The Law of Large Numbers

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by Greg Hague

Do you know the story of Harry & Sam?

Harry is the greatest salesman in the world. Bold and assertive, Harry always knows what to say, precisely the right words to make sales day after day.

Sam is a salesman too, but he doesn’t have Harry’s magical gift for saying just the right thing at just the right time. No matter how hard he tries, Harry outsells Sam every single time.

Aliwal Shoal Indian Ocean South Africa blacktip sharks (Carcharh

Somewhat discouraged, Sam picks up a book he’s been meaning to read just before bed. It’s called Swim With The Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive by Harvey Mackay.

Before falling asleep he makes it to page 44 – and his fortunes change from that moment on.

It’s only one paragraph, but to him it’s the best sales advice of all time!

It says that while insurance companies don’t know who will die each day, they prosper through statistics, by knowing how many people will die each day.

It’s called The Law of Large Numbers, and salespeople would be wise to leverage it too.

The idea is to stay in touch with and coddle every prospect you lose.  If you can’t be a #1, be a #2.

Over time, just like insurance companies, the numbers will start working for you.

Eventually, some of those Harrys will move away, mess up, or pass away.  It sounds harsh, but it’s a simple reality, and when it happens, doors of opportunity statistically open for you.

You want to be #2, standing in line, poised to rush in.

In the author’s own words, “Apply the Law of Large Numbers… if you have the perseverance and patience to position yourself as Number Two to enough different people… If you’re standing second in line, in enough lines, sooner or later you’re going to move up to Number One.”

Today’s Takeaway?

Cloudy skies eventually turn blue for the patient salesman who stays #2.

Lead Like a Leopard

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It’s a common expression that you should lead like a lion – with strength, courage and stealth.

While this may be true, today we present an alternate view – lead like a leopard.

You see, leopards are highly distinguishable by their unique spot patterns. Those spots are called rosettes, and it is those rosette patterns that make leopards such an incredible sight to behold.

In the book, Strengths Based Leadership, by Tom Rath and Barry Conchie, the authors encourage us to identify our own unique “spot patterns” in order to become more effective leaders.

To lead like a leopard, we should take the time to assess our personal strengths and weaknesses. Just a general sense of who we are isn’t enough. To be a strong leader, we should take an up-to-date mental inventory of what we do best, and then leverage those superior abilities to form our own unique management style.

Rath and Conchie tell about a company manager who attends conference after conference to learn new business strategies. But when he tries to implement those new tactics, they are not well received by his employees.

The authors observe that this is because he is leading purely through the teachings of the conference speakers, and his staff does not get a sense of who he really is.

Instead, this manager should have led like a leopard – from his own spot patterns… from his own personality. This is what people respond to.

As Ivy Compton-Burnett once wrote, “A leopard does not change his spots, or change his feeling that spots are rather a credit.”

Today’s Takeaway
You have a unique spot pattern. Know it well. Lead like a leopard.

To quote the ancient Greek aphorism, ”Know thyself.” This is your most powerful leadership strategy.

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Books Without Fluff

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“So many books, so little time.”

-Frank Zappa

Smartphone with text and stack of color books

In 2009, at age 60, I decided to change my life.

I had always dreamed of practicing law. The problem?  I would have to pass the difficult Arizona bar exam.

I graduated law school way back in 1974.  I hadn’t looked at a law book in over 35 years. The exam was just 4 ½ months away.

Here I was, an old guy, competing against young, freshly-minted law students who had just completed three years of intense study.

The bar exam pass rate is often less than 65%. Many told me there was no way.

When I received the box of bar review books, it was so enormous I could hardly lift it.  How could I possibly plow through and remember all that material in just a few months?

Well, I’m proud to say that I not only passed the exam, I snagged the #1 score in the state.

How did I do it? By necessity, I had to find a more efficient way to study.

So I developed a new learning technique; a way to learn twice as much in half the time.

I named it L4X.

After the exam, I was so excited about this new way to learn that I had to share L4X with everyone. I asked a New York editor if he thought it would make a good book.

He said, “Absolutely!”

He totally loved the idea, and said to be a book it needed 160 pages.

I told him I could explain it in 10.  He reiterated that major publishers want at least 160 pages.

He suggested I “fill it out.” 150 pages of fluff. Seriously? 

That got me thinking. Most books are structured around creative core concepts like L4X. They can usually be explained in mere minutes. The rest is filler and fluff.

This revelation was the inspiration behind RapidFire Books.  No fluff.

Key concepts from great books in 6 minutes of audio each week.

Listen with coffee or driving to work. You learn in minutes, not hours.