Torque.TV is a recently launched digital television network for everything and anything automotive.

Where did you spend your summer break?
Our summer break was pushed to the very end of August due to an insanely busy schedule of automotive television production and event coverage.  At the last minute we rented a cottage on Fire Island, where, ironically, there are no cars.  It took a little time to get used to having no appointments but we had a blast enjoying long days filled with nothing to do and jollying about via fat-tired retro bicycles.

What book are you currently reading?
The Agony And The Ecstacy by Irwin Stone.  It seems that even Michelangelo had to mix business acumen with hard work, passion, and talent in order to see his vision through.  We might debate how meddlesome or intrusive government's role in small business currently is, but whatever we contend with today is a big improvement over Rome and Florence in the late 1400s!

What was the last movie you saw, and would you recommend it?
My daughter plays the piano, so we went to see a documentary called Note by Note: The Making of Steinway L1037 at the Jacob Burns Film Center (in Pleasantville, NY).   Afterwards, concert pianist Michael Boriskin played THE piano we watched being built in the film, and then we stayed for a Q&A with the film's director, Ben Niles.  Four thumbs up!  Race to rent or see the film.  And, if you are ever in Queens, NY, call to schedule a tour of the Steinway "factory" - a truly unique, old-fashioned American business success story.

What is your favorite sport or hobby?
I'm currently addicted to cross-country running.  I live in the exurbs of New York surrounded by woods and parklands.  When the stress level gets out of whack I head for the hills.  No fancy equipment or appointments required; just head out the back door or down the dirt road.  A long run, especially to a scenic vista and back, totally resets the gauges.

Who is your favorite historical figure?
Hannibal (not the serial killer, the Carthaginian General).  Always undermanned and under-funded, with a small band of dedicated followers, he repeatedly outmaneuvered, outsmarted, outworked, and nearly conquered the Roman army.  The quote most often attributed to him: "We will either find a way, or make one."

Who is your favorite living person?
Frank Stephenson, the designer of the Mini Cooper S.  What a fun car to drive and look at!

If you could choose another profession, what would it be?
Easy answer: a rural postal clerk in New Zealand.  My delivery vehicle would be a 1967 Austin-Healey 3000 with the top permanently down, and I’d keep a fly rod in the trunk for lunch breaks.

What do you think is the worst bad habit to have at work?
Inertia—got to keep moving forward!  As one of my partners often reminds us, “good enough and going forward” is better than waiting for perfection.

What quality or qualities do you most value in your business associates?
Passion, honesty, and a positive outlook.  I’m really lucky to have a talented support team who, because of all of the above, allow us to aim really high and have fun while we are racing there.

Is there anything you'd like to improve about your own work practices?
Sure.  I need to delegate more and to add more balance.  It’s easy to get sucked in by the many demands of a small business and to convince yourself that you have to do, or oversee, it all.  Every so often I get tied up and can’t make a meeting that I was certain I had to lead—only to find out they made more progress without me there!  You have to step out and breathe and recharge regularly to restore a sense of perspective.

As someone at the top of your profession, what keeps you inspired or makes you hit the ground running in the morning?
Reading thank-you emails from viewers who are passionate about cars or trucks or motorcycles and thrilled to find free, unique, original programming from www.torque.tv available on their computers is really motivational.  I enjoy being on the leading edge of broadband television and fully immersed in the changing world of new media.  I love what I do. 

What do you consider has been your greatest achievement in business? 
I honestly can’t choose one.  Every time a switch has been thrown somewhere and a new start-up business that I’ve been involved in has gone live, it has felt like the greatest achievement—with a sense of accomplishment shared by everyone involved.

What advice or useful tip would you give to someone who is just starting out in business?
Avoid the highway.  If you want to work in the television or film industry, instead of choosing a film or TV production major consider instead law, English (story telling), or business as your field of study before you start.  There are too many producers and never enough great writers, entertainment lawyers, or business leaders available.

About Torque.TV
Torque.TV—"Broadband Television for Motorheads"—is the next generation of car, truck, and motorcycle television, delivering exclusive, original high-quality programming and event coverage across a dozen channels of scheduled and/or on demand programming.  Ad supported, Torque.TV is free to anyone with a broadband connection and is viewable in broadcast/full-screen clarity on computer, plasma, and digital television screens. For more information visit www.torque.tv  or www.torque.tv/press.

International Paper of Memphis, Tennessee, was presented with a Stevie Award for Best Sales Training in the 2007 Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service. Here we look at how playing a business game contributed to the company's success.

International Paper (IP), founded in 1898, is a global company that produces uncoated paper and packaging, with markets and operations in North America, Europe, Russia, Latin America, Asia, and North Africa. With headquarters in the United States, IP employs approximately 54,000 people in more than 20 countries and serves customers worldwide. Annual sales are about $22 billion.

