Salesfolk and inclusive language

A few days ago I posted to LinkedIn:

I have successfully replaced “salesman / salesmen” in my vocabulary with “salesfolk”.

Not only is it gender-inclusive, but honestly? It’s just a better word.

Someone said (in response to this), “Didn’t you folks needlessly name and gender your software packages?”

They’re referring to* our Minion Enterprise and Minion Maintenance mascots: Hiro, Zoe, Codex, and Emmett. (They’re very cute. You can see them on MinionWare.net pages.)

I replied:

“Yes. We created mascots for each product, and gave them names. Of course they’re fictional creatures, and robots besides, and so don’t need genders.

“But with any creation you make choices. I could write a story with all gender-neutral (or genderfluid) characters if I chose to…or I could have a mix of genders. That’s a creative process.

“The difference with “salesfolk” is that we’re referring to real people. There are plenty of women who are sales professionals. There are also gender-neutral and genderfluid folks who are in sales. The difference between “needlessly name[ing] and gender[ing] your software packages” and using courteous, inclusive language is this:

“___We’re not hurting the fictional robot mascots by assigning them a gender.___ People, on the other hand, deserve consideration and respect. (I expect people to call me Jen, not Jennifer or Jenny or Brian. How could I then be okay with calling a woman “he”? I can’t.)”

*Oh hey, notice how I used “they” to refer to the person that commented? And it’s totally fine!

A death in the family + digital legacies

My brother died last week, very unexpectedly and far too young.

There’s a lot to write about grief and sadness and the aftermath of losing someone you love, but this isn’t the place for that.

This is where I ask you for help.

A friend of my brother’s, D.N., has been corresponding with me and giving helpful guidance. One thing D.N. wrote stood out to me: “I don’t have experience with digital legacy and inheritances, but I know that it’s a mess. Every online company seems to have their own policies, and if there’s a law then it’s hard to enforce.”

I had already been a little worried about that.

I need firsthand advice and guidance on digital legacies

My brother and I are…were…Generation X, the first generation to truly grow up on computers. So much of our lives and friendships and creativity are online. Some of it can simply go away, as all things do. But some of it is well worth saving.

Have you been through this?

What did you find?

What’s the best guide available?

Are there services for this? Lawyers?

Help, if you can.

  • Twitter: MidnightDBA
  • Discord: Momther#9659
  • Email: jen at midnightdba . c o m

Technology and Humans

Everything I thought I knew about sales and business was wrong.

[You weren’t quite expecting that, and you pause to sip your tea.]

When I was younger, so much younger than today…

When I formed opinions about sales and business, it wasn’t positive: Sales is manipulative, bad, creepy, and annoying. Business is boring. Despite a lifetime of experience, I still believed that technology work is about following the right rules for any given project.

What I know now: Every single thing humans do is about humans.

Now I find I’ve changed my mind…

Where I tended to think of “business” as a Thing, it is actually about people: what we want, what we do, how we feel about it, and so on.  Humans, human emotions, and human interaction. 

Why isn’t history taught this way? Why isn’t everything?

Earlier this year, I had a trial session with a mindset coach to address some hang-ups about sales and leadership. The conversation rocketed from “What’s holding you back from success?” to a deep emotional conversation. 

I’d assumed the coach would discover my procedural flaws and bad assumptions. Instead, she went straight to the heart of the feelings, which fed the ideas, which held me back.

Oh, right. Anything involving humans will absolutely be about emotions. (And psychology, and social interactions, and on and on.)

…and opened up the doors.

Uplifting idea? Maybe yes, maybe no. My own feeling is one of clarity, because I deeply understand: 

  • You, fellow human, are reading this right now.
  • You and I are connected by these words, and by much more.
  • Every single person out there is a fellow human and is more like me than any other creature on this planet, or in all existence.

There’s a lot of freedom in understanding these things, especially as I am in the business of selling software to businesses. Which, it turns out, are just collections of humans.

“Everyone is a potential sale,” salespeople say.

No. Everyone is a fellow human. Some of them will need what I sell. My job is to find the folks who need us, and connect with them.

—

Lyrics, “Help”, the Beatles: 

When I was younger, so much younger than today
I never needed anybody’s help in any way 
But now these days are gone (these days are gone) 
I’m not so self-assured 
Now I find I’ve changed my mind 
And opened up the doors