Get Rid of the Wrong People – Fast! Why a Three-Month Grace Period Can Cost You Three Years Today, I want to discuss a truth that many entrepreneurs, managers, and HR professionals are aware of but often don't take to heart: Having the wrong people on your team costs money, time, energy, motivation, and, in the worst-case scenario, the future of your company. And no, I'm not talking about someone having a bad day or dealing with an exceptional situation. I'm talking about the people who fundamentally don't fit in: In terms of performance, culture, or character. It is exactly during economic downturns that problems worsen. The markets are uneasy, interest rates are high, budgets are being cut, projects face delays, and investments are on hold. Customers take longer to decide. Meanwhile, competition for orders becomes fiercer than ever before. At the same time, companies are under immense pressure to stay profitable and control costs. In such times, every mistake, poor decision, and especially every bad personnel choice, becomes twice as costly! The tragedy is that it is exactly during these times that many companies fail to lead with clarity. Why? Because uncertainty causes paralysis. Because they are afraid of making wrong decisions, they prefer to do nothing at all. Because they hope that problems will solve themselves "on their own". Because they think now is not the right time to replace someone. The truth is: There is no better time to remove the wrong people from the team than right now! Every day you keep the wrong ones is a day you can't work effectively with the right ones. And no one will get this lost time back for you. Or to paraphrase Adorno: "There is nothing right in the wrong." Cost of Goods and Personnel In most companies, I keep seeing the same patterns: The two largest cost blocks are the cost of goods sold and personnel expenses. Depending on the industry, the cost of goods typically makes up 40 to 50 percent of the sale, and staff costs account for another 20 to 25 percent. Added together, this is up to 70 percent of the total costs. The material that a company needs for its products or services is, of course, indispensable. Without raw materials, there is no production; without goods, there is no revenue. However, there is a significant difference when it comes to personnel: materials are ordered, delivered, processed, and then the process is complete. Staff remains. And that can be either your greatest advantage or your biggest slowdown. The Principle of Hope is Sabotage of One's Own Company! And this is exactly where one of the biggest and most underestimated problems lies: Too many companies have become accustomed to mediocrity. They simply allow weak or unsuitable employees to continue to work as if the issue would somehow resolve itself. This is the leadership version of the "Principle of Hope". And hope is not a strategy, especially not in leadership. It is sabotage of one's own company! Anyone who seriously believes that a weak runner will miraculously become a sprinter at some point should ask themselves: Have you ever experienced in a sports club that the last person on the track suddenly became the first without training, without effort, and without change? Hardly. And yet this is precisely how many managers act: They hope that performance will increase on its own just because time passes. It's like turning the weakest link into a coxswain in Olympic eight-man rowing. No coach in the world would allow such a thing! It would be the assured end of the competition. However, in everyday business life, this is exactly what happens every day: The slowest person sets the pace unnoticed, the strong have to adapt involuntarily, and overall performance decreases. The team is still moving, but no longer at full speed ahead; in the best case, it is just moving in a circle, so that it doesn't sink. And this is the exact moment where it is decided how quickly a company reacts or whether it reacts at all. The hardest, and simultaneously most effective determining factor, is the probation period. Ulvi's Law: Shorter Probation Periods Many people in Germany confuse probation periods and protection against dismissal – and in practice, this leads to expensive mistakes. The law states that legal protection against dismissal only takes effect after six months of service with the company. This means that within the first six months, you can usually part with an employee much more easily. But what do most companies do? They also set the probation period at six months, "because that's just how you do it," or because that's what it says in the standard contracts. It may seem logical at first glance, but it's a massive leadership mistake! Because what happens? A new employee knows: "I now have six months to prove myself." That sounds reasonable, but psychologically, something else happens: He postpones his own performance standards. The first few weeks are more of a warm-up than a real sprint. My tip, therefore, may seem counterintuitive, but it is remarkably effective: Shorten the probation period to three months! Why? Because it sends a crystal-clear message. It forces both sides to deliver quickly. The employee must immediately demonstrate their capabilities, and you, as a manager, must judge them just as quickly to determine whether they are a good fit. This takes the "Let's wait and see" approach completely out of the game. And now we get to the crucial point: With an experienced employee (and I'm talking about individuals with five, six, or seven years of professional experience), you don't need six months to determine if they are performing. After a week, you'll have to see if they bring power to the game. After a week, they should have reached 80 to 90% of their performance level. The remaining 