Rick Somerton
The man remembered
I first meet Rick during my
final semester of college. I was bound and determined to have a job before
graduation. I figured why wait to graduate and compete with all the other
thousands of students who would be graduating at the same time. So, start now!
So in December (I was going to complete the program in April – Graduate in Late
June) I started researching who I wanted to work for upon graduation. I started
to read and research who I might want to work with. I boldly drew up my list of
Top 100 companies I wanted to invest my time and efforts with. It
was by parts daunting, exciting, tiring, and exhilarating.
I booked some interviews. I
interviewed people in HR and several in the sales and marketing, plus the owner
of a very successful import firm who had a sales and marketing team. After
the interviews I went back and drafted up two types of resumes. One resumes for
sales and one for marketing positions . Then the hunt began in earnest. I
started mailing out letters of introduction and my resume.
However, it does keep one
humble when the rejections letters started coming back. Yes in my first go
round of job search, companies sent back to me "Thanks but no Thanks"
letters. I think I got about 12 of them for the 30 or so positions I applied
for. However out of the first 33 applications sent out I got serious interest
from 3 firms. I managed to get two interviews with each of them. One of them
decided I was not the right fit, one I decided I was not a fit and the third
one made me an offer.
However during this series
of back and forth interviews I kept researching and looking for that first
career position. I was deep into January when a very tiny ad appeared in the
newspaper. Social Expression company looking for front line sales professional,
slaes training provided. Well I didn't know what a social expression
company was. However I quickly got myself on the phone and it turned out to be
a placement agency. I'd never worked with a placement agency before. However
I was not going to let that stop me.
I meet with the agency the
next day. I had an appointment with the firm in under three days. Both
appointments went very well. Then I went back to the agency we recapped the
interview. I was called back to the company for a second interview and after
that interview was asked to stay and meet Rick. This was a life affirming and
game changing series of events.
I didn't know it at the
time, however I found out later I was "competing" for this position
in the beginning with over 200 other candidates. The Human Resources Department
narrowed the field down to the 12 of us.
The 12 of us each got interviewed and then HR narrowed the field down to
eight. Then Rick interviewed the 8 of us, one at at time. Then just the 3 of us
where back for another interview then just the two of us. Unknown to me a
very special professional in the industry had been invited to also apply.
I found out later I was competing against an industry professional
from a competitor. I learned later they'd decided it was time to be more
progressive and hire their first female sales professional. Yeah! Oh wait... I
didn't get the position. I know I know my first reaction was Drats But wait:
Rick made an offer I could not refuse that took not only took the sting out of
it but offered me a change to develop, deepen and practise several valuable skill
sets.
It seems I scored very high
in my aptitude test on mechanical abilities. Would I consider starting off as a
Retail Installation Coordinator or a RIC (I teased him about naming a job
position after himself - a few months later). I learned I'd be in charge of new
and renovated in-store fixturing set ups and on occasion merchandising as well.
Exciting times. Plus I'd lead teams of up to 12 on the set up crews and
on the merchandising teams.
I held that position for 10
months and during that time we opened and renovated well over 32 stores across
Ontario. Plus I was given the opportunity to work in the interior of
British Columbia and help renovate our department in a series of department
stores. It was a busy time! During these months I drove over 80,000 miles and I
lost track of how many miles in the air and car rental miles I racked up.
It was starting to get
tiring towards the end of the 10 months between the miles, the hours and being
away from home a change was wanted.. However there was also a very big sense of
accomplishment to go along with it all. I enjoyed hiring, training each of the
set up crews. Plus I was very pleased and proud of a exceptional perfect safety
record. Zero accidents despite the urgency of the set ups and the less than
ideal working conditions.
However being called into
Rick's office for a meeting with a one week lead time left me time to wonder
"What's up?" It was good news I was being promoted and moving from
the Sales Support Team into the position of Sales Trainee. Better still of all
the trainers in the firm I was going to be training with Mr. Trevor Hunt. He
had a first rate track record having worked his way up the corporate ladder in
the England and then come to Canada to work in the firm. He had quite a
bit of experience and was a very gifted trainer. That was a very good meeting.
So Rick then shared a life
altering piece of insight that has helped me better understand myself and shape
all of the consulting, training, coaching and mentoring I've done since. Rick
shared with me a learning model that helped me better understand myself and all
those I'm with ever since. It really was an Ah Ha! moment.
Rick introduced me to the: Four
States of Awareness, also known as the Four States of Consciousness.
They go something like this:
First State of
Consciousness or Awareness
In this state of
consciousness or awareness "We don't know-We don't know" So little
stuff and big stuff keeps happening to us. Yet we are 100% unaware of the why.
Second State of
Consciousness or Awareness
In this state of
consciousness or awareness "We know-We don't know" So little stuff
and big stuff keeps happening to us. However now we understand there is a
cause and effect. WE know we have some choices and some learning to do. It can
be a time of great excitement and or a time of great anger and frustration.
"Why didn't anyone tell me before?"
Third State or
Consciousness or Awareness
In this state of
consciousness or awareness "We know we know.
We are not yet 100% aware
of the W5 (Who, what, where, when, why and how) Yet we are underway. Changing,
learning, growing and expanding our awareness and skills. We are becoming
competent.
In this state of
consciousness we know we don't know it all yet, however we are learning,
process, names, skills and expanding our awareness and looking for "What's
next?"
Fourth State or
Consciousness or Awareness
In this state of
consciousness many would say we are unconsciously competent, We have potentially
forgotten the names, and process to doing things.We do them as a habit. Not
consciously. Yet, at one time we had to learn the process, names, skills
and practise to be productive. Now it's a habit. Just happens.
These four types of
consciousness helped me better understand exactly where I was when dealing with
personal and professional issues as well as when consulting with business
clients or volunteering.
So my question to you is:
Where do you stand on something in life that is blocking you? Perhaps you're
stuck in a state of Unconsciousness like the First State. I know I had a friend
who refused to learn anything about managing a serious health issue. In turn
they had an excessive amount of pain and suffering. They refused to move from
the pain and discomfort they had physically and emotionally with their illness
through the discomfort of learning some vital information rationally and then
using it. I still don't fathom it. They suffered long and deep for 20 years.
Instead of a few classes with a health educator "Imagine taking lessons at
my age." they'd told me.
So it's not good or bad or
right or wrong to be in any of these state of consciousness. However it's
potentially expensive and painful to be in the first state, annoying and trying
to be in the second on, and liberating and hard work as we learn in the third
state and life is much easier as we have the courage and persistence to attain
the fourth state of consciousness.
Years later I decided
(quite boldly I'd suggest) that this model from the 12th or 13th century was
amazing, yet could do with some states of awareness and conciseness. However more
on that at in another column.
So until next time, Imagine
Yourself with more Resiliency for life.
