May 26, 2020 – Click here to listen
Lately I’ve run into more and more people who are discouraged by current events. I decided to send out a rerun of a Words for the Day that I first sent out nearly two decades ago that should instill some confidence in you that things can and will turn around, even when things seems their worst.
Back in the early days of building my software company, Horizon, I was trying very hard to win our very first major multi-million dollar account that we referred to as a mega account. It is nearly impossible to sell one of these deals unless you already have other mega clients as references. The first question a client will ask is always,
“Who else my size is using this system?”
And when I responded with a sheepish grin on my face,
“Well you’ll be the first, but I promise that if you go with us, I’ll treat you better than my own mama.”
You can be assured that it was similar to pouring ice water in their lap. No one ever wanted to be first when it came to buying and installing software for an account that large.
Over a period of months I’d been trying to impress a potential buyer from just such a mega account that our company was a good fit for them. The director was disgusted with his existing system and vendor, and seemed impressed with my overall enthusiasm, straight-forward genuine approach, and the quality of our products via my initial presentation. My over-riding strategy was to, at all costs, project an image of complete professionalism for myself and my new company.
I knew it was an uphill battle and it was going to be a doubly tough sale because of the zero-references-his-size issue, combined with the fact that he already had a very bad taste in his mouth for his current vendor, (which translated to all software companies being bad). My experience had been that potential customers have a tendency to throw all vendors into the same pot when in that frame of mind. The bottom line was that it was going to be a very tough sale and if I was to be successful, I had to make an impression of a lifetime.
I finally got him to agree to a major demonstration of live software and he lined up nearly fifty people to view it. Heretofore the most I’d ever shown the software to was six or seven people.
Wow!
This was the chance I’d been waiting for and I was determined to make the most of it. I was up literally hours prior to the meeting preparing for it. In fact I’m not sure I ever slept the night before. I dressed “fit to kill” in a sparkling new navy-blue Armani suit, double starched white shirt, new tie, gleaming shoes, my teeth were scrubbed and every hair on my head was perfectly in place.
I was only two minutes from the meeting place, and I saw no reason to leave too early, so about ten minutes prior to it I whispered a quick prayer and out the door I went. As I briskly walked down the sidewalk enjoying the bright sun, blue sky, and crisp air, I walked under a tree and suddenly a bird pooped on my head and partially on my right shoulder. Apparently, it was a very large bird and it had been eating very well and whatever that bird had been eating did not agree with it as there was no shortage of poop and I was “covered” in it.
It was a direct splattering hit!
Aghast I ran back to my room, but I discovered that I’d locked the key inside the room.
“Oh No!” I screamed at the top of my lungs as I fruitlessly shook the door handle.
In order to obtain another key I had to run down to the lobby with bird poop splattered all over my head and the shoulder of my shiny new Armani suit. The clerk took one look at the menacing, look on my face and in particular my eyes, and must have known better than to even ask about the bird poop all over my head and shoulder. He nervously handed me my replacement key, and I ran back to the room.
I didn’t have time to take a shower and/or change clothes. I used a damp washcloth to remove the poop from my hair, neck, and suit. By now I was completely flustered. I brushed and re-brushed with the damp cloth as hard and fast as I could to remove the mess and when I looked in the mirror for the final time, all of the color in my face was gone; I left the room pale, and completely frantic. I was going to be late for the meeting of a lifetime.
Minutes later, I arrived at the customer site shaken and nervous. I met my software engineer there, and as I looked at him, I got even more nervous. He was not very appealing to look at because he was very overweight, (morbidly obese and 400 plus lbs.) Unfortunately he was not much of a conversationalist either, but he was an excellent programmer. I would have never brought him to meet a customer had they not wanted to see the demonstration of the actual system utilizing live data. I did not feel confident with a deal this big to show live software myself however and preferred to have our best programmer there for added insurance in case something went wrong.
Envision this for a moment. Approximately fifty people were crowded into a very small room, standing in a semi-circle, and focusing on a single computer terminal with a chair in front of it, (back in those days LCD projectors had not been invented yet). I was standing there trying to smile, but internally my mind was racing, and I was frantically wondering if I’d removed all of the bird poop from my hair and clothes and I distinctly began to think that I could smell it.
I was rattled.
One never knows what will happen in live software demonstrations and I was hoping and praying that the software would perform well and not lock up or experience some other malfunction. Just then my 400 lb. plus technician stepped over to the chair to begin the demonstration and just as he tried to sit down on it, the chair rolled out from under him and he fell to the floor with a loud noise. I could literally feel the floor shake when he hit the floor. He was rolling back and forth flailing with his arms and legs straight up in the air, floundering around struggling to get up, and it reminded me a huge manatee struggling to get back into the ocean.
So much for projecting an image of professionalism!
The potential buyer and I, and several other people were trying to see if he was injured and help him into an upright position, whereby he could right himself and get up. After what seemed like an interminable delay, we were successful. Aside from his pride being damaged, nothing else appeared to be wrong with him. His face was beet red; so was mine. I could see his face and “feel” mine; it was flushed.
No one laughed and you could’ve heard a pin drop in that room. I should have said to myself, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me! I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me! I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!” Unfortunately what I was saying to myself is not fit to be repeated, much less put in print.
I was unnerved, and wishing I was anywhere but in that room. I knew this deal that I had worked so hard on for over a year was gone like the wind.
All of that was in my head and no doubt coming from Satan. No one at the meeting knew about the bird poop incident but me, and to a person everyone felt very sorry for the programmer and knew he was embarrassed to no end.
In spite of everything, we did get through the demonstration flawlessly, the programmer did an excellent job, and we answered all of their questions. Believe it or not, we won this account and many more after that, largely because of this great reference.
I am aware that the Bible states that a bird cannot fall to the ground without God seeing it. I assume God saw the bird poop fall to my head as well. I wonder if He laughed at this test. I think He did. I must admit now it seems humorous, but back then I was not laughing, and I am ashamed to say that I was not entirely confident that God would help me get through that ordeal.
Shame on me!
God knew the outcome would be good, and the buyer would buy our system, and it would just be the first of many mega deals we would win because of this great account, and that our company would thrive, and He knew it all before it ever happened. I think it probably made it all the more humorous to Him.
God was with me every step of the way through this test, whether I knew it, or had faith or not. I no doubt let Him down with some of my thoughts, but I was praying to Him also, and I’m delighted that He understands my weaknesses far better than I do and most of all forgives me for my mistakes.
I wanted to recount this incident in the hopes that you will remember it as we move through the bleak looking situation our nation is enduring and we individually are facing. When it looks as though all is lost, don’t give up! We are always closer to succeeding than we can ever imagine at the time, and God is right there with us every step of the way. Laugh with God when you are besieged with trials, it’s far better than getting bent out of shape over it. Somewhere in all of this there is a profound message, (I think).
What is it?
All I can think of is God is good all of the time . . .
Psalm 100:4
Enter His gates with thanksgiving
and His courts with praise;
give thanks to Him and praise His name.
For the Lord is good and His love endures forever;
His faithfulness continues through all generations.