Business is Sport
Janusz the founder and his team
27 years ago, Janusz founded one of the largest fish processing companies in Poland. For the next few years, work was everything to him. But now, he only dreamed of retirement. He planned to pass on his fish empire to his daughter, 30-year-old Iza, whom he had employed at the company since she was 23.
Although the company was in very good financial shape, Janusz had a lot of reservations about part of the staff. Not about production, for which his partner Hubert was responsible, but about the sales and marketing department, which - along with administration and accounting - Janusz oversaw personally. Hubert managed production with an iron fist. There was practically Prussian discipline there, which was likely due to the fact that Hubert mainly hired people similar to himself. Precise, concrete, demanding of themselves and others, excellent professionals who knew the fish processing industry inside out. His people knew all its legal aspects, regulations and requirements, EU norms, fishing quotas, etc. Production and machine servicing ran like clockwork.
Unfortunately, it was much worse in the sales department. Michał, the head of the department, who is very popular with clients, has recently seemed to fall into a stupor; he hasn't secured any new contracts in 6 months, and he's been fulfilling his duties related to servicing current clients automatically, clearly without enthusiasm.
Hired two and a half years ago, Arek, who connects very easily with people, apparently, under Michał's influence, fell into extreme relaxation – he also increasingly openly and obviously neglected his duties, wasted time, more pretending to work – especially when Janusz appeared on the horizon – than actually working. And although he became increasingly familiar with clients, nothing came of it.
Dorota, who had been with the company for 17 years, watched all of this with dismay. Initially, she was responsible for preparing sales documents for Janusz, and later for developing proposals that he would take to clients, including international ones, so she also prepared them in English. When the company began expanding into German-speaking markets, Michał joined; he was fluent in Goethe's language, and then finally Arek, who, like Dorota, was also fluent in English.
Dorota was furious. She hadn't liked Michał's work style for a long time, and she saw Arek's hiring as a personal insult. She increasingly criticized both Michał and Arek, and even Janusz himself. She considered him responsible for her colleagues' lack of discipline. She was angry with him for keeping Michał in the company, invariably in a management position, angry that he didn't notice Michał and Arek's slacking, while she, despite having one of the longest tenures in the company, was treated poorly.
Amidst all this, in this whole atmosphere of unspoken regrets, mutual accusations, and envy, Iza – working as a Trade and Marketing department coordinator – didn't feel comfortable, to put it mildly. Although the department employees would fall silent as soon as she appeared near them, Iza could perfectly sense the peculiar atmosphere among them... It certainly didn't make her look forward to taking over the management of the entire company, especially these conflicted people. She herself was most interested in marketing analysis, or rather, all kinds of analyses. Comparing indicators, costs, and revenues, contrasting them, creating simulations – this was Iza's world. Definitely a world of numbers and data, not people. They only absorbed her unnecessarily, like Magda, her assistant, who could talk for hours about nothing and often bothered Iza with some strange questions or meaningless stories – Iza didn't even listen about what. In summary, the Trade and Marketing department was characterized by laxity, mutual distrust, lack of cooperation, and an inability to communicate.
The consultant, whom Janusz had asked for support, quickly noticed all these problems, feeling increasingly uncomfortable working with people whom he himself had chosen, hired, and with whom he had collaborated quite successfully not so long ago. What happened to them?
The consultant quickly understood the situation. However, aware of how complex and multifaceted (due to their long development) the team's problems were, he proposed conducting MaxieDISC® analyses and discussing them together based on a metaphor.
The MaxieDISC® diagnosis showed that:
- Dorota is a CD style.,
- Michal SID style,
- Arek is the ID.,
- Iza – CSD,
- Magda Assistant – IS,
- a Janusz turned out to be an SDI type
As can be seen, each of the subjects—with the exception of Magda—possessed the „power factor,” meaning a component D, though to varying degrees.