10 to 20 percent is fine-tuning, which they can work on over the next few weeks. However, you immediately recognize the basic dynamic: Whether someone shows initiative, takes responsibility, networks internally, and actively seeks solutions. If he is still waiting for someone to write him a to-do list after a week, if he remains passive, if he delegates every responsibility upwards, he will not suddenly turn into a top performer in the fourth month. That doesn't happen. I call this Ulvi's Law: After four weeks at the latest, you know whether the new person is a self-starter or whether they are hiding behind excuses, meaningless coordination phrases, and "We should..." sentences. And if you're still unsure after these four weeks whether you want that person next to you in the trenches, then it's a no. This applies to both emergencies and everyday life. Imagine the litmus test: You have a crucial customer appointment, but you can't go yourself. Would you send this employee alone with complete confidence that he will rock the appointment and strengthen your position? If your answer is no or "I don't know", then that's already a no. No long hesitation, no further grace period. Get rid of him or her! Immediately! Clear Metrics instead of Gut Feeling The problem with grace periods is that they create habituation on both sides. The employee thinks the pace is normal. The management thinks he will develop. But development without pressure is like fitness without training: You tell yourself that you'll "keep at it", but your belly doesn't get smaller. The wrong people don't just stand still; they drag the rest of the team down with them. The good ones see this, get frustrated, and leave at some point. And the company loses not only the weak ones, but also the top performers. Hallelujah! So, what to do? It's simple: Set clear expectations! I like to work with a simple 10-point system, tailored to the role of each employee. Sales, for example, is about personality, representation of the company, verbal and written communication, following up with customers, product knowledge, and reliability. Accounting is about getting the money in. Period. Whoever pays discount invoices first saves money. Those who consistently address defaulting customers improve liquidity. This is measurable. And the surprising thing is that if you go through this review openly with people, many will thank you for it. Finally, they know where they stand. It is finally clear where they are strong and where they have to step up. Translation of the graphic: Employee Evaluation – 10-Point System (Example) Reliability Product Knowledge Follow-Up with Customers Written Communication Verbal Communication Representation of the Company Personality Evaluation (1-10) And here, we are not only talking about salary and benefits, when we talk about costs. You also pay in lost opportunities: Customers that are not won, projects that are not completed, processes that drag on. If you give a sales representative a car, a laptop, and training on top of it, the costs quickly add up. The real disaster, however, is the opportunity cost, i.e., the missed opportunities that no one will be able to give back to you. Conclusion: Get Rid of the Wrong People! Therefore, my crystal-clear plea: Remove the wrong people as quickly as possible. No months of stalling tactics, no "He just needs a little more time", no waiting for the miracle that never happens. Every week that you leave a weak performer in the team is like a leak in the boat: In the beginning, it only leaks a bit, but at some point, the water is up to your neck. And then it's too late. The rule is simple: After a week, a professional must perform at 80 percent. Those who are not yet visibly in the game will not be in it in the third month either. After four weeks, the decision has to be made: Does he stay or does he go? Anything less than that is nothing more than wasting time and money! Beware of Backfire! And don't underestimate the chain reaction: Anyone who doesn't deliver drags the team down with him. The good guys have to make up for what the bad guy didn't get done. The mood changes, the level of service drops, and the customers notice it. The truly exceptional ones eventually leave. And you end up sitting with exactly those who should have left you long ago. The costs are not only salary and benefits. You also pay with lost projects, missed customers, and missed opportunities. The sum of these opportunity costs is often ten times the actual salary. And the longer you wait, the greater the damage will be. Three months of a false grace period can cost you three years. Not only financially, but also strategically.
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Get Rid of the Wrong People – Fast! Why a Three-Month Grace Period Can Cost You Three Years
Today, I want to discuss a truth that many entrepreneurs, managers, and HR professionals are aware of but often don't take to heart: Having the wrong people on your team costs money, time, energy, motivation, and, in the worst-case scenario, the future of your company. And no, I'm not talking about someone having a bad day or dealing with an exceptional situation. I'm talking about the people who fundamentally don't fit in: In terms of performance, culture, or character.
It is exactly during economic downturns that problems worsen. The markets are uneasy, interest rates are high, budgets are being cut, projects face delays, and investments are on hold. Customers take longer to decide. Meanwhile, competition for orders becomes fiercer than ever before. At the same time, companies are under immense pressure to stay profitable and control costs. In such times, every mistake, poor decision, and especially every bad personnel choice, becomes twice as costly!
