29 innocent humans murdered

Gun Control? How about Parental Control. There are 20, 6 and 7 year old babies now with the Lord, seperated for a time from their grieving parents.
     It's time to hear the truth. It's time to take responsibility. It's time to parent your chlidren. Its so easy to say we need more gun laws or we need to ban guns. Do you need to hear it again, "when guns are outlawed only outlaws will own guns". The Clackimaw Mall that was shot up was stopped by a Good man with a gun. The man who was carrying a conceiled wepon, legally drew on the shooter and the shooter ran and then shot himself, not any more people. Its odd how that little fact was not reported.
     Murder has been around since the very beginning, Cain killed Able....with a rock. Guns are NOT the problem, people are the problem, but these mass killings are getting worse, more evil.
    These unimaginable mass murders are happening more and more. Just in the last few years we keep witnessing "kids" with asault rifles, sawed off shotguns, and handguns killing people. Yes, you still have people lose it and kill another person, I'm not talking about that, I'm referring to kids who do the un-thinkable.
     It used to be unimaginable, unthinkable, then came video games. Kids practice 14-20 hours a week winning at their favorite video game. Studies have shown that teens and pre-teens fronal lobe develpoement is stunted, and do not properly develope, when playing video games for hours a day. This underdeveloped frontal lobe results in lack of impulse control. Think about it, kids dont really control impulses to start with and if the part of the brain that is in charge of that function doesnt properly develope, they never will reach full potential.
     But the big problem is parenting. When kids sit in their room, alone, playing Black Ops, or Halo, or Super Mario brothers for that matter any game, hour on hour, by themselves, un-parented they do not learn to interact with people. They can become reclusive, cant look you in the eye, cant carry on a conversation, cannot interact with live people. When a kid gets this way, he naturally can become the easy target of the more social kids. It seems to me we always hear the same description: "He was a good boy, quiet didnt have a lot of friends". I remember coaching a T-Ball team of 5 and 6 year olds and some of them, it appeared, were doing something physical and social for the first time. While attempting to play catch, I heard one boy say to the other, "throw it to the humanoid".I was blown away.
    PARENTS! WAKE UP! DO YOUR JOB. Yes, your job is raising your child. When you bring a child into this world, your #1 job is them, NOT YOU!  Give up the gym, your hobbies, your "me" time. We are so self centered that we think our "needs" are ahead of our children, WRONG.
     As a kid, we played Cowboys and Indians. We played Army. We did these things WITH other kids, outside, with consequences. If you ran, you got winded. If you fell, you lost some elbo or knee skin and it hurt. When I was 6 or 7, I was shot (with a surveyer stick pointed at me as a rifle by my best friend). Well, when you get shot you fall and I fell knee first into a shard of glass and cut an artery and took 7 stitches in the leg. There was no reset button. I was laid up for a week or so. Lesson, cutting an artery and getting stitches sucks, try to avoid that. I get it, the new video games are so realistic its unbelievable, and if that lights your fire, so beit, just understand that you need to treat this time cautiously and only let your baby participate while YOU supervise and participate with him or her.
     It now comes out regarding the Newtown murders that the Mother of the killer owned the guns he took, legally, proving criminals do not obey laws. But it also is coming out now that in the last few years, she kept him home, spending all his time is 2 rooms, playing video games, away from other kids and people in general. What do we expect? Do we expect he would all of the sudden become a normal person who gets a job a wife and a mortgage? Seriously? The Mother become worried about him in the last couple years, TOO LATE!
     California gun laws are the most strict in the country. Waiting a week for a handgun is not such a bad idea, but when evil wants to kill, it will find a way. There are no gun laws that will protect us from evil. Guns are here, you cannot change that. But rocks are here, and sticks are here and cars are here and rope is here and knives and cleavers .....you get it. Lets not blame an inanimant object for evil, its only the instrument used by evil. Lets blame parents who are more concerned with their own life than their childs. Lets blame a societal change that happened in the 70's when we made it the law of the land to murder innocent human beings, by law, with absolutely no reason whatsoever.
     We have murdered over 55 million babies in the United States alone since 1973's court decisioin Roe v Wade. That says that while the evil killings were happening in Conecticut, while 29 Human beings were brutally murdered, we, as a country murdered 157 during that same hour alone. And we continue to MURDER 157 BABIES EVERY HOUR OF THE DAY.  How many people have been killed with guns during that same time period? If you want to get angry about loss of life, take on legal abortion. I'm sick of hearing people claim that its a right to take an unborn human life, or its ok for you but not me. Thats the same thing as saying Its OK for you to kill innocent school children, but its just not my bag"
If you are just trying to make yourself feel better by opposing an inanimanat object, than dont bother me with your hogwash.
    We must take responsibility. If we want to own an asault rifle, we must be responsible enough to keep it out of the hands of ill-equipped people. If you want to own a Pitbull, you have to INSURE that it cannot get out among the public. Pitbulls have killed 17 people per year since 2006, where is the outrage? If you want to own one, you must be respoonsible for it. A dog is like a gun, they must be maintained by a responsible adult. We will revisit this over and over until we have the guts to look at the truth, but I fear we may have already jumped the shark.
     Until Jesus returns.

