On the first day the new Sales VP arrived at TrueSAN in 2001, he walked into the all-company meeting and announced bluntly that he wasn’t there to make friends; he had been hired to build a sales team and sell product, and that’s what he intended to do.
So much for small talk. He proceeded to deliver on the promise.
The office socializers disliked his no-nonsense communication, but everyone respected his time. He wasn’t rude without reason—he was direct and kept people focused.
Some didn’t call him charismatic, but no one questioned how spectacularly effective he was.
During a first one-on-one, a team member fresh from four years of rigorous academic training launched into detailed prospect profiles, elaborate plans, and responses so far—after at least two hours of preparation.
The VP listened with a smile for no more than two minutes, raised a hand, laughed kindly, and said he didn’t want the story; just state what needed to be done.
Over the following weeks he trained that team member to spot when focus was misplaced—anything that didn’t move the top two or three clients one step closer to signing a purchase order. Meetings became no more than five minutes long.