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2014-06-02T08:45:00.002-07:00

Your Meeting of the Year

2013-01-09T13:48:00.000-08:00

When are you going to have your best meeting of the year? Next week? Next month? 4th Quarter?

I may have already had mine the day before yesterday. I set out in 2013 with the goal of more coffee and lunch meetings with more creative people to network, brainstorm, and gain ideas from to help kickstart the year. And my meeting with Nicholas McGill, an acquaintance I've not seen for several years, ended up providing me with more value and inspiration than I ever imagined.

We have the potential to help each other with connections, business opportunities, and personal goal achievement--and it made me wonder why I let several years go by without reaching out to him. We have our next meeting already on the calendar to follow up on the areas where we might be able to help one another.

In case you're wondering, this extremely bright talented young man runs his own company here in Northern California, Heroik Media, and has a team working with him transforming businesses, people, and heck--who knows, maybe the world next. Watch Nicholas' two-minute video introduction--you won't be disappointed and it might inspire you to:

Consider how you tell the world who you are
Consider who you are in the first place
Consider reaching out to Nicholas via email
Consider that next coffee or lunch meeting you schedule.

When will be your best meeting of the year?

What Thing Are You Going To Do Today?

2012-12-17T09:43:00.000-08:00

Karla Nelson, Principal at Swiss Avenue Partners and founder of SBEIA (Small Business Economic Impact Alliance) sent me a follow-up note after a recent meeting, and on the back of the note was one of the most high-impact quotes I've ever read by Paulo Coelho. Cuelho is a popular writer most noted for The Alchemist.

"One day you'll wake up and there won't be any more time to do the things you've always wanted. Do it now." -Paulo Cuelho-

What thing are you going to do today?

Driving the Message

2012-12-12T12:38:00.000-08:00

Assuming that your top management team is meeting weekly or monthly, the next key to driving communication and messaging throughout your company is to meet with your "extended management" team at least quarterly. Here is where you share safety issues, financial performance, and progress against objectives. This is all part of the "rhythm" required to make a company run at it's best.

Do You Have a "Dream Team?"

2012-12-10T12:50:00.000-08:00

It's sometimes called a network, personal board of advisers, or mastermind group. But I like this definition from Patti Johnson taken from the Success Magazine Blog site: The Six People You Need on Your Dream Team.

The Pro
The Encourager
The Innovator
The Challenger
The Connector

Ooops, where's the 6th?

I'ts you. But for most of us, we try everything as a solo-act. Read the article and find the five people who will help you get where you want to go.

Level 5 Leadership

2012-12-09T11:40:00.003-08:00

In Good to Great, Jim Collins described Level 5 Leadership as "building enduring greatness through a blend of personal humility and professional will." The ego needs of the leader are shifted away from herself and onto the greater good of the company. This isn't to say the ego isn't present--it is, but the focus is on that of the organization--not the leader.

The "leader as a celebrity" is an image most of us are familiar with--but Collins suggests that there is a strong correlation between lower key, hands-on leadership and enduring success.

Where do you stand?

Right People, Opportunity, and Compensation

2012-12-06T00:21:00.000-08:00

"If you pick the right people and give them the opportunity to spread their wings—and put compensation as a carrier behind it—you almost don't have to manage them." --Jack Welch--

I'd add that this means giving your people the tools and target, getting out of their way, and clearly showing the rewards for winning.

Who Are You?

2012-11-14T21:50:00.000-08:00

Are you the person you want your people to be?

And if you aren't, how can you expect them to be?

All great leadership begins with modeling. Setting the example. Being the person you want your own people to be.

As a matter of fact, the laws of nature prevent anything other than this from being true.

1. The law of the mirror states that what you give--you get back. And what you see--is what you are.
2. Who you are has a great deal to do with who you attract into your life, business, and relationships.
3. Like attracts like. Great people attract great people. Positive people attract positive people.

Positive begets positive.

Thematic vs. Hands-On Leadership

2012-11-05T19:38:00.000-08:00

A manager can provide thematic leadership when on the command deck while the crew mans the guns and gets the work done. But that same manager also needs to be able to and willing to role up his sleeves to do the work when needed.

The troops need leadership, and they also need to know their leader would join along side them if needed.

It reminds me of the story about the battle leader who proclaimed he could win over his opponent and that his army would do anything for him, because he knew they were each ready to give their life for him.

The battle leader's opponent knew different. "It is my troops that are unstoppable, because each of them know I am willing to give my life for them.

Dinner With Tony Soprano

2012-10-22T21:53:00.000-07:00

On HBO series "The Soprano's," did you ever notice how many times Tony had his "family" (a.k.a. employees) over to his home for dinner? BBQs, formal dinners, and parties. All intended to "build his team," honor them, and get closer to them.

