Cookman, George

English

UNH Scholars' Repository

Voices: Losing the Sale | UNH Todayhttps://www.unh.edu/unhtoday/2016/09/voices-losing-sale[6/8/2022 1:36:13 PM]Voices: Losing the SaleFriday, September 23, 2016I learned as a salesperson that if I was not speaking to thedecision-maker, I was probably not going to make the sale.Having someone else in the prospect company be my advocate,to represent me at decision time, meant that I was turning my fateover to someone else who, in most cases, had their best interests,not mine, at heart. I do not blame them for their approach; but Icame to understand that once I lost control of the relationship,things seldom went my way. The easy path was not the path tosuccess.I have learned that the best thing I can do to manage arelationship is to go 1:1 with the person with whom therelationship exists. I will say up front that there are times when twopeople cannot manage the conversation by themselves, a thirdparty — a friend or a therapist — can help bring the relationshipback into alignment so that the long-term relationship is fixed andmaintainable, and the need for the third party no longer exists.In my 40+ years of consulting, selling and managing, I have seendozens of companies and how they operate. In one recent case, Ispoke with an employee of a well-known New Englandmanufacturer of high-tech industrial equipment. I was stunnedwhen I learned about the relationship between labor andmanagement. The labor force is unionized, and the relationship isone of complete alienation, distrust, and outright aggression. MySERIES: YOUR VOICEMATTERS  SUBSCRIBETO THE UNHTODAYNEWSLETTER  SUBSCRIBETO UNH TODAYRSSRELATED LINKSVoices: EmployeesShare Thoughts onUnionizationVoices: Don't BeSeducedVoices: No Need ForUnion/MiddlemanHere at UNHVoices: Think Longand HardUNH TODAY  Voices: Losing the Sale | UNH Todayhttps://www.unh.edu/unhtoday/2016/09/voices-losing-sale[6/8/2022 1:36:13 PM]contact has to work with union employees that push the rulesbeyond the limits, only to be told by his management superiorsthat he must never let a union employee file a grievance. So heworks as best he can to form personal relationships with thoseunder him in a manner that tries to attain a win-win environment.Experience hasdemonstrated to me that thevast majority of people cometo work with a desire make apositive contribution so thatwhen the day draws to aclose, they can say, “I did agood job”, "I made a positivedifference."Where do things go wrong? Iblame past management. Iblame greed. I blame peoplewho thought it was all aboutthemselves, and lost theirsense of human involvement in the people around them. And Iblame people who decided to take the easy path. Before unions,alienation drove distrust, and things deteriorated. And so theunion was born. It did not have to happen — had managementtaken a more human-centric, compassionate approach to the verypeople who they needed to make them successful, therelationships could have prospered. Instead, situations in the late1900s and beyond, became increasingly toxic until there wassufficient antagonism to damage the relationships, and require athird party to adjudicate. I have seen many companies and organizations where this is notthe case. Where management does give a damn about theiremployees’ lives. Where workers are appreciated not just withColleagues WeighIn Hear what others have tosay about unionization.More voicesVoices: Losing the Sale | UNH Todayhttps://www.unh.edu/unhtoday/2016/09/voices-losing-sale[6/8/2022 1:36:13 PM]pay, plaques, and parking spaces, but with genuine, honest thankyous — "Thank you for a job well done;" "You really did thatwell," "Thank you for coming to work today — you make adifference," "I noticed you went the extra mile to make things workbetter," “The work you are doing is very important,” Beingappreciated is a small, but critical first step of a relationship; butthere is still more hard work to be done to build and maintainstrong, healthy, relationships.My take is that UNH is nowhere near a toxic management-laborenvironment. We are not managed by perfect managers. As withall institutions, there are many brilliant people in positions ofmanagement because there is no one else to do it, and managingpeople may not be their best, highest calling. However, I haveworked with enough people at all levels of management to knowthat they typically do give a damn about the people around them.Yes, there will always be bad managers, but they are notpredominating, and a union cannot fix those people. Poormanagers need to be confronted with a caring, professional,positive process — which HR constantly works to create andmaintain — that will make them aware of their shortcomings andprovide guidance and support to help them improve. In somecases, a person may need to be moved to another position wheretheir skills and abilities can be better utilized.We face day-to-day challenges that need day to day reconciliation— much like in a marriage. I admit to 38 years of a happy — butoften hard-won —  relationship with my wife. It is well worth it.For me, the questions are: What is broken? Can a union fix it?Can we fix it without signing away $375 a year, every year, untilwe leave UNH? If we have well-meaning, i.e., not mean-spirited,managers, can we not work out our relationships? Just how "bad"is it? Are things "OK," "Good?" What would "better" look like? Cana union make “better” happen?Voices: Losing the Sale | UNH Todayhttps://www.unh.edu/unhtoday/2016/09/voices-losing-sale[6/8/2022 1:36:13 PM]We need to accept the fact that there will never be enough moneyto “solve” all of our problems. UNH is besieged with a hostilelegislature and fierce competition from other excellent highereducation Institutions.  $375 ($31 a month) is, for me, on the onehand, a lot of money to put out for what I see as a situation that isnot “bad.” On the other hand, if I am going to yield the wellbeing ofmy livelihood into someone else's hands for the balance of myemployment at UNH, it represents a phenomenal decision that Iwill not be willing to make. The easy path may appear to be, "letsomeone else do this for me/us." I am unwilling to yield control tosomeone else, and lose the most important sale of my life — thesafe guarding of my family's livelihood.Unfortunately, there are places where unions are necessary. Ibelieve that UNH is not one of them. —George CookmanSenior Project Manager, UNH IT Project Management Office Would you like to submit a statementor testimonial about the efforts toorganize UNH staff? Submit here. YOUR VOICE MATTERSRELATED ARTICLESVoices: Losing the Sale | UNH Todayhttps://www.unh.edu/unhtoday/2016/09/voices-losing-sale[6/8/2022 1:36:13 PM]July 7, 2020 |  PAUL PERSPECTIVESThe Ethics of Tax PracticeVoices: Losing the Sale | UNH Todayhttps://www.unh.edu/unhtoday/2016/09/voices-losing-sale[6/8/2022 1:36:13 PM]August 28, 2020 |  PETER T. PAUL COLLEGE OF BUSINESS & ECONOMICSNew Paul College Associate Dean ForUndergraduate Education NamedVoices: Losing the Sale | UNH Todayhttps://www.unh.edu/unhtoday/2016/09/voices-losing-sale[6/8/2022 1:36:13 PM]September 3, 2020 |  PAUL PERSPECTIVESOptimizing Capacity for DemandUNH Today is produced for the UNH communityand for friends of UNH.The stories are written by the staff of UNHCommunications and Public Affairs.Email us: unhtoday.editor@unh.edu.MANAGE YOUR SUBSCRIPTION      CONTACTUS          UNH Today  •  UNH Main Directory: 603-862-1234Copyright © 2022  •  TTY Users: 7-1-1 or 800-735-2964 (Relay NH)USNH Privacy Policies  •  USNH Terms of Use  • ADA AcknowledgementVoices: Losing the Sale | UNH Todayhttps://www.unh.edu/unhtoday/2016/09/voices-losing-sale[6/8/2022 1:36:13 PM] 

Voices: Losing the Sale

https://scholars.unh.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4559&context=unh_today

Voices: Losing the Sale

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

UNH Scholars' Repository