Slower But Faster

For years Bill had worked at a sales job he did not enjoy, because of intense competition and by the frequent customer rejection and even rudeness.

Bill and I talked about his tendency to shut down emotionally when rejected, and I suggested that he try an experiment. He agreed that the next day he would welcome rejection rather than fear it. Instead of thinking of his job as selling a product, he would be offering people a potentially valuable and beneficial service. Then he would simply be finding people who wished to accept his offer. When people turned him down, he would choose not to feel rejected but to remain open and vulnerable, thereby remaining emotionally available for the next offering he would make.

The next day he kept his mind open and remembered my words. At the end of the day he called me to say that he had experienced the greatest sales day of his career. People were more open to him. They listened to him. They seemed to bond with him. He actually worked at a more relaxed pace, but his production was considerably higher.

It is almost an axiom that if you work harder and faster, the results are better, but often that is not true. Sometimes we need to slow down, open our hearts, lay down our fears, and allow great things to happen as we experience a greater connection to the people and tasks around us.