Andrew Rudin
Andrew Rudin
Andrew (Andy) Rudin is Managing Principal of CONTRARY DOMINO, and faculty at George Mason University's School of Engineering and Information Technology. Andy provides comprehensive services to companies for sales governance, risk management, and compliance (GRC). Andy has a BS in marketing and an MS in information technology, both from the University of Virginia. In 2018, he was recognized as a Hall of Fame author on CustomerThink.
Optimize: Meaningful Math or Over-worn Word?
If you want to become a linguistic maven, or the life of a party, read Made in America - An Informal History of the...
Wells Fargo Disinfects Its Sales Culture. Will Other Companies Follow?
I’ve never taught corporate strategy to second graders, but I sometimes think about how to approach the challenge. I’d begin by representing a company...
Should Companies Stop Worshiping Sales Rock Stars?
“Can you find us a sales rep? And not just any rep. We want a rock star!” An ordinary request for something truly extraordinary....
Six Strategies for Managing Revenue Risk
When you boil off the ancillary stuff that business developers do, four distinct objects remain: 1. Capture: Acquire new customers 2. Maintain: Keep current customers…
How Does Global Risk Impact YOUR Company’s Revenue? Let Me Count the Ways!
The World Economic Forum, or WEF, holds its annual conference every January in Davos Switzerland, two hours from Zurich by train. Public policy wonks,...
Is the Voice of Risk Being Heard?
“If only HP knew how much HP knows, we would be three times more productive,” Hewlett-Packard CEO Lew Platt said. Had Mr. Platt been talking...
How to Implement a Price Increase
This month, I had a remarkably cruddy customer experience. "So what?" you say. "That's not unusual." Agreed. But this foul was so grievous,...
Virginia Gives Tesla’s New Sales Model a Faint Green Light
Earlier this month, I visited friends in Beverly Hills, California, and rode in their new Tesla Model S. The car accommodated six adults. Two...
Announcing the 2016 Sales Ethics Hall of Shame
I’ve never bumped into a live Ouroboros, but if I did, the sight would stop me in my tracks. “OMG! I didn’t think an...
Risk Committees: An Antidote for Fraud
I have a writing problem that’s giving me fits. I’m knee-deep into fraud - that is, describing how to prevent it. Unfortunately, the subject...
When I Say ‘Cheat,’ You Say ‘How Much?’ Why Salespeople Are Easy to Exploit
“Your judgment gets clouded out in the field when you are pressured to sell, sell, sell.” Wells Fargo, 2016? Actually, no. Dial back about...
Wells Fargo’s Restitution Must Include Its Fired Sales Employees
Today, there’s a bold headline featured in full-page ads in newspapers across the US. In case you missed it, it’s printed in Wells Fargo...
Cross-selling Is Not Evil!
You can’t read or hear anything about Wells Fargo without cross-selling popping up. “At Wells Fargo, apparently, the solution in recent years was aggressive...
Anatomy of a Scam: Wells Fargo’s Treachery Can Happen Anywhere
If you knew your customers were being deceived, why didn’t you stop it? If you didn’t know, why? As Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf knows,…
Three Things You DON’T Need to Know for Sales Success
In Virginia, the day after Labor Day means back-to-school. A tradition that reminds us that summer has entered its final fade, taking with it...
The Sales Force of the Future Could Be Spelled 1-0-9-9
I feel the same way about Zika that I do about being average. I’d rather avoid it. But averageness helped “Bill,” who once contacted...
Disclaimers: A Slick Way to Kind of Tell the Truth
In 2013, Pakistan’s Tribune newspaper reported that a Pakistani family can spend the equivalent of $9,600 to provide a marriage dowry for a daughter...
Do Corporate Values Matter?
Visit the website of a great company, and you’re certain to find a values speil. UnderArmour dedicates an entire web page to explain its...
Want a Customer-Focused Culture? Begin with Guidelines for Ethical Conduct
Politicians love to judge ethics – that is, everyone else's. If their hypocritical self-righteousness somehow produced water, Lake Mead would once again be...
Selling: Six Audacious Companies to Watch
“The future ain’t what it used to be,” Yogi Berra once remarked. A perfect advertising tagline for the nascent companies profiled in this article....