Starting with the January issue of Selling Power magazine, we're featuring a new monthly column written by Bill McDermott, CEO of SAP. He is the author of a terrific book, Winners Dream, in which he shares his journey from running a deli at age 16 to landing a job at Xerox, selling copy machines in New York City. He realized his dream yet he keeps on reaching higher. As the head of SAP, and leader of 70,000 employees around the globe he has not forgotten his roots and he remains curious, humble and hungry. He is also giving back and helps others win.
As the publisher of Selling Power magazine I've had the privilege of interviewing Bill McDermott several times and he always struck me as a sincere, genuine, and authentic leader who walks the talk. I read Winners Dream twice from cover to cover and I enjoyed listening to his audio book (which he recorded in a 5 hour CD) on my way to work. At the first reading I enjoyed the story of his amazing journey from salesperson to CEO and learning his secret sauce for creating a winning sales organization. The second time it struck me that Bill is one of the most emotionally intelligent leaders in the technology industry that's filled with chest thumping blowhards and empathy deficient narcissists.
It is so refreshing to get an insider's view of the emotional playbook of a gifted and successful leader who is aware of people's dreams, who recognizes people's potential and who leads them to success with an audacious vision, a bold strategy and a relentless passion for winning. Bill is unafraid of candidly sharing his battle scars from fighting with adversity and disappointment. He wears humility like a badge of honor and that makes him more human and larger than life at the same time.
If you are in sales, I invite you to use Selling Power magazine as your sales and self-improvement coach. Check out our cover story with Bill McDermott and listen to this video interview where he tells the story of how he managed a corner store deli as a 16-year old. In February you will read how Bill made the vital transition from salesperson to sales manager and you will be able to watch our video interview we recorded at SAP's headquarters in Heidelberg.
If you want to improve yourself and ignite your dreams and contribute to a far better world, become a perpetual student of winners like Bill McDermott who turned their dreams into reality and who give back to the profession of selling.
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