I really feel sorry for my competitors...NOT!

Can you imagine Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, Willie McCovey, and Juan Marischal all in their prime and all on the same team? Would anyone have a chance against them? Wouldnt every other team be in awe? Wouldnt anyone with half a brain be intimidated? Well, it really wouldnt be fair, but then again, those who know me well know that I don't necessarily need the fight to be fair.

What if the companies that invented: the tape rule, the desk stapler, the portable belt sander, the random orbital sander, the utility knife, the cordless drill, the radial arm saw, or the first portable circular saw, coil fed nailers, all got togather. Well, thats exactly what happened when Stanley and Black and Decker became one and brought Stanley and Bostitch and Black and Decker and DeWalt and Porter-Cable brands all together.

I just got back from a week long sales meeting in Baltimore. It was the first for the new Stanley Black and Decker (SBD) Construction-Do-It-Youorself (CDIY) Division. Including IT, Marketing, Customer Service, and Sales, we were 1100 strong. We have #1 Market share in just about every category, it's pretty strong. We pretty much took over the Baltimore Hilton, directly across the street from Camden Yards...or whatever they call the place now. On the last night, they put on a "Brand" party in the Baltimore Convention Center. The pics above were the displays that absolutely blew my socks off (got a pair of Stanley work socks too!)

I can't imagine the knot in the stomach of my "competitors" when they realize what just ran them over, took the food off their table, and caused their children to be happy with a GED.

They should die like the swine that they are.

Wow, pretty heavy huh? Well, I do not apologize. I work in a very competitive world where you either eat or are ate. I like to eat, so I must engage my enemies daily. I know, I know, I am not freeing captives or saving lives...I am selling tools, the best in the world.
...but as Babe Ruth so eloquently put it, "The way a team plays as a whole determines its success. You may have the greatest bunch of individual stars in the world, but if they don't play together, the club won't be worth a dime."

Bonnaroo ReCap

Well kids, we survived Bonnaroo, and I DO mean survived! 85000 people camped out refugee style(absolutely no exaggeration) although our camp was the Taj Mahal thanks to Bev's sister Andy. Heat, 90+ humidity+mud+bugs like tics, fleas, mosquitos and many more...only added to our sense of accomplishment when we reached a venue to hear live and mostly up close to: Conan O'brien's first schtick after NBC let him go, so funny, Umphrey's McGee, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band-awesome, Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers who finished the set with ...KING TUT!, the Kings of Leon, Norah Jones, wow, The Avett Bros (my boys), a little John Prine followed by Stevie Wonder-A-mazing, Jay-Z (just testin ya, you know I wasnt there for that one, we just listened from our tent...2 miles away!) Then Jamie Johnson, John Fogerty doing CCR and his own stuff(whatever, just stick to Green River-goose bumps for me) btw, Kris Kristopherson is an amazing songwriter-duh, but singing and playing guitar and harmonica...not so much) but it was sooo cool, then Zac Brown-made us proud to be C&W Fans.The the finale-Dave Mathews, wow, the drummer was absolutely amazing-my highlight of Roo!(btw, I think that "peanuts'" Pig-Pen must have attended Roo at some time. His dance method was adopted by yours trully. It stretched out your back and when the music gets real funky, you only have to throw a "lean back" to the beat and you are in baby, I just hope there wasnt a cloud of dust with me but I cant be sure and really didnt care at that point. So as I lay in bed with the AC blarin' at this fine Motel, waiting to go to the airport, I can only think of the tunes, they were great,,,, oh ya, and the thought...there's no place like home,there's no place like home, there's no place like home...zzzz Aunti Em, Auntie Em!

