SMM SMM MAR/APR 2012 : Page 4

editor’s notebook A timeless gesture It’s nearly impossible for me to pass a used bookstore without going in. Once inside, it’s just as hard to pass up books of collected letters that I ﬁnd. I’ve got books of letters written by Georgia O’Keefe, Jack Kerouac, Richard Nixon and a book of letters exchanged between Jean Paul Sartre and his companion Simone de Beauvoir. Many of Hunter S. Thompson’s most entertaining rants came in his letters. I like reading other people’s letters for a number of reasons. First, they provide a behind-the-scenes glimpse of fascinating personalities. To be sure, Kerouac and Steinbeck knew they were leaving something for future generations to mull over, but even those great writers never thought people would be reading personal letters they wrote some 70 years after they were penned. I also like them because letter writers frequently let down their guard, in part because they are writing to a close friend or a spouse and feel comfortable baring their soul. Sentiments shared in the letters of a writer, politician or other public ﬁgure often provide great insight into their more notable writings of the time or decisions they made. Naturally, I was intrigued by a book review I read in The Wall Street Journal about a collection of letters from Bud Wilkinson, who coached the University of Oklahoma Sooners football team in the early 1960s, to his son Jay, who was attending Duke University and playing football there. Jay Wilkinson, who is now a retired businessman and a motivational speaker, intersperses his dad’s letters with thoughts of his own on what he learned from his dad’s words. You can read more about the book on page 22 in this issue. It was interesting that the younger Wilkinson could gleam life lessons from otherwise mundane notes from his dad about winter vacations or business trips to Washington, D.C., and how good the hotel restaurant’s breakfasts were. It occurs to me that there is a valuable lesson in that for managers and C-level executives. In this era of e-mails, tweets and Facebook updates, handwritten notes are as rare as hen’s teeth. But if some simple yet earnest thoughts from a mentor put down on paper can possibly mean so much, why wouldn’t managers take the time to write something out and slip it to a subordinate who has reached an important goal or just turned in an excellent week of work? It’s unlikely that you’d ﬁnd those letters reprinted in a collection of notes in a used bookstore. But I wouldn’t put it past a proud employee to stuff it in a shoebox at home and get the same enjoyment from it all over again 15 years down the road. PUBLISHER Mike Murrell , mike@salesandmarketing.com, 952-401-1283 EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Paul Nolan , paul@salesandmarketing.com, 763-205-1745 ART DIRECTOR Susan Abbott , susan@abbottandabbott.com EDITORIAL CONTRIBUTORS Dougles Chan, dougleschan.com; Colleen Francis, engageselling.com; Warren Greshes, Greshes.com; Jill Konrath, sellingtobigcompanies.com; Jon Miller, Marketo (market.com); Sam Parker, JustSell.com; Stephen Shapiro, steveshapiro.com; Dave Stein, esresearch.com; Robert Sutton, bobsutton.typepad.com ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Gary Dworet, gary@salesandmarketing.com, 561-245-8328 Lori Gardner, lori@salesandmarketing.com, 952-451-6228 PRODUCTION MANAGER Tony Kolars, tony@salesandmarketing.com CIRCULATION DIRECTOR Vicki Blomquist, vicki@salesandmarketing.com OFFICES Mach1 Business Media, LLC PO Box 247, 27020 Noble Road, Excelsior, MN 55331 Phone: 952-401-1283 Fax: 952-401-7899 Online: www.salesandmarketing.com PRESIDENT/CEO Mike Murrell VP FINANCE AND OPERATIONS Bryan Powell EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD Amy Allen, Caesars Entertainment; Greg Greunke, Greunke LLC; Tim Houlihan, BI Worldwide; Mike Landry, Tumi; Michael Leimbach, Wilson Learning Worldwide; Barbara Shuster, Marriott Corp.; Dave Stein, ES Research Group; Jay Zemke, Clockwork Active Media Systems Sales & Marketing Management Volume 10, No. 2 incorporating SalesForceXP is published six times a year in January, March, May, July, September and November by Mach1 Business Media. Copyright 2012 by Mach1 Business Media, LLC. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part of any text, photograph or illustration without the written permission from the publisher is strictly prohibited. Annual subscription rate $48 U.S.; $67 Canada plus 7% GST; and $146 all other countries. Single copy price $10. BACK ISSUES, PERMISSIONS AND REPRINTS EMAIL: melissa@salesandmarketing.com ADDRESS CHANGES AND SUBSCRIPTIONS Sales & Marketing Management, PO Box 247, Excelsior MN, 55331 Email: circ@salesandmarketing.com, Fax: 952-401-7899 ONLINE Find these and other online exclusives in the Additional Web Resources box at SalesAndMarketing.com Are you using the right marketing metrics? Jon Miller, co-founder of Marketo, a provider of marketing automation and sales effectiveness apps, has written a quick-read guide on what to measure to make sure your inbound marketing efforts are working. Find a link to a free download Miller's PDF book, "The Definitive Guide to Marketing Metrics and ROI." A sales management checklist Sam Parker, half of the duo that runs justsell.com, has developed a 12-page guide to help sales managers stay focused on the right tasks. We've got a link to the free PDF. Paul Nolan, Editor paul@salesandmarketing.com Sales and marketing tips and trends Articles from leading sales and marketing minds are posted several times a week on our home page. 4 MAR/APR 2012 SALES AND MARKETING .COM

Editor's Notebook

Paul Nolan

A timeless gesture It’s nearly impossible for me to pass a used bookstore without going in. Once inside, it’s just as hard to pass up books of collected letters that I find. I’ve got books of letters written by Georgia O’Keefe, Jack Kerouac, Richard Nixon and a book of letters exchanged between Jean Paul Sartre and his companion Simone de Beauvoir. Many of Hunter S. Thompson’s most entertaining rants came in his letters. I like reading other people’s letters for a number of reasons. First, they provide a behind-the-scenes glimpse of fascinating personalities. To be sure, Kerouac and Steinbeck knew they were leaving something for future generations to mull over, but even those great writers never thought people would be reading personal letters they wrote some 70 years after they were penned. I also like them because letter writers frequently let down their guard, in part because they are writing to a close friend or a spouse and feel comfortable baring their soul. Sentiments shared in the letters of a writer, politician or other public figure often provide great insight into their more notable writings of the time or decisions they made. Naturally, I was intrigued by a book review I read in The Wall Street Journal about a collection of letters from Bud Wilkinson, who coached the University of Oklahoma Sooners football team in the early 1960s, to his son Jay, who was attending Duke University and playing football there. Jay Wilkinson, who is now a retired businessman and a motivational speaker, intersperses his dad’s letters with thoughts of his own on what he learned from his dad’s words. You can read more about the book on page 22 in this issue. It was interesting that the younger Wilkinson could gleam life lessons from otherwise mundane notes from his dad about winter vacations or business trips to Washington, D.C., and how good the hotel restaurant’s breakfasts were. It occurs to me that there is a valuable lesson in that for managers and C-level executives. In this era of e-mails, tweets and Facebook updates, handwritten notes are as rare as hen’s teeth. But if some simple yet earnest thoughts from a mentor put down on paper can possibly mean so much, why wouldn’t managers take the time to write something out and slip it to a subordinate who has reached an important goal or just turned in an excellent week of work? It’s unlikely that you’d find those letters reprinted in a collection of notes in a used bookstore. But I wouldn’t put it past a proud employee to stuff it in a shoebox at home and get the same enjoyment from it all over again 15 years down the road.

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