The strongest representation of style D was found in Janusz, Dorota, and Arek. This led each of these individuals to believe they „knew better” what needed to be done, how to organize their own work and that of their colleagues, what was most important in this job, etc. While such an attitude is, of course, perfectly natural for a true group leader like Janusz, when it manifested in his subordinates, it caused friction between them, difficulty in submitting to and accepting rules, a conviction of their own uniqueness and infallibility, and the right to question the established order.
Dorota - sales is a process
Despite the „common D,” the dominant representations of the sales team members and Janusz were diametrically opposed; Dorota's dominant C meant that facts and knowledge were most important to her – ordered and used strictly according to procedures. In Dorota's opinion, sales is just another procedure. The client first looks at the technical data – quantity, price, quality, delivery times. Sales is not about complimenting each other and assuring mutual sympathy – which made her recoil from Ark's behavior – but about preparing offers in accordance with procedures with the best possible parameters. Negotiations are a waste of time, as we are certain that the client will not receive a better offer from anyone than ours.
Arek – Selling is like a game and a flirt
In stark contrast to Dorota's approach was Arek's attitude. In his opinion, sales are a kind of social game with elements of flirtation, where the better, smarter, more charming, enchanting person wins, someone who can turn even a stone into chewing gum with their personal charm and charisma. Which always meant Arek. And although this strategy worked with great success during his first year of work – Arek successfully closed many sales in Poland and the Baltic countries – for the last six months the finalization of the sale itself has ceased to be as interesting to him as the process of reaching it, that is, a kind of seducing the client, building a close relationship with them, and exerting influence and impact in an ever-wider range of matters – no longer just business.
It was incomprehensible to Dorota. With undisguised distaste, she listened to how Arek spoke to clients on the phone, often expressing his astonishment through snorts, shaking his head in disbelief, or sarcastic comments. Arek, if he paid any mind to it at all, paradoxically behaved in a way that further astonished, surprised, and disgusted Dorota. He deliberately spoke with some clients, especially female clients, about personal matters in such a way that Dorota could hear and he derived unhidden satisfaction from the signs of her indignation or disgust.
Janusz and Michał – sales are relationships
Meanwhile, for Janusz, peace of mind was the greatest value. A satisfied customer guarantees peace of mind for the company. Therefore, everything should be done to achieve this customer satisfaction and, consequently, peace within the company. Janusz was a warm, friendly, and conciliatory person who could defuse many a ticking human bomb with his own calm demeanor. He was an excellent listener. Customers liked and respected him very much. Janusz would listen, nod his head in understanding, perhaps ask one or two pertinent questions, and at the decisive moment, hand over the pen along with the contract form. Customers almost always signed it immediately, often without even reading it. If a customer did have additional questions, they usually concerned technical matters that Dorota had perfectly covered in the offer. So, Janusz only needed to refer to the documents previously prepared by Dorota.
Janusz liked Michał and saw similarities between them. This led him to believe that Michał would be the best sales manager – better than Dorota, whom he highly valued for her accuracy, analytical mind, and detailed, even meticulous knowledge, but he didn't see her as a leader. She was wise, level-headed, and scrupulous – ideal for difficult, technical clients, but they were a distinct minority. The majority bought from Janusz without even looking at the offer's details. Janusz was convinced that Michał operated in the same way. He considered Arek to be young, still impetuous, though a promising salesman. And strictly a salesman, never a sales manager. From Janusz's perspective, Arek was a cheerful guy who could charm clients quite well and clearly derived satisfaction from it.
Will Iza be able to handle it?
Regarding Iza, Janusz had expected her to be more resourceful, or at least somewhat similar to him – a bit of a sybarite, effortlessly connecting with people and effortlessly earning their sympathy and trust, as well as authority built on mutual respect. Therefore, he observed with concern Iza's stress and withdrawal in her interactions with people, and even a tendency to avoid meetings with more than 2-3 people. Could Iza manage the company with such an approach to people? Would Janusz have to run the business for the rest of his life to maintain the style he established, forgetting about his dream retirement?