The tragedy is that it is exactly during these times that many companies fail to lead with clarity. Why? Because uncertainty causes paralysis. Because they are afraid of making wrong decisions, they prefer to do nothing at all. Because they hope that problems will solve themselves "on their own". Because they think now is not the right time to replace someone.
The truth is: There is no better time to remove the wrong people from the team than right now! Every day you keep the wrong ones is a day you can't work effectively with the right ones. And no one will get this lost time back for you. Or to paraphrase Adorno: "There is nothing right in the wrong."
:devider:
Cost of Goods and Personnel
In most companies, I keep seeing the same patterns: The two largest cost blocks are the cost of goods sold and personnel expenses. Depending on the industry, the cost of goods typically makes up 40 to 50 percent of the sale, and staff costs account for another 20 to 25 percent. Added together, this is up to 70 percent of the total costs. The material that a company needs for its products or services is, of course, indispensable. Without raw materials, there is no production; without goods, there is no revenue. However, there is a significant difference when it comes to personnel: materials are ordered, delivered, processed, and then the process is complete. Staff remains. And that can be either your greatest advantage or your biggest slowdown.
The Principle of Hope is Sabotage of One's Own Company!
And this is exactly where one of the biggest and most underestimated problems lies: Too many companies have become accustomed to mediocrity. They simply allow weak or unsuitable employees to continue to work as if the issue would somehow resolve itself. This is the leadership version of the "Principle of Hope". And hope is not a strategy, especially not in leadership. It is sabotage of one's own company!
Anyone who seriously believes that a weak runner will miraculously become a sprinter at some point should ask themselves: Have you ever experienced in a sports club that the last person on the track suddenly became the first without training, without effort, and without change? Hardly. And yet this is precisely how many managers act: They hope that performance will increase on its own just because time passes.
It's like turning the weakest link into a coxswain in Olympic eight-man rowing. No coach in the world would allow such a thing! It would be the assured end of the competition. However, in everyday business life, this is exactly what happens every day: The slowest person sets the pace unnoticed, the strong have to adapt involuntarily, and overall performance decreases. The team is still moving, but no longer at full speed ahead; in the best case, it is just moving in a circle, so that it doesn't sink. And this is the exact moment where it is decided how quickly a company reacts or whether it reacts at all. The hardest, and simultaneously most effective determining factor, is the probation period.
AYCON ⎜Ulvi I. AYDIN ⎜www.aycon.biz
Ulvi's Law: Shorter Probation Periods
Many people in Germany confuse probation periods and protection against dismissal – and in practice, this leads to expensive mistakes. The law states that legal protection against dismissal only takes effect after six months of service with the company. This means that within the first six months, you can usually part with an employee much more easily. But what do most companies do? They also set the probation period at six months, "because that's just how you do it," or because that's what it says in the standard contracts. It may seem logical at first glance, but it's a massive leadership mistake!
Because what happens? A new employee knows: "I now have six months to prove myself." That sounds reasonable, but psychologically, something else happens: He postpones his own performance standards. The first few weeks are more of a warm-up than a real sprint. My tip, therefore, may seem counterintuitive, but it is remarkably effective: Shorten the probation period to three months! Why? Because it sends a crystal-clear message. It forces both sides to deliver quickly. The employee must immediately demonstrate their capabilities, and you, as a manager, must judge them just as quickly to determine whether they are a good fit. This takes the "Let's wait and see" approach completely out of the game.
And now we get to the crucial point: With an experienced employee (and I'm talking about individuals with five, six, or seven years of professional experience), you don't need six months to determine if they are performing. After a week, you'll have to see if they bring power to the game. After a week, they should have reached 80 to 90% of their performance level. The remaining 10 to 20 percent is fine-tuning, which they can work on over the next few weeks. However, you immediately recognize the basic dynamic: Whether someone shows initiative, takes responsibility, networks internally, and actively seeks solutions. If he is still waiting for someone to write him a to-do list after a week, if he remains passive, if he delegates every responsibility upwards, he will not suddenly turn into a top performer in the fourth month. That doesn't happen.
I call this Ulvi's Law: After four weeks at the latest, you know whether the new person is a self-starter or whether they are hiding behind excuses, meaningless coordination phrases, and "We should..." sentences. And if you're still unsure after these four weeks whether you want that person next to you in the trenches, then it's a no. This applies to both emergencies and everyday life. Imagine the litmus test: You have a crucial customer appointment, but you can't go yourself. Would you send this employee alone with complete confidence that he will rock the appointment and strengthen your position? If your answer is no or "I don't know", then that's already a no. No long hesitation, no further grace period. Get rid of him or her! Immediately!
