“Management theory mostly ignores selling. Peter Drucker, perhaps the most influential guru, wrote that “the aim of marketing is to make selling superfluous.” Most business schools do not teach sales as a separate subject in MBA programmes. Consultants have rethought strategy to the nth degree but seldom furrow their brows about sales.

It shows. According to a new book, “Sales Growth: Insights from Leading Sales Executives” by Thomas Baumgartner, Homayoun Hatami and Jon Vander Ark, three consultants at McKinsey, the performance of salespeople within a single company typically varies by a factor of three. And the difference between the best and worst companies when it comes to selling is far greater than the difference for functions such as supply-chain management, purchasing or finance.”

Full 22 Oct 2011 Economist article here.

I thought of this article today as I met two young, promising friends venturing into the brave new world of adult employment. They could and will out-perform 2 or 3 others once that they meet the organization on their wavelengths. My other reminder was how important is sales, which equals revenue, and how this organizational function is so often disdained by the usual enterprise. I guess because the associated process is not measurable or actually controllable. Where or what is the bottom-line if there is not top-line or revenue?! In an unpredictable economy, those sales-types,the ones with trusting customer relationships and, of course, the capability to cultivate such, will always have satisfying employment, in my opinion.

“When you grow up you tend to get told the world is the way it is and you’re life is just to live your life inside the world. Try not to bash into the walls too much. Try to have a nice family, have fun, save a little money. That’s a very limited life. Life can be much broader once you discover one simple fact: Everything around you that you call life was made up by people that were no smarter than you and you can change it, you can influence it, you can build your own things that other people can use. Once you learn that, you’ll never be the same again.”

Such an outlook impresses me and consoles me as we approach the turn of the year into 2012; as my son prepares to graduate from college and to genuinely enter that world of adults; as I try to reconcile the state of our financial and political affairs wondering how drastic will be the necessary reconciliation of the imbalances.

Roger McNamee’s ideas for technology investing: the charts.

With a tear in his eye (minute 5:15 in video)! Forever the hometown boy. I admire the segment of the program where the finalists distribute medals to the ball boys and girls.

From an IBM corporate post: “For Opel, the way the company treated people was its most important attribute. “Mutual respect and openness and honesty among people is what makes a company work well over time,” he said.”

Medals awarded on November 2, 2011 at dinner in Washington, DC.

My friend’s father was wounded in Italy fighting with the 442nd. The regiment consisted of Japanese-Americans, a majority of whose families were incarcerated at the start of WWII because of their Japanese ancestry and appearance. The boys wanted to show their patriotism and loyalty, fought hard to get a chance to fight and suffered the highest casualty rate of any regiment in the Army in Europe (13,000 served and awarded 9,000 Purple Hearts). There is only a handful remaining and the memories of their contributions are well faded.

Theirs is the most highly decorated unit in Army history. Their commitment to purpose and contributions to the freedom of our country are inspiring to recall at this moment.

“We also thank the government, which allowed us to serve in the U.S. Army to defend our country and to prove our loyalty to America,” Sakato said.

Especially when a senior executive is sentenced to a prison term or a former Board member passes away or when a icon of the industry passes away.