It's something so many team leaders forget to do these days. There's nothing quite like a little socializing with working partners while breaking bread (just be sure your team isn't out breaking legs--like Tony's guys).

It won't work if you overdue it. But done genuinely and in the right doses, it'll be enjoyable anyway--and it'll all work out.

In the rush of driving results and getting things done, be sure to make time to slow down and enjoy the people with whom you work. They'll see you in a different light, and sometimes that's a really good thing.

Dare Yourself to be Real

2012-09-29T10:43:00.000-07:00

Candor. Jack Welch calls it "the Biggest Dirty Little Secret in Business."

Why is that? Because often enough, people just don't open up and say what's on their mind--good or bad. They withold criticism, they want to "make nice" and avoid conflict (as I said two Blogs ago in "Did You Reach Consensus? Oh-oh").

We have to be determined to use more candor in the way we deal with our people, our teams, our meetings, and our situation. From Welch's book "Winning:"

1. "....candor gets more people in the conversation, and when you get more people in the conversation, to state the obvious, you get idea rich." "Instead of everyone shutting down, everyone opens up and learns. Any organization-or unit or team-that brings more people and their minds in to the conversation has an immediate advantage."

2. "...candor generates speed. When ideas are in everyone's face, they can be debated rapidly, expanded and enhanced, and acted upon. That approach-surface, debate, improve, decide-isn't just an advantage, it's a necessity in a global marketplace."

3. "...candor cuts costs." "Just think of how it eliminates meaningless meetings and b.s. reports that confirm what everyone already knows. Think of how candor replaces fancy PowerPoint slides and mind-numbing presentations (with real conversations)."

You've seen and know when people are using candor. Dare to do it yourself. Don't hold back.

In fact, be blunt. Do it with respect, but better to show tough love than hold back and fail to achieve.

Did You Arrive at a Consensus? Oh-oh

2012-09-25T19:13:00.000-07:00

Everyone likes to make nice. To get along. To get agreement.

But in this rush, the group may not "flush" out all the issues.

The leader's job is to encourge conflict, debate, and healthy disagreement. Only when this happens can the leader be sure that she has drug out enough conflict in order to flush out bad alternatives--and gain commitment around the final (best) outcome.

Is There a Faker Among You?

2012-09-18T22:47:00.000-07:00

It can feel great and satisfying to work with a (team) that seems to take on assignments, make decisions, and produce results. But if that (team) has an imposter among it--well, you don't have a true team. And you aren't going to have lasting success.

Imposters and fakers on teams nod in approval but act in opposition.

Imposters and fakers on teams appear to be "on board" but in fact, quietly undermine, undermine, and undermine.

Imposters and fakers on teams give lip service to the mission but hold their invidual agenda highest.

Imposters and fakers on teams will be the end of the (team)...unless you find them out.

Do you have an imposter and faker among you? What are you going to do about it?

5 Qualities of a Team

2012-09-18T07:21:00.000-07:00

By far, the most important of the four components of Strategy, Team, Execution, and Results--is the TEAM. Specifically, no group, organization, or team can function at its highest level possible until five qualities are present. In Patrick Lencioni's best selling book, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, he shows what happens when these qualities are non-existent--and how to achieve lasting change.

Qualities of the Best Teams:

They trust each other. If hidden agendas exist or the slightest mis-trust between any of the group members, teamwork will be stifled.
They engage in unfiltered conflict. Ideas and debated--sometimes very passionately. Everyone has to know that its acceptable to push on one another and flush out any bad ideas which will let the best rise to the top.
They commit to plans and actions. Once a direction is set, ALL members commit. They are aligned, they move quickly, and they are clear about their direction and priorities.
They hold each other accountable. Poor performers feel pressure to improve. Respect increases when all team members are held to the same high standards.
They focus on collective results. Individual agendas are replaced by an intense desire and commitment to the team's accomplishments. Attaining the goal is job #1.

CHALLENGE. If you want to take one step to achieve absolute improvement in the way your team works together, buy a copy of The Five Dysfunctions of a Team for each member of your team and take them through it and it's exercises. You'll experience some amazing breakthroughs....and break-withs.

Select Your Crew, Get Rid of Mutineers, and Harness Everyone's Strengths

2012-09-14T09:28:00.001-07:00

It is so tempting.

You arrive as a new supervisor or manager in a department or division. And the first thing you want to do is to "change things" and make your mark and make a difference.

You learn the business, you go see some customers, you design some new programs and "ways of doing things," and within 30-90 days, you LAUNCH your new plan.

And in 90 more days, you haven't reached your goals and the results are not that much different.