Clear Metrics instead of Gut Feeling
The problem with grace periods is that they create habituation on both sides. The employee thinks the pace is normal. The management thinks he will develop. But development without pressure is like fitness without training: You tell yourself that you'll "keep at it", but your belly doesn't get smaller. The wrong people don't just stand still; they drag the rest of the team down with them. The good ones see this, get frustrated, and leave at some point. And the company loses not only the weak ones, but also the top performers. Hallelujah!
So, what to do? It's simple: Set clear expectations! I like to work with a simple 10-point system, tailored to the role of each employee. Sales, for example, is about personality, representation of the company, verbal and written communication, following up with customers, product knowledge, and reliability. Accounting is about getting the money in. Period. Whoever pays discount invoices first saves money. Those who consistently address defaulting customers improve liquidity. This is measurable. And the surprising thing is that if you go through this review openly with people, many will thank you for it. Finally, they know where they stand. It is finally clear where they are strong and where they have to step up.
And here, we are not only talking about salary and benefits, when we talk about costs. You also pay in lost opportunities: Customers that are not won, projects that are not completed, processes that drag on. If you give a sales representative a car, a laptop, and training on top of it, the costs quickly add up. The real disaster, however, is the opportunity cost, i.e., the missed opportunities that no one will be able to give back to you.
Conclusion: Get Rid of the Wrong People!
Therefore, my crystal-clear plea: Remove the wrong people as quickly as possible. No months of stalling tactics, no "He just needs a little more time", no waiting for the miracle that never happens. Every week that you leave a weak performer in the team is like a leak in the boat: In the beginning, it only leaks a bit, but at some point, the water is up to your neck. And then it's too late. The rule is simple: After a week, a professional must perform at 80 percent. Those who are not yet visibly in the game will not be in it in the third month either. After four weeks, the decision has to be made: Does he stay or does he go? Anything less than that is nothing more than wasting time and money!
Beware of Backfire!
And don't underestimate the chain reaction: Anyone who doesn't deliver drags the team down with him. The good guys have to make up for what the bad guy didn't get done. The mood changes, the level of service drops, and the customers notice it. The truly exceptional ones eventually leave. And you end up sitting with exactly those who should have left you long ago. The costs are not only salary and benefits. You also pay with lost projects, missed customers, and missed opportunities. The sum of these opportunity costs is often ten times the actual salary. And the longer you wait, the greater the damage will be. Three months of a false grace period can cost you three years. Not only financially, but also strategically.
Ulvi I. Aydin
35 Jahre Erfahrung in Handel und Industrie. Seit 2005 als Manager auf Zeit. Für Unternehmen, die Entscheidungen brauchen und keine Präsentation.
Netzwerken ist kein Kuschelkurs. Es ist Chefsache!
Wer glaubt, Erfolg sei eine Einzelleistung, hat das Spiel nicht verstanden. Hand aufs Herz: Wie oft hast Du schon auf LinkedIn jemanden vernetzt, eine Visitenkarte eingesammelt oder bei einem Business-Event Small Talk betrieben – und danach ist genau nichts passiert? Willkommen im Club der Kontaktesammler! Aber Netzwerken ist kein Sammelalbum. Und schon gar kein Wettbewerb um die meisten LinkedIn-Kontakte. Netzwerken ist eine Haltung. Eine strategische Entscheidung. Und vor allem: echte Arbeit. Denn Geschäfte werden zwischen Menschen gemacht. Vertrauen entsteht nicht per Mausklick. Und Beziehungen lassen sich nicht auf Knopfdruck aktivieren, wenn der nächste Auftrag winkt. Wer erst dann anruft, wenn er etwas braucht, hat kein Netzwerk. Er hat eine Kontaktliste mit Ablaufdatum. Geben kommt vor Nehmen. Immer! Erfolgreiche Netzwerker verstehen ein simples Prinzip: Erst geben, dann nehmen. Nicht, weil sie naiv sind. Sondern weil sie verstanden haben, wie nachhaltiger Erfolg funktioniert. Ein guter Kontakt ist kein potenzieller Umsatz. Ein guter Kontakt ist zunächst einmal ein Mensch. Mit Interessen, Herausforderungen, Zielen und eigenen Geschichten. Sei neugierig. Hör zu. Verbinde Menschen. Teile Wissen. Öffne Türen. Und erwarte nicht nach jedem Gespräch eine Gegenleistung. Großzügigkeit ist keine Schwäche. Sie ist eine verdammt starke unternehmerische Kompetenz. Dein Netzwerk ist Dein Wettbewerbsvorteil! Fachwissen ist wichtig. Kapital ist wichtig. Technologie ist wichtig. Aber was passiert, wenn Du plötzlich vor einer Herausforderung stehst, für die Du selbst keine Lösung hast? Dann brauchst Du Menschen. Menschen, die Dich kennen. Menschen, die Dir vertrauen. Menschen, die ans Telefon gehen, wenn es wirklich darauf ankommt. Das