Back in August 2020, I posted a blog about SOAR stories. SOAR stories are a fantastic way to reflect on Situations that seemed challenging at the time because of certain Obstacles. In order to succeed, you took Action and the Result was something you can be proud of, and which contributed to who you are today. It built character.
You many think that these stories mean nothing. After all, they are just stories. However, ALL stories have a meaning; ALL stories disclose something about the characters in them. The character-traits are what keep people interested and yearning for more.
The story is only one part of what makes doing this exercise valuable. The more important part is rediscovering who you are at your core and what attributes distinguish you from others when faced with challenges.
I'd like to continue sharing some of my personal SOAR stories and the characteristics that they exhibit.
What are some of your SOAR stories? If you can't see your inner #basass, we can work together to rediscover it! I'd love to hear them and publish them on this blog!
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I was working for a software company in northern California, specializing in architectural CAD/CAM products as the Area Sales Director for Japan/APAC, responsible for 10 countries.
In order to grow revenue in these areas, we needed Asian-language products.
Leveraging skills obtained while working for a CAD/CAM company in the early 90’s, I partnered with a company in Japan who would be able to provide localization services and I directly contributed to the development of product specifications and oversaw the localization project.
At this time, downloadable software was not an option. Just like cassette tapes and music CDs (for those unfamiliar with the aforementioned, ask your parents!!), software was sold in boxes on shelves across the country. This meant that we also needed packaging to be able to display and sell our products.
It was my responsibility to manage and coordinate software localization, package design and manufacturing, and distribution all in time for specific sales cycles.
Within a year, and in partnership with my distributors, we had Japanese-language products on the shelves of software stores across Japan, increasing revenue by 153%.