Why? Because you started with tactics, programs, and measures. You didn't start with the people.

Jim Collins said it better than anyone in Good to Great. First, you:

Get the right people on the bus
Get the wrong people off the bus
And get the right people in the right seats

But assessing, working with, and adding or eliminating people take up valuable time, right? Yup, sure does. "I'll figure out the people part later, but for now--I've got to change somethings and satisfy my boss!"

In extreme cases, you have to step aboard and make immediate changes. Like the ship's First Mate who takes over for a Captain wounded in battle. If he doesn't put out the fires, plug the leaks, and grab the wheel with both hands--the entire ship and crew are in trouble.

But unless your ship is on fire and leaking water, you need to first CAREFULLY select your crew, and in particular--the leaders of that crew. You need to remove the mutineers and leave them on shore. And then you need to see to it that everyone on the ship is doing the job they were born to do--which might not necessarily be the job they're in now.

When the crew is right, only then can you chart your course, raise the sail, and head North with the confidence that you are all a team committed to one thing: the destination.

Success…right under our noses.

2012-09-08T10:00:00.000-07:00

Patrick Lencioni captured my attention in 2002 when Chris Walton shared "The Five Dysfunctions of a Team" with me and his management team. I've been a fan ever since (of both Lencioni and Walton, but I digress).

Yes, products and services are important, but it's the TEAM that at the end of the day, defines a company's greatness.

I was in the audience last month when John Maxwell told a story about two clients. They both happen to be restaurants selling chicken. One of them was operating with a focus on product and price. They had little emphasis on the people. The energy in the employees was low.

The other company focused on developing their people and viewed success as creating a superior experience for their customers--through the excellence of their people. The investment in the employees was high and it showed in their dynamic energy.

Two restaurants selling chicken. One focused on product and price. One with an emphasis on developing their people and teams in order to provide superior service. Guess which one is achieving record success?

Lencioni's latest book, The Advantage, makes the point even further. The following is from the jacket of the book:

"While too many leaders are still limiting their search for advantage to conventional and largely exhausted areas like marketing, strategy, and technology, Lencioni demonstrates that there is an untapped gold mine siting right beneath them. Instead of trying to become smarter, he asserts that leaders and organizations need to shift their focus to becoming healthier, allowing them to tap into the more-than-sufficient intelligence and expertise they already have."

Lencioni and Maxwell remind us "it's not about the widgets (or chicken). It's about people.

Organizational Clarity

2012-09-07T19:24:00.000-07:00

Leaders need to personally be clear about their vision and their strategy.

And just as importantly, they need to do something with it. Employees and the team must know the vision, and the top leader must take responsibility for ensuring the vision is shared.

How? Constant messaging to employees. I don't know of too many companies that over communicate. But the greatest ones do.

They create visual work places.

They post the score (how the company is doing in all measurable areas).

They communicate the goals to the employees often.

They communicate the successes, setbacks, and challenges often.

They are accessible and "make the rounds" often to socialize the goals, objectives, initiatives, and how the company is doing.

Question: Do your team members know the goals and the score?

To Be Like a Rockefeller

2012-09-06T18:45:00.000-07:00

In the late 90's, I was presented with a book from my friend David Parfitt in Atlanta titled Mastering The Rockefeller Habits by Verne Harnish. That book forever changed and improved the way I've set goals, created and communicated plans, and organized and worked with teams.

I'll share just three principles from the many that Harnish discovered were put to use by John D. Rockefeller during the latter half of the oil industry era--when his disciplined approach to business created unprecedented success.

1. Create a One Page Operating Plan. A one-page plan is simple enough that it will get referred to and used often, as opposed to most plans in 3-ring binders that become shelf decorations.

2. Keep Everyone on the Same Page. How do you do this? You create simple, compelling goals and make them visible-- and then support with #3 below.

3. Create Meeting Rhythm. Establish a series of regular meetings with your team and extended team to communicate priorities, get reports against objectives, and use the One-Page Plan as a measure of your progress. Everyone ought to know what's expected and what's coming each time you meet. This keeps the meetings short, pointed, and impactful.

If you'd like to learn more about The Rockefeller Habits, go to Gazelle's website, created by Verne Harnish, where you can download the forms and worksheets to help get you on your way.

What Do You Value?

2012-09-05T21:09:00.001-07:00

I think most lists of company values are crap.

Yes, I said "crap." Why? Because, in my opinion--the lists are contrived from a random list of values that the leaders think "sound good" or would be good for the organization.

If you want to dig deep on this, spend 3 minutes at Jim Collins' site to listen and learn about the absolute #1 best way in the world to select your company values: Examine your best employees and what makes them special--and take their list of collective values and attach them to your company.