ist der Unterschied zwischen Kontakten und Beziehungen. Und genau deshalb gehört Netzwerken nicht in die Kaffeepause oder an den Rand einer Veranstaltung. Netzwerken ist Chefsache! Es gehört in die Unternehmensstrategie, in die Führungskultur und in den persönlichen Werkzeugkasten jeder Unternehmerin und jedes Unternehmers. Schluss mit Visitenkarten-Bingo! Mit unserem Buch „Chefsache Netzwerken – Warum Vertrauen, Beziehungen und Großzügigkeit über Erfolg entscheiden“ wollen wir genau darüber sprechen. Gemeinsam mit Peter Buchenau und zwölf Führungspersönlichkeiten zeigen wir, wie Netzwerke wirklich funktionieren – analog, digital, strategisch und vor allem menschlich. Mit Erfahrungen aus der Praxis, unterschiedlichen Perspektiven und einer klaren Botschaft: Wer langfristig erfolgreich sein will, muss bereit sein, Beziehungen aufzubauen, bevor er sie braucht. Mein Rat? Geh raus. Sprich Menschen an. Sei interessiert. Sei großzügig. Bleib dran. Und vor allem: Sei kein Netzwerker, der nur dann auftaucht, wenn er etwas verkaufen will. Denn am Ende gewinnt nicht der mit den meisten Kontakten. Sondern der, dem die Menschen vertrauen. Let's network. But do it right! Ulvi Aydin
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Vertrauen, Beziehungen und Großzügigkeit sind entscheidend!
The Customer Just Wants a Hole in the Wall. Customers buy for their reasons. Never for yours. Some sales presentations feel like an engineering department has taken the customer hostage. Forty slides. Technical specifications. Product architecture. Certifications. Company history. More specifications. More features. More explanations. And somewhere across the table sits a customer thinking: “Fine. But how does any of this solve my problem?” We keep trying to impress customers with everything we know. Everything we have developed. Everything our product can do. We want to convince. Convince. Convince. But we forget to understand. The customer does not necessarily want an exceptionally sophisticated, incredibly reliable, technically superior drill. The customer just wants a hole in the wall. And even that hole serves a purpose. Perhaps they want to hang a picture. Install a shelf. Finish a job before the next customer arrives. Your drill is part of their solution. It is probably not the center of their world. Get used to it. Two Companies. One Stranded Customer. Imagine your car breaks down on the highway. Traffic is flying past. It is getting dark. You have somewhere to be. Your phone battery is running low. You search for roadside assistance and find two companies. The first tells you: “Our fleet consists of the latest recovery vehicles. Every vehicle is maintained to the highest standards. Our technicians hold multiple certifications, have decades of combined experience, and speak several languages. We operate an extensive service network.” Wonderful. You are still standing beside the highway. The second tells you: “Wherever you break down, we’ll get you back on the road within 30 minutes. Guaranteed.” Which one has your attention? The first company describes its capabilities. The second understands your situation. You are not standing there hoping to meet a highly certified technician. You want to get moving. You want to feel safe. You want someone to take responsibility and tell you when this miserable interruption will end. That is your reason to buy. Of course, a promise like that must be deliverable. A bold headline without operational substance is a broken promise waiting to happen. But the sales lesson is clear: start with the outcome the customer needs. Then explain why you can deliver it. Your Technical Excellence Needs a Customer Purpose. Technical competence matters. Reliability matters. Certifications can matter enormously. But their relevance depends on the customer’s problem. A technically sophisticated product may reduce downtime. A well-maintained service fleet may make response times more dependable. An experienced technician may solve the problem on the first visit. Make that connection. Do not leave the customer to translate your features into value while you advance to slide 37. “Our motor has these technical characteristics” is information. “This reduces the risk of an unplanned shutdown in your production line” connects that information to a business concern. And then comes the question that makes the conversation useful: “What does an hour of downtime cost you?” Now you are discussing the customer’s business. Now the specifications have a purpose. Ask Until You Understand the Buying Reason. Before you build your pitch, find out what the customer needs to achieve. What is going wrong today? What must improve? Why now? What happens if nothing changes? Who will have to defend the decision internally? What evidence will they need? Listen carefully to the answers. One customer needs speed. Another needs predictability. Another needs lower operating costs. Another needs a supplier who will answer the phone when something goes wrong at two in the morning. The same product can serve very different buying reasons. If your pitch stays identical regardless of who is sitting across the table, you are probably