Black In Business

I recently read a book “No one cares what you had for lunch,” so I will not tell you that except for the fact it was real good. I got away from my office around 1:30 and was going to read while I ate. I took a seat at a table next to 3 gentlemen that appeared to be long term friends.

I have shared the fact that I am a salesman. I love and admire salesmen, their personality, charm and confidence provides me with a good feeling. Most salesmen are fun. Think about the excellent ones you have been around, why do you do business with them. The product and your needs are all important, but in many cases we buy from those we like.

The table next to me had the quintessential salesman. He dominated the conversation, involved his tablemates enough to show respect and interest, but this was his show. He was telling stories about his customers and deals with such energy and excitment it made for a facinating listen. This master salesman had been with his company for 45 years, he still could recall about the early sales calls and almost word for word

Some one asked me recently, why do some blacks not make in business and some do? That is a complex issue but listening to an inspiring veteran of sales provided one clue. Some people put their heart and soul into being a pro, it is more than a job but a way of life. Some people are great salesmen. You may say, but I am not in sales. Wrong, everyone is. It is a matter of communication and understanding needs and providing value. Our bosses have to be sold on us. This inspiring salesman was still selling his value to his tablemates 45 years after the fact. It was done with such charm and confidence, he did not appear to be bragging. Many blacks professionals were taught to be modest, work hard and your work will speak for you. While all that is true, negatives sterotypes also speak for us and in a louder and more consistant voice.

Check out the whitemen you work around, are they shy about telling the boss why they are of value? Do they look for opportunties to be with the boss, even after work. There is a lot involved here and it is important for us to be our own PR firm.

I think back to a book I read, “How to Master the Art of Selling,” by Tom Hopkins. I still have much of the book memorized. Tip of the day, Regardless of what you do for a living or want to do, get yourself a present. A book on sales. There are several and I am convinced it will help you.

At the end of the lunch, the quintessential salesman picked up the check. True mastery at work!

A quick reminder to vote, we must make our voices heard. At the end of today, we could have 3 black Senators, including 1 Republican. The Democrats should take over the House and have a shot to control the Senate. How will this election impact the roles of blacks in business, the country, the world? How about George W Bush’s place in history? Will he experience shock and awe?

I read our Vice President has a hunting trip planned. Do you want to join him? How about super Bowl picks, Bears, Colts? I discovered why I do not bet football, I text messages my buddies Sunday am with my picks for the weekend, I was 0 for 7.

Back to voting, we have not always been able to vote, we have not always had black choices, your vote matters and  your future matters. Take a look at your tax return and see what your total tax payment is, chances are it is one of your  biggest expenses. You should have a voice.

Do Democrats take the black vote for granted and give little in return? Is the Republican party anti black? What about black republicans? I would like to hear from you on these questions.

A few years back I had the good fortune to attend an advance executive program, at Northwestern University’s Kellogg Graduate School of management. The fast paced program lasted 30 days and we met 7 days a week. 40 percent of the class was international and the levels of attenders were mostly VP, COO’s and CEO’s. A delightful  and over achieving group, and  a Dream Team of professors from Kellogg’s MBA program made the program even more special.

One lecture was on strategies for growth and spoke of mistakes companies made and also the things that companies do well. A consistant theme was to focus on one area and ensure that you became an expert in that area, verses doing several things half assed. For example, take Kentucky Fried Chicken, they focus on doing one thing well and thats chicken. A great fighter knocks people out!

Shortley after this program, my family and I traveled to the Carribean Island of St. John, which is part of the American Virgin Islands. As you reach the Island from St. Thomas, you arrive by ferryboat. The ferryboat company is a black owned. There ferries travel and connect all the U.S and British Virgin Islands. The company also does boat tours for hotels which appears to represent a significant revenue. When we arrived in St. John, we caught a shuttle to the Avis store to pick up our rental car. We discovered that the same black business owner also owned the Avis franchise.

I spoke with management, which consisted of the owner’s daughters. The owner had several of his children working in his business franchise. They were very proud of their father, a self-made man, black islander, employing the same strategy referred to as genius when talking about Honda and their manufacturing of the small motors, used in everything from lawn mowers, to motorcycles, to cars. This black in business core competency is tranportational. From ferries, to rental cars, to hotel shuttles and even school buses. This man did not attend Harvard School of Business, University of Chicago, Stanford or Kellogg, but perfected a strategy that students of these top rated universities are trying to learn. Obviously a great business man, but as Dennis Kimbrough would ask, what makes the ”great great”. The 10 rules for Black Business success, is one having pride in your history and sound strategy is also another one. Together lets find more! I look forward to your comments.

We spoke about ways to link with history in part 1 of this story. We futher discussed the increased black achievement along with concerns for black boys being in position to continue this positive trend. One theory is a lack of pride. It is amazing that we relate strong school performance to “acting white”. There is also community talk that successful blacks have lost their identity. I know that is not to mean, white is right and black stay back. It is much deeper than that and could be viewed as, divide and conquer or poor blacks vs middle blacks. A tactic used to ensure that we do not come together as a race.

One way to tear down the barriers that divide us and keep many of us caught up in the quagmire of mediocrity, is to better understand our past. You must know where you have been in order to understand where you are going. We have some incredible blood linkage of success, but we do not know it.

My wonderful and beautiful wife recently studied her blood line and discovered some fascinating facts about herself. Most of the facts we recieve about black people in this country are distorted in a negative way by the media.

She used a landmark study of the human journey titled, The Genographic Project. This project is done by National Geographic and IBM with the support of the Waitt Family Foundation.

“A map, it has been said, is the greatest of all epic poems. There are few greater epics than the story of our distant ancestors leaving their African cradle and colonizing the earth.” This excerpt is taken from my wife’s information kit that she recieved from this project. Mordern science in the form of DNA makes this possible. This study also indicates that Africia is the craddle of civilization. According to this theory, we must have been Kings and Queens.

To discover more go to; www.nationalgeographic.com/genographic

Black achievement is up and we have a larger middle class than ever before. We have doctors, lawyers and business people that are striving to live the American dream. A challenge in our community is the under achievement of young black men. 1 of 3 young men, ages 21-29, are a part of the prison system and by 4th grade, 65% of young black boys are reading below their grade level. For white male students the reading grade level is 29%.

One theory is that we do not know our history. We do not have the knowledge of our ancestry like other races. We have been robbed of our history and as a result of this, has lead to a low self-esteem and lack of racial pride. Now if our black boys are too serious about school, they are accussed of acting white. Many families are trying to connect with the past and learn their history. Our history has proven that we were once kings and queens in Africia prior to the slave trade. Check out this link and see if you can discover your families heritage. Tomorrow I will provide part II, and another option for finding your family tree.

 http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061027/ap_on_hi_te/slave_records&printer=1