In my 15 years of sales experience, one of my first gigs was cold calling outbound leads in the finance industry. The people I was calling were C-suite execs who had zero clue who I was, the company I worked for, nor how I got their information. In this role, I was given a daily goal of how many dials I should hit. Dial for dollars they used to say. In their minds, the formula was simple. In order to reach sales revenue goals, we need to hit a certain amount of dials, which would then lead to a certain amount of second calls scheduled, that would then lead to a certain amount of meetings, which would eventually produce new business revenue. Everyone was bought in on this model. And we made it fun too! We even had a sales gong in the room.

There was a problem though. We didn’t always get the results. Some quarters we would hit goal, we would skyrocket past them in other quarters, and then there were quarters where we didn’t even come close. And when we didn’t come close, the blame would ultimately be on the people. We must have done something wrong in the process.

As my career progressed, I realized that this was not only how the sales org functioned at most companies, it was also how entire companies predicted their earnings all the way up the food chain.

Bring in a certain amount of leads at the top of the funnel.

Convert them into expressed interest.

Convert interest into conversations.

Convert conversations into meetings.

And maybe more meetings.

And eventually, new business revenue.

Based on this model, earnings can be predicted.

And these predictions were how board members would determine decisions that affected the whole company.

Now, let me be clear. There’s nothing wrong with creating data-backed revenue models. Many people do this well. Strategic planning is key for the health of companies.

The problem is we become too attached to these models as truth. We put pressure on good people to attach to these truths as well. And if the results don’t come in, they are the ones to blame. It is unfair because the reality is the game comes with high uncertainty with low control on the outcomes. I can make the same amount of dials from one quarter to another and produce vastly different results.

Why do we do this?

Why do we think that our control on outcomes is larger than it actually is?

My guess?

We don't like uncertainty.

To be more accurate, we don't like the feeling we get when things are uncertain.

It feels scary.

It feels unknown.

It feels nerve-wracking.

It feels like we would fall apart if the uncertain, whatever it is, actually came true.

So we create illusions of certainty.

We attach to this sense that we can make the outcome happen.

We turn our worlds inside out to make it so.

We white knuckle our results.

What happens if we let go?

Let's say you're on a date. The person you're on a date with shows up and 10 minutes in, you can sense that they are eager. You can't quite put your finger on it but you're getting the vibes that they are attached to how this date will unfold. It's an intuition thing. It's a vibe you're getting. And the vibe is telling you that they already want a second date, or want to kiss you by the end of the evening, or maybe get all the way lucky, if you know what I mean.

Here's the problem. You're 10 minutes into the date. Why you are getting this "super eager borderline creepy" vibe about the outcome of the date when you've barely just met? That throws you off right?

Now think about an outcome you've wanted to generate. Consider if you've ever had this "super eager borderline creepy" vibe towards an outcome. Most of us have been guilty of this. And when we have, the process wasn't fun. We become too focused on the outcomes. We create an illusion that we can make them happen. I don't know about you, but for me, this mindset is draining.

I feel like a robot.

I feel like I'm on autopilot going through a checklist.

I feel not human.

So, what would it look like to detach from outcomes?

Well first, I would suggest actually considering the reality that with anything we're wanting to create, we're going to live in some level of high uncertainty and low control. Accept that it's probably going to be the majority of your experience.

For example...

My wife is a dance teacher for a high school. Every year, she has high uncertainty about the number of kids that will sign up for class, what type of enthusiasm for dance they'll display and what kind of proficiency they'll have by the end of the year. High uncertainty, low control.

My brother is a talented product manager for a huge gaming company that has created a video game with multi-generational recognition. Translation: It’s a big deal. Every version of the game that's released has high expectations in terms of the response it will get from the market. Before every release, my brother has high uncertainty about the types of ideas brought in, the way the teams will work together as they run project sprints, and what kind of response they will actually get from the audience. High uncertainty, low control.

In a world of high uncertainty and low control on outcomes, we can choose to focus on the process. And the feelings we want to create within the process.

Create joy.

Invoke freedom.

Be grounded in presence.

Be rooted in love.

Be in service of your purpose.

Be anchored in your personal mission.

When we're in this zone, we can become in sync with the rhythm of creation, production and rest. We honor the seasons of planting seeds, seasons of growth, seasons of harvest and seasons of rest. We can take our eyes off the outcomes and yet, still keep our arrows pointed in that general direction. However it lands is ultimately out of our hands.

At this time, I’d invite you to pause and reflect for a few minutes.

What insight, if anything, do you hear in this missive?

I'd love to hear!

Fiercely loving you,

Jomar

Photo by Vince Fleming on Unsplash

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