talking too much about yourself. Use the customer’s language. Address the customer’s priorities. Build your argument from the customer’s position. Your internal enthusiasm for a feature does not automatically make it a purchasing criterion. Recognize When You Have Said Enough. There is another expensive sales habit: continuing to present after the customer has heard what they need. They ask about delivery. You explain another feature. They ask about implementation. You open another technical slide. They ask how quickly you can start. You return to your company’s global footprint. Pay attention. Those questions may signal that the customer is already considering how to move forward. Find out what remains unresolved. Confirm the decision criteria. Agree on the next step. Do not bury a buying signal under another ten slides. A strong salesperson knows the product. An excellent salesperson knows which parts of that knowledge matter to this customer—and when to stop talking. Before your next pitch, look at every slide and ask: “Which customer concern does this answer?” If you cannot answer, question why the slide is there. The customer has a problem to solve, a result to deliver, and reasons for choosing whom to trust. Find those reasons. Build your case around them. Prove you can deliver. The customer buys for their reasons. Never for yours. And sometimes, all they need to hear is: “We understand. We’ll get you back on the road.”
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The customer buys for their reasons. Never for yours.
What Pediatric Heart Surgeons Learned from Ferrari – Benchmarking at Its Best Anyone who looks for the best only within their own industry has fundamentally misunderstood benchmarking. A remarkable story from pediatric cardiac surgery demonstrates what can happen when people are willing to look beyond their own industry and learn from the best in the world. What do pediatric heart surgeons and Formula 1 pit crews have in common? At first glance: absolutely nothing. One group fights to save the lives of critically ill children. The other fights to shave fractions of a second off lap times. And yet, they share something crucial: Both must master highly complex procedures under enormous time pressure. Every movement must be precise. Every team member must know exactly what to do. Every mistake can have serious consequences. It was precisely this common ground that led to one of the most fascinating benchmarking projects I have ever come across. When Pediatric Heart Surgeons Went to School at Ferrari At London's renowned Great Ormond Street Hospital, pediatric cardiac surgeons were facing a serious challenge. Open-heart surgery on children was an extremely complex procedure. But one of the most critical phases actually began after surgery: transferring young patients from the operating room to the intensive care unit. Ventilators had to be switched. Monitoring equipment had to be connected. Medications had to be checked. Vital information had to be communicated. Multiple specialists. Multiple tasks. Very little time. And an enormous potential for error. The doctors could have visited other hospitals. They could have organized medical conferences or established additional working groups. Instead, they asked a completely different question: Who in the world has mastered the art of coordinating multiple specialists with absolute precision under extreme time pressure? The answer was surprising. Ferrari. Formula 1. The pit stop. A Formula 1 Pit Stop Becomes a Model for Intensive Care The medical team visited Ferrari in Maranello, Italy, and studied how its pit crew operated. What they witnessed was not frantic activity. It was an almost perfectly choreographed performance. Every mechanic knew exactly what to do. Every movement had been practiced. The sequence of actions was clearly defined. Communication was reduced to what was absolutely necessary. Responsibilities were unmistakable, and safety routines were deeply ingrained. Above all, nobody improvised when a proven procedure already existed. The doctors transferred these principles to their patient handover procedures, also incorporating lessons from the aviation industry. Clear leadership. Clearly assigned responsibilities. Standardized procedures. Checklists. Focused communication. Repeated training. What had previously been a complex and potentially chaotic handover became a structured, coordinated, and far more controlled process. The Results? Impressive! In a scientific study involving 50 patient handovers, researchers compared performance before and after the new procedures were introduced. The improvements were remarkable: Approximately 42% fewer technical errors. Approximately 49% fewer information omissions. Approximately 13% shorter handover times. Fewer errors. Better communication. Greater efficiency. And all of this in an environment where mistakes can have devastating consequences. These findings came from a relatively small study, but the improvements were measurable and highly relevant. This is not some abstract management theory from a business school textbook. This is benchmarking in action. With measurable