Strong Ethos or "Squished Like Grape?"
What is your ethical appeal? Are you believable or not? Do you have your own personal interests top of mind, or are you equally interested in the goodwill of your customers or your audience? Those with a strong Ethos are credible, trustworthy, knowledgeable and appeal to their audience. Alternatively, those with a weak Ethos are unconvincing and struggle to win buy in with even the least of proposals.
What’s interesting is that, hearkening to previous thoughts and posts, I emphasized the paradox of how people can very well come across as credible, while deceiving their audience or customers, establishing a rapport to the only extent that they get buyers, with these actors ‘building’ just enough trust to get what they want, without ever truly stepping into the shoes of the prospect. But as a sales leader, you can’t make people to care about doing the right thing when no one is watching; you can only decide that on your own and surround yourself with those that strive to do the same.
In the movie, The Karate Kid, Mr. Miyagi uses an absolutist philosophy with his “squished like a grape” analogy to teach Daniel-San an important lesson about commitment and decisiveness. He likens indecision to walking in the “middle” of the road. He says:
“Walk middle, sooner or later, get squished, just like grape. Here karate, same thing. Either you karate do, yes, or karate do, no. You karate do, guess so, squished just like grape”.
This means that being indecisive or half-hearted in your actions can lead to failure or negative consequences. This—despite if you are well-intentioned (and not everyone is)—may lead to distrust from colleagues, employees, and even vital customers. Mr. Miyagi emphasizes the importance of fully committing to a path, whether in karate or in life, to avoid being “squished” by uncertainty and lack of direction. Although not always easy to execute, avoiding the “middle” of the road can foster trust, build credibility, and with a full-hearted attempt, instill growth in yourself and others.
As our executive team leads Cornerstone forward, Cornerstone Technologies is fully committed to driving valuable business outcomes for our customers.
Cornerstone Technologies | Cornerstone Technologies’ rich history of innovation has relied on two things: pride in our people, and a customer-obsessed mindset that leaves no stone unturned. Ever since becoming the go-to global backup partner for Visa in 2008, Cornerstone has been just that; our job is your vision, and we gather the right people with the best expertise to build exactly what you want. Whether it be hybrid cloud migrations, cybersecurity, managed services, or any engineering augmentation you may need, we aren’t defined by ‘one-size-fits-all,’ but rather the size of the solution that works for you. We lead with listening, and we back it up with our expertise over decades of refinement and leadership.