I'm just a Territory Grinder

When I identify a target customer, I persue until I have won him. He/she, whatever, hey, you gals have ships and cars, the customer is a he, ok? Anywho, thats the goal. To be relentless. Not a pest, cuz the same sales rules apply here too. You must be a "Natural" part of the
environment to make the sale, IE, "get them to sign on the line which is dotted". I ID'd Meeks Lumber some 20+ years ago and I wont get into that part too much, but just recently have I made any progress. Well, they have an annual Contractor Expo (sale) at Harrahs in Tahoe. As the Stanley Rep, I was invited to contribute....I mean attend. Well, here's my chance, and I'm definately going to exploit it. Mind you, my major competitor in nailers and staplers is Senco. Senco has been on the shelf at Meeks for over 20 years, and with the same rep! I cant even remember how many positions with Stanley I have had in those years. So, I put on the full court press. I arranged to have the Stanley Race Car there, in my booth, check. Got Meeks to bring in 2 Nailers and 2 new Bostitch Tape Rules for the show, check. Spend 50+ hours making flyers, building mobile displays, ordering POP (point of purchase) and literature. We paid for a 10 foot booth, but kinda stretched that out to 30 or so feet. This is a pic of the booth, note: there is a full size actual NASCAR Show Car in the booth.

Overkill maybe, huh? The pic below was taken 5 minutes before showtime. I think that the look on my good buddy Steve the Senco rep's face says it all. "Dang, this is a tuff spot"!

Well, I wont get into details, but my booth was one of the busiest in the show. Bill Meek himself thanked me for bringing in the Show Car. My main goal of the show was to impress the socks of the Meeks folks, and get 300 contractors to take a good look at the new Bostitch Hand Tools. I ordered in 300 Stanley FatMax Hammer Holders and gave them in exchange for them to fill out a simple survey, end result is I walk into the buyer at Meeks with 300 Contractors names, which Meeks they shop at and what BHT catagories they are interested in buying. Not bad. As far as Bostitch Nailers go, I made major headway today. The next 30 days will say alot. Here are a few more pics from today, oh, and by the way, every bit of this booth except the car and one 8 ft table came and went into the back of my truck with the taneau cover shut!

I have seen many changes in my 23 year Stanley sales career. I started, selling Bostitch Nail Guns and Staple Guns & acc to lumber and roofing yards, tool houses and insulation supply. I remember the day, 1995, doing a demo at Depot. We, Bostitch, were getting traded from Stanley to B&D for Kwikset. How demoralizing if nothing else, now Kwikset is part of us. Us is SB&D. Us is Stanley, Bostitch, DeWalt, Delta, Porter-Cable and thats just our Construction-Do It Yourself channel. Stanley Black and Decker is now an 8.6 Billion company. The other 2 Channels, Security which includes, Stanley Hardware, National Hardware, Sonotrol Security, Stanley Best Access (grocery store automatic doors), Price Phister, Kwikset, Weiser. The Industrial Channel includes Bostitch, MacTools, Proto and a few more. Its quite daunting.

So,
after the "All-Company" Web-Ex Conference Call on "day 2" of our new company Stanley Black and Decker, I got on the phone to the owner of Apex Saw in Reno, Nv regarding the Contractor Show on the upcoming Friday and Saturday March 19 and 20th. I requested that he placed my Stanley booth next to the DeWalt/Porter Cable Team. I reminded him that NOW we were on the same team!

When the 3 DeWalt salesmen, Nate Knighten, BJ Peterson, and Juan Cisneros and I were setting up our tents and booths, we introduced ourselves and did not waste a minute in unifying our efforts as ONE team.

We cross-merchandised a few items and made it obvious that our 3 booths were as one. The visual presence we put out was of unity and power. The breadth of line we represented was unreal. DeWalt Power Tools, Bostitch Pneumatic Tools, Stanley Hand Tools, Stanley Storage, Bostitch Hand Tools, Porter-Cable Power Tools, and Stanley Mechanics Tools.
As a competitor, I pretty much either ignore or dislike any salespeople selling any product that is the slightest bit in competition with me. Hence, I had not met these 3 B&D reps until the first morning setup. I found we had a lot in common, they don’t like their competitors either!
They taught me a lot. I learned that I really detest the turquoise of Makita, the red of Milwaukee, and the blue of Bosch. And I now have a soft spot for that slightly different shade of yellow.
At the event, I sold products from, Storage, BHT, Bostitch, and Hand Tools including the new Sweetheart™ planes. I now know about “fixed frogs” and “adjustable throats”!
I noticed a New product DeWalt had displayed in their booth, the “Quadraport”. This is an air delivery manifold that includes 2 unregulated and 2 regulated outlets. The store did not stock it yet. On the second day, I asked Nate if I could display it in my booth next to my new CAP2045 compressor. Within 30 minutes I had sold my first DeWalt product, AND a new CAP2045.