results. Benchmarking Is Not a Corporate Field Trip! And this is where, in my view, the real lesson begins. Many companies believe benchmarking means comparing themselves with their direct competitors. They analyze competitors' KPIs, organizational structures, processes, market shares, and operating models. They organize workshops, prepare presentations, and identify so-called best practices. There is nothing fundamentally wrong with that. But it is far too narrow-minded! If all you ever do is copy your competitors, the best you can hope for is to become as good as your competitors. Truly outstanding benchmarking begins with a completely different question: Who in the world performs the specific capability we need to improve better than anyone else? If you want to learn world-class logistics, you don't necessarily need to visit a competitor. If you want to master exceptional customer service, perhaps you should study a five-star luxury hotel. If you want to understand operational precision, take a closer look at aviation. And if you want to learn how to execute flawlessly under extreme time pressure, you might want to visit a Formula 1 racing team. The industry is irrelevant. The capability is everything. The Biggest Obstacle Isn't Competence. It's Ego. Just imagine the situation. Highly qualified pediatric heart surgeons, who have spent years studying medicine and who save children's lives every single day, visit a group of racing mechanics to learn how to improve their own performance. Think about the mindset required to do that. Curiosity. Openness. Humility. And the willingness to acknowledge that someone from an entirely different world might be better at a particular skill than you are. That takes confidence. And it takes courage. Unfortunately, this is exactly where many executives fail. They are so convinced of their own expertise, their own industry experience, and their own organization's capabilities that they never even consider looking elsewhere for solutions. They confuse experience with superiority. They confuse seniority with competence. And they confuse knowing their own business with knowing everything worth knowing. The critical question is not who possesses the knowledge. It is who is willing to learn from it and put it into practice. That is the difference between managers who protect the status quo and leaders who drive genuine improvement. Benchmarking Must Deliver Results. Not PowerPoint Presentations. For me, world-class benchmarking follows five straightforward steps: 1. Identify the problem. What exactly are we trying to improve? Speed? Quality? Precision? Customer satisfaction? Productivity? Safety? Be specific. Define the problem. Establish the baseline. 2. Find the world's best. Who performs this particular capability exceptionally well? Forget industry boundaries. Forget conventional thinking. Look for genuine excellence wherever it exists. 3. Understand the underlying principles. What makes these people or organizations so successful? Is it their processes? Their leadership? Their training? Their discipline? Their communication? Their performance culture? Don't simply copy what they do. Understand why it works. 4. Adapt, implement, and train. Translate the principles into your own organization. Establish clear responsibilities. Redesign processes. Train your people. Eliminate unnecessary complexity. And most importantly: execute! 5. Measure the results. What has actually improved? How much faster have we become? How many errors have we eliminated? How much productivity have we gained? What measurable value have we created? If you cannot demonstrate an improvement, you haven't completed the benchmarking exercise. Everything else is what I call benchmarking tourism. The pediatric heart surgeons in London didn't simply visit Ferrari and return with an interesting travel report. They observed. They learned. They adapted. They implemented. They measured. And that is precisely why this story is so extraordinary. My Conclusion: The Best Learn from the Best. Period. Ferrari's mechanics didn't need medical degrees to teach the surgeons something valuable. And the surgeons didn't need to become racing drivers to learn from Ferrari. Both sides simply had to recognize that world-class performance is built on principles that extend far beyond the boundaries of individual industries. Precision. Discipline. Preparation. Teamwork. Clear accountability. Relentless execution. These principles are universal. And so is the pursuit of excellence. Excellence knows no industry boundaries. If you genuinely want to improve, you must be willing to learn wherever the best can be found. Not where it is most convenient. Not where everyone else is looking. Not where conventional wisdom tells you to go. But where genuine excellence exists. And then you have to do something with what you have learned. Because knowledge without execution is worthless. Benchmark the best. Learn from the best. Execute better than the rest.
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Be an benchmarking tourist!
Benchmark the best. Learn from the best. Execute better than the rest.
No Data Discipline. No Sales Excellence.