Joint discussion of MaxieDISC® report results
Before jointly discussing the MaxieDISC® analysis results, the consultant will hold individual meetings with each of the surveyed employees. Therefore, before the team meeting, each of them already knew their MaxieDISC® profile.
As we began the group discussion of the results, the consultant asked:
– How do you say the word „cel” in English?
– Goal! – Artek replied enthusiastically.
– That's right. A goal, in football terminology, is a "bramka". And who scores goals?
"Footballers!" the group replied, almost in unison.
– Not the coach? – the consultant asked provocatively.
The employees started laughing.
– Exactly, footballers score goals. But what if the footballers thought they were also coaches and told others what to do? How would that affect the entire team's game?
Nooo... bad... bad influence...
— It would have been chaos!
Exactly, chaos. Anything else?
Disconnection. Anarchy.
Demotivation!
– Yes. And that's how it is with you. Everyone wants to be a coach. Meanwhile, there's only one coach. That's Janusz. And one captain of the team, appointed by the coach, who is Michał. In sports, if any player doesn't accept this, there's no place for them on the team.
"He's telling us about football here, and this is business, work, sales..." Dorota objected.
- Ma
The group burst out laughing.
During the rest of the meeting, the consultant discussed the importance of football positions in relation to roles within the company, including sales.
You can be prepared for any role – like in total football, but some roles will suit you better than others, colloquially speaking. It's important to act rationally, effectively, and for the greatest benefit of the company and yourselves – your own development. It's worth directing your energy where it naturally leads you. This will allow you to develop fastest where it's easiest for you. Systematic development by achieving successive set goals in an area that aligns with your dominant style strengthens, inspires, and energizes you to step outside your comfort zone and take on challenges beyond that zone, which don't align with your dominant styles.
Then the consultant asked each of the sales team members to act out a scene, as they saw their colleague. Michał played Dorota, Dorota played Arek, and Arek played Michał. There was a lot of laughter. Janusz and Iza watched the scenes, but did not participate.
Now you understand how you might be perceived by your colleagues. What is our strength, what is the strength of our style, when applied in excess or from the perspective of someone with a drastically different style, can be seen as a weakness. Calmness and composure, when present in excess, can be interpreted as passivity, slowness, indecisiveness, conservatism, and conformity. Energy, extroversion, sociability, and directness – as rudeness, nosiness, crossing boundaries, talkativeness, or buffoonery. In turn, accuracy, detail, control, and substance – as a lack of imagination, closed-mindedness, excessive pedantry, emotional coldness, nitpicking, or a novice's overzealousness.
You must be aware of this and pay attention to how you are perceived and how you can be perceived by colleagues and clients. On the field, a defender can score a goal, but if they are not in a good position, they pass the ball to someone who is in a better scoring position. Therefore, I would like you now – knowing the MaxieDISC® model – to categorize your main clients, i.e., primarily the people you interact with, according to this typology, agreeing on what MaxieDISC® style might be dominant in them, the consultant asked.
Janusz and Iza were already involved in this situation. Although Iza did not know the company's clients as well as those who directly contacted them, she understood the model very well and was most effective in selecting appropriate sales and behavioral strategies for individual types.
Results
The application of the MaxieDISC® study, along with this form of discussion, yielded sensational results. The employees got to know each other better and integrated. Instead of competing, they began to collaborate, transferring clients to each other – where it was also linguistically possible – with whom they had poorer rapport due to differing styles. The diversity of their own dominant styles turned out to be the team's greatest asset. Iza, who was excellent at recognizing styles, began to develop in the direction of HR and coaching, where her introversion was not a disadvantage at all, but rather gave space for employees and coached individuals to express themselves, and her logic and attention to detail helped in formulating accurate coaching questions.
Janusz no longer had any doubts that his daughter would do a great job managing the company.
