Now I Know How Bruce Springsteen Feels (well, sort of)