Your CRM is only as good as the information your salespeople put into it. And your sales organization is only as strong as the discipline behind that information. Let’s stop treating CRM data quality as an administrative issue. It is a sales issue. A leadership issue. A performance issue. CRM stands for Customer Relationship Management. Read those three words again. We are managing the entire relationship with the customer: the people, the conversations, the opportunities, the commitments, the decisions, and the next steps. That relationship deserves professional attention. Every day. If your CRM is incomplete, outdated, or unreliable, your follow-up will suffer. Your customer knowledge will suffer. Your ability to win will suffer. Bad data costs business.
Know the People. Know the Business.
Who is your contact? Is the name correct? The title? The salutation? The function? Does that person still work there? Who influences the specification? Who controls the budget? Who makes the decision? Who can open a door—and who can close it? These are basic questions. A professional sales organization must be able to answer them. The same applies to customer visits. A meeting without a useful visit report leaves the organization guessing. What did the customer say? What matters to them? What problem are they trying to solve? What did you promise? Who needs to act? By when? “I had a good meeting” tells us almost nothing. What changed because you were there? What happens next? That belongs in the CRM.
Every Quote Needs an Outcome. Every Outcome Needs a Reason.
How many quotes have we submitted? How many have we won? How many remain open? How many have we lost? And why? A project canceled by the customer is different from a project awarded to a competitor. Record the difference. If we lost, who won? What drove the decision? Price? Delivery time? Technical performance? An established relationship? Did we arrive too late? Did we fail to reach the decision-maker? Did our follow-up fall asleep? “Too expensive” is often where the questioning stops. It should be where the questioning starts. Too expensive compared with whom? By how much? For what scope? Did we explain our value convincingly? Did we understand the buying criteria? We cannot systematically improve what we fail to understand. Every properly documented outcome gives us a chance to sharpen our next move. Every missing explanation forces us to repeat yesterday’s mistakes.
The Sales Rep Owns the Information.
The salesperson who meets the customer owns the responsibility for capturing what matters. You were in the room. You heard the concerns. You made the commitment. You agreed on the next step. Put it into the system. Accurately. Promptly. Completely. Sales operations can support you. Management can set standards. Technology can make the work easier. The responsibility remains yours. A professional salesperson follows through on commitments. Recording them, assigning actions, and setting deadlines are part of that follow-through.
Shut Down the Islands.
Private Excel files. Personal notebooks. Contact lists on individual laptops. Opportunities managed from memory. We should have moved beyond this years ago. When customer knowledge sits in isolated files, the team cannot use it reliably. Colleagues cannot coordinate. A replacement cannot step in. Management cannot see what needs attention. The moment somebody is absent, changes roles, or leaves the company, the gaps become painfully visible. Use your notebook during the meeting if it helps. Then transfer the relevant information into the CRM. One shared system. Clear ownership. Reliable information. That is how individual salespeople become a coordinated sales force.
Discipline Creates Time for Customers.
“I don’t have time to update the CRM.” Then make time to chase forgotten commitments, reconstruct old conversations, and explain why nobody followed up. Enter the information while it is fresh. Assign the task. Set the deadline. Schedule the follow-up. Give every active opportunity a clear next step. These are essential acts of self-discipline. Done consistently, they reduce confusion and unnecessary internal discussions. They help you prepare faster and act with purpose. The goal is more productive time with customers. Data discipline helps create it.
Use AI. Keep Ownership.
Artificial intelligence can make this work much easier. After a customer visit, dictate a short voice note: the essential discussion points, the customer’s concerns, the commitments made, the tasks, the responsible colleagues, and the deadlines. With the right tools and integration, AI can turn that note into a structured visit report, draft tasks, and prepare follow-up reminders. Review it. Correct it. Confirm it. AI can capture your words. You remain accountable for their accuracy.
Keep the Sales Machine Running.
“Data is the new oil.” Then treat it accordingly. Accurate, current, useful information keeps the sales machine lubricated. It connects customer conversations with action. It helps the organization respond faster, coordinate better, and learn from wins and losses. Outdated contacts, missing reports, unexplained losses, and forgotten follow-ups put friction into every moving part. Buying a CRM license achieves very little on its own. The value comes from people maintaining the information and acting on it. No reliable data. No reliable follow-up.
No disciplined follow-up. No consistent sales performance. Maintain the contacts. Document the conversations. Explain the outcomes. Assign the actions. Set the dates. Every customer. Every opportunity. Every time. Data quality is sales work. Own it.
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