International Paper was awarded a Stevie in 2007 for the development of a CVM (customer value management) process that greatly increased the business expertise of all its sales, support, and customer service employees.

"International Paper's consultative approach to sales is critical to our customers' and to our long-term success," said Steve Sullivan, customer value service manager for IP. "We implemented the principles of CVM and continue to make great efforts to improve customer success by demonstrating how the company's tailored solutions deliver value to its stakeholders and customers."

Added Sullivan: "One of the main goals of the CVM sales training is to make sure that both salespeople and other support personnel understand how International Paper makes money as well as how its customers make their money. This approach requires higher levels of business acumen and financial literacy among the sales teams."

Masters of the Game
A familiarity with business finance was gained by using Paradigm Learning's award-winning board game Zodiak®: The Game of Business Finance and Strategy for Sales Professionals .

Zodiak® is a one-day business acumen training program that includes a four- to five-hour business simulation followed by a two- to three-hour "Connections" session. The program targets supervisors, managers, sales professionals, project managers, and other leaders and can be customized to the needs of different organizations. Zodiak® is based on discovery learning methodology and is designed to educate through a fun and hands-on experience.

"By playing Zodiak, our sales professionals gained a better understanding of our customers' businesses by building business models of customer operations, analyzing financial and strategic planning information, and identifying how to sell bottom-line results to top-line managers," commented Sullivan.

International Paper has achieved exceptional sales results by using its CVM  process and increasing business acumen for all sales, support, and customer service employees. This is where IP’s consultative approach to sales is critical. IP implemented the principles of CVM and continues to make great efforts to improve customer success by demonstrating how the company’s tailored solutions deliver value to its stakeholders and customers.

Playing to Learn
The five elements of CVM are: identify, discover, create solutions, deliver, and manage.

International Paper sought a way for its sales professionals to better understand its customers businesses by having them speak the language of their clients and understand how each salesperson could impact customer success.

More than 300 people (sales and support) at IP have participated in Zodiak®, experiencing the rush of business ownership and realizing the importance of critical business fundamentals such as making a profit, generating cash, and increasing shareholder value.

A large part of International Paper’s success over the past few years can be directly contributed to the following CVM-trained sales and support teams’ efforts:

- Targeting the right customers and using CVM principles enabled the
IP salespeople to sell more and to improve their margins and their service
platforms.

- By gaining a broader and deeper knowledge of the customer base, IP salespeople secured more positive responses from customers than they had in past years. Their sales approach changed from being transactional to consultative. 

- The sales training sharpened the sales skills and business understanding of the IP account teams, giving them more structure and better guidelines. 

Said Sullivan: “That’s how profitable solutions are created and delivered.”

Not Just Playing Games
International Paper, which benchmarks its success against eleven other companies in the industry, ranked ninth (in return on investment ROI) out of those companies in 2003. In 2004 it ranked sixth, then fourth in 2005 and second in 2006.
 
About Steve Sullivan
Steve Sullivan has spent the last twenty-two years in sales and management, the last four developing sales training for, and delivering it to, International Paper’s sales force. Sullivan’s title, customer value service manager, was developed by International Paper to describe how its salespeople are moving toward a more supportive and consultative role rather than the traditional transactional, price-driven approach to sales. Sullivan cowrote International Paper’s CVM playbook, which is the company’s main sales-training guide for its sales, support, and customer-service professionals.

Sullivan graduated with a degree in economics from Ursinus College in Collegeville, Pennsylvania.

About International Paper
International Paper (NYSE: IP) is a global paper and packaging company with manufacturing operations in North America, Europe, Latin America, Russia, Asia and North Africa. Its businesses include uncoated papers and industrial and consumer packaging, complemented by xpedx, the company's North American distribution company. Headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, the company employs more than 65,000 people in more than 20 countries and serves customers worldwide. 2007 net sales were approximately $22 billion. For more information about International Paper, its products, and stewardship efforts, visit www.internationalpaper.com.

About Paradigm Learning
Paradigm Learning (www.ParadigmLearning.com) is a privately held company based in Tampa, Florida. Since 1994, it has worked with more than half of the companies on the Fortune 500 list, creating award-winning business games, business simulations, and Discovery Maps® to address a company’s specific business needs. Its flagship business acumen training program, Zodiak®: The Game of Business Finance and Strategy, has been played by more than one million people worldwide.  Other products address such issues as talent management, employee alignment, leadership accountability, team building, project management and organizational change.

Blogs, or web logs, are all the rage these days. Each month in this space we'll point you to several blogs that we think might be of interest to you.

The Daily Beast : The latest offering from Tina Brown: an ezine packed with buzz.
Bing's Blog : The blog of Stanley Bing, a businessman and columnist for Fortune magazine.
iCue : NBC political website targeting the new generation of voters.
Naked Shorts : Alternative thoughts on alternative investments…an investment analysts take on the economic situation.