The owner, Lane Andreson (correct spelling no relation) came to me towards the end of the show to tell me how appreciative he was of “our” display and the demonstrations of our products. He also remarked that he heard feedback from several customers regarding SB&D, all positive. He had overheard me respond to a customers question: “Who bought Who”?
I responded that Stanley purchased B&D, but instead of “taking them over” we were re-forming it into this new company, utilizing all the talent for both. This is a new account for me and the re-order ought to be great, and like the opening order, will include all lines. I think this show helped all of our brands that were represented.

I am excited about all the possibilities this new company offers me and my customers. To represent the finest name brands in the industry is a salesman’s’ dream come true. As the structure of the sales organization becomes more clear, I am confident that, working together, we can take our share and then some.
1 horse may pull 500 pounds but
2 horses, hitched together can pull over 2000 pounds.
The competition had better look for new work!

I submitted this story, a shorter version, and it is now on our SB&D webpage. The near future should be interesting.

Had to pull out some Zigsters

Building relationships is probably the number one element to long term sales success:
Back in 1988 or so, we landed “Lumberjack”, 11 stores in my territory. Steadily, I built relationships with the different buyers, Store Managers, Tool dept managers, warehouseman, accounts payable, and “Bobby Bostitch”, the tool aisle dude or dudette. Each location was pumping out about $5k per month. Lumberjack was Bostitch, Meeks was Senco.
In about 1990, I put the full court press on Meeks, 13 locations now, cant remember how many back then. I landed the Chico location. Set an 8’ aisle of Bostitch, put on a product knowledge (PK) class, complete with pizza! Before we could get a sales event scheduled, the corporate Merchandising manager, DP nixed the whole deal, made the store return the product to the wholesaler. The wholesaler sold them 40 different items, one being mine so a return was out of my control. Then in 1999, with the help of then SWAT guy, Derek Davidson, we opened Grass Valley, repeated the above steps and held a SWAT event. 108 degree summer day, sold 22 tools. A Great Day. Within a week, DP put the nix on it. He was a real “nixer”! He never returned a call or email when it became available. I never met the man. Since then I have a number of different positions within the company. Fast forward to July 2009:
I now sell Stanley Hand Tools, Storage, and Bostitch. Meeks is my only potential growth customer. I have steadily built relationships with the different personnel and systematically added many new items to their mix. We have a promotion going on which places Stanley Hand Tools on Merchandising Racks, on their wall, for 50% off. I have added 46 racks to two stores. I called to alert the store buyer, Lacy that I was on my way to set their 32’ wall. She responded by telling me that as of Monday, they had a new Store Manager and that he was not happy to see all the Stanley in the warehouse. She told me to come to her office when I got there. I asked who was the new Store Manager, and yes, she responded with DP.