I've used Collins' technique and can tell you it works…very well.

On Purpose

2012-09-04T23:18:00.001-07:00

Mission and values….yes. But purpose? What is a company's "purpose statement?"

Verne Harnish (author of Mastering the Rockefeller Habits) puts it this way. "Values are the rules of the organization. Purpose is the heart."

Questions to get at your purpose:

"Why are we doing what we are doing?"

"What is the reason we are in the business we are in?"

"What is our Passion for the business we're in?"

"What's our Higher Reason for being in this specific business?"

When you've developed your purpose statement, it breathes life into why you're here. And whether you're a company of 10,000 or a company of 1, it is always better to be "on purpose."

Mistakes on our Path

2012-09-01T18:20:00.000-07:00

Mistakes properly dealt with lead to wisdom, as long as they're not made twice. They are sometimes part of our path to best practices.

When Did We Stop Selling?

2012-08-29T20:24:00.000-07:00

When did we stop making price the only issue?

When did we stop listing out the ways our product or service saves time?

When did we stop listing out the ways our product or service saves money?

When did we stop researching our customer's needs to the point that we know their needs better than they do?

When did we stop researching our competitors to reveal their weaknesses and our strengths?

When did we stop "presenting our proposal" as opposed to "quoting our price?"

When did we stop taking time to package our proposal?

When did we stop making a point of leveraging our relationship and our customer's trust in us to help them understand the full value we provide?

…………..

What are you going to do about this?

Clear Leadership

2012-05-09T19:32:00.000-07:00

It hits you like a 2 x 4 on a freezing day. That strong, clear, and compelling leadership that's missing so often. But when it's present, it is awesome.

You see it this way.

The leader that cares for the people, and is genuinely interested in them. Who starts with assembling the greatest team comprised of the greatest people doing the greatest things.

The leader that articulates a clear vision--so clear and compelling in fact that everyone from the senior team to the team who sweeps the floors knows exactly what is important, which direction is North, and where you are headed.

The leader who develops her people with training and coaching.

The leader who meets with his team one-on-one to provide feedback and coaching--and support the achievemkent of individual and organizational goals.

The leader that meets with all the employees frequently--to reinforce those messages you found so inspiring and compelling the first time you heard them.

And the leader who, of course--delivers the results, because she helped her team be successful, who in turn--helped her be successful.

This is the leader who "suits up, and shows up." Every day. In every way.

Give...What You Expect (or Need)

2012-04-27T00:21:00.000-07:00

I call it the mirror effect. It's the principal that states:

1. What you aren't getting and want...is what you need to give.

2. And what you get and don't want...is likely what you're giving.

3. And what you want most over anything else...is exactly what you need to give.

This has implications for personal relationships. And the same principal of "the mirror effect" is just as applicable to business relationships.

1. If you're not getting loyalty and commitment from customers...your company probably isn't bathing your customers in the same.

2. And if you get employees who are putting in 70%--it is likely because you're not giving 100% of your best to them--personally, professionally, and treating them as your most valuable resource.

3. And if you don't receive the absolute best products and prices (treatment) from your suppliers....it's probably because you make extreme demands and don't pay on time (again--the word is treatment).

There's a simpler way to act. Follow the Golden Rule.

Vision and Mission Statements: Fluff or Critical?

2012-04-26T23:51:00.001-07:00

I've sensed that quite a few managers and leaders think vision and missions statements are "fluffy' nice to haves. Quite the opposite. They are essential...AFTER you've got your blocking and tackling down pat.

 I am always stunned when I read about the courage Lou Gerstner demonstrated at his first press conference after taking over at IBM--when he offered NO vision statement.

In his book Who Says Elephants Can't Dance? Gerstner said to a press conference in July 1993, after his first 100 days, ‘There’s been a lot of speculation as to when I’m going to deliver a vision of IBM, and what I’d like to say to all of you is that the last thing IBM needs right now is a vision [. . . ] What IBM needs right now is a series of very tough-minded, market driven, highly effective strategies for each of its businesses – strategies that deliver performance in the marketplace and shareholder value.'

 Gerstner eventually gave IBM it's vision, but not after getting the boat upright in the water, heading "north" under full sail, and making profits.

 So, will a vision help do the above? Most likely not. You have got to run and manage a viable business first.

 But then you must develop a vision (where you want to go) and mission (why your company exists). Once created (with a great deal of care and thought), the statements are organizing principles around which all employees will operate. The statements should be some clear and focused--that everyone from the janitor to the CEO can understand them, and what their individual role is in accomplishing them. 

Meaningful, well-crafted vision and mission statements are essential to organizing employees around the goals of the company--and helping decision points along the way. 

Create them, communicate them, and use them.