Bob Batcheler – Growing Your Network with Lean

Bob "Batch" Batcheler shares his secret for growing his consultancy and finding great companies. He gives his services away, and that makes people want more. Batch tells how his initial conversations lead to one of three outcomes: he has no interest (almost never), he knows someone who can help more than him, or he knows how he can help. Batch tells how his free exploration leads to a request for a commitment to an engagement, and how some of those commitments lead to full-time employment. Batch also talks about how product management is a job that requires 30 ways to say no. "Sell what's available today," is one of his mantras for good relationships between sales and product. Batch sells against alternatives rather than the ideal, and knows how to show that his product is way better than alternatives. "You don't have to be perfect, but you do have to be better than what they can do on their own or with another vendor." Batch tells how he handles the CEO who tells him what needs to be done, CEO's who are often leading organizations that lack focus and have limited ability to deliver. Batch talks about the power of focus and why that leads to more value than spreading yourself too thin. Batch enjoys being engaged and solving hard problems, and tells us why he applies Lean principles to his own life. "There's not an organization or an industry that Lean principles cannot transform," says Batch. Finally, Batch struggles with his APS beeping during a power outage.