips for Sustaining Interest in Online Presentations
- How to Look Like a Pro!
- Public Speaking Anxiety Tip
- Virtual Office Setup for Online Presentations
You’ll find the whole playlist here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRO7BsBDl6oL-6ZPW3O01x-g5PiR38ljL
I was recently interviewed on the “Salesman Podcast,” which was a lot of fun. If you’re looking to Change Minds, check out this podcast: https://www.salesman.org/the-simple-step-by-step-process-to-influence-anyone-with-rob-jolles/
I loved talking about the book, Why People Don’t Believe You on a podcast that I’m sure you’ll like called Onward Nation: https://predictiveroi.com/podcasts/rob-jolles/
After 30+ years as a professional speaker and trainer, one of the most common questions I get is this: “How do we make sure the training sticks?” Take a moment and listen to this podcast; “SalesChats” with John Golden. If you want to know why most training fails, listen up! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KR3dDOlTK7U&list=FLxBXKhqz0xBwbUPMqNthAJA&index=2&t=1293s