Hmm, well at least I get to meet this guy. On the hour-long drive, I got a little worried to be honest. This account is pretty important. I cannot let this guy nix me again. I have to stay calm, be in control, listen, mirror his body language/demeanor/rhythm. I have a chance, one chance to make the first impression, what I want it to be. I have to go in assuming he remembers nothing of our past occurrences. I must create the “reality” of our business relationship as I want it to be. “I am not who you think I am, I am not who I think I am, I am who I think, you think I am.
When I arrived Cindy informed me that Lacy had been let go that morning, right after our phone conversation. Nice atmosphere, good thing I had a plan. The “counter” clerk Cindy is an old school lumberyard gal. It was easy to create that needed relationship with her in the weeks I had been working on this location. I had sold them in a 8’ Storage set and now it was a 32’ Hand Tool wall. Cindy says, you need to talk to DP. She paged him, no answer. He had gone to lunch. She looks out the window and sees him getting into his truck. She goes outside and I can hear her yelling his name. Great, so he’s not gonna like his lunch being interrupted, here we go, he’s on his way back in the store.
Mid 50’s I’d say, medium height and about 30 lbs overweight. No expression is evident.
We meet, introduce ourselves and shake hands. I start out with, well, I understand Lacy is no longer with the company. He affirms with a nod and I detect a little remorse. Here’s a guy who has worked for this company for 18 years, by his reaction, it most likely bothered him. A crack in the armor. I respond with, “ I know how tough that can be, we’ve recently been through the same thing. These are tough times”. A slightly more relaxed demeanor came over him, I mirrored that and seg-way’d into how Stanley and Bostitch had combined. How I had been with Bostitch for 22 years. I figured I may as well get it out there now. No response. Then he asked about the Stanley Black and Decker merger, a good sign. I briefly explained what I could. He then asked, “what do you have in mind for my tool wall?” a very good sign. We walked the wall, he had some suggestions which I made note of. He apologized for not being able to supply me any help, I was to come back in the morning and start. All in all, a very good start.
I set a beautiful wall in the next two days, bringing in a custom Starbucks order the second morning. Friday afternoon, the Stanley wall was complete, trash in the dumpster. DP was quite happy with the results. There were 12 more feet that could be re-worked and condensed in that wall, with opportunity to add more product. Friday night, I emailed he and the new buyer, D with a Bostitch Manual Tacker planogram and 3 more tool Racks. Monday morning I was back. I walked into DP’s office, had some small talk, found he had not looked at email. I let him know that I would be happy to finish his wall and while I was at it I would obviously create room for the new Bostitch Manual Tacker display. This would give him a “Pro” line to augment his Arrow and Do It Best DIY tacker line. He was very positive. That was too easy, he wouldn't make this semi-minor call himself, he would want his new tool buyer D to have that input, so I backed off a little saying, “I wouln't want to step on whatever plans D had, and maybe you two could toss it around”. He liked that a lot, base hit, gapper, little did he know that I already had this conversation with D and knew he liked the idea. I bid him a happy Thanksgiving, he reciprocated, I will.Bottom line, relationship building often starts out as a sequence of reactionary conversation with the goal of “Being a Natural Part of the Situation. The Natural Salesman can walk into the store, greet the counter folks, and walk into the Store Managers office, unannounced and get things done. This process is a tight rope walk with this guy right now, I am not relaxing just yet, but if I can get this small unassuming Bostitch PO from the guy who defines Nixing, he’s a real nixer, the door is wide open and I am walkin' in. Remember the two bulls standing on top of the hill looking down on the green lush valley full of cows. The young bull says, “ hey, lets run down there and get us one!”, at which the old bull says, “nah, lets just walk down there and get them all”. Be the old bull.

Day in the life of the "Natural Salesman"

This is a sales story, although not an exciting one. You won't be taking notes on this for sure. It was simply a day that reminded me why I love being a salesman, "the Natural Salesman"
In September 1993, I was doing some pretty good business in Redding, Ca. I was getting alot of contractors working and living in Weaverville coming into my SWAT events in Redding so I decided to open one dealer there. I would go into town strong and confident and make one of these lumberyards excited to carry a product they dont have and dont get a big call for.
Early one morning, I drove from Redding to Weaverville to open one of the lumberyards in town. First stop, HomeCraft Lumber, Mike and Phyllis Price had just sold the store to a larger lumberyard, Schmidbauer Lumber and were there to run the business for the next couple years. I had to "create the common denomitor", quickly. I needed to find something out about these people that I can relate to from my personal experiences. Finding the common ground is the most important sales skill you can possess. But it cant be fake. You are the demonitor that needs to adapt to theirs, it's simple math, lol.
As I began to establish this new relationship, I told him I was here in town today to open up only one of the two yards as a Bostitch dealer. It didnt happen that day, but with some follow-through I opened them up as a Full Line Bostitch Construction Dealer. I did many SWAT(Stanley Works Attack Team) events over the next few years and as his Bostitch biz grew through perserverence, hard work, and salesmanship, we owned the local market for a good 5 years. I was promoted in late 1999 and have had many differents positions and territories since. For all intents and purposes, they have not been my account since 1999.
Today, for the first time in years, I headed for the big W. As I reached the top of the wiskeytown grade, I remembered the Bronco's first death. As I had reached the peak with 327,000 miles on her, she died and speewed blue smoke into the 100 degree air. She did live on to her second life/engine and now lives in Caleveras County as a snow-plow.
As I pull up to the front of the store, the marque reads, "Thank You FireFighters!" and I spot the Bostitch banner in the front window. Phyllis walksout to her car with an armfull of afgans. I say, "Phyllis!", she turns, looks at me a nd says, "John, what are you doing here?" We used to exchange pictures and stories of our kids, today, we exchange grandbaby pictures. We go in the store and there's Mike. He doesnt fish tourneyments anymore, bought a motorhome and He and Phyllis are finally retireing next year.
I pulled out my promo's, went over a couple of them and took two PO's.
When you treat people right, and let them in on you the person, it creates lasting relationships. You must be a "Natural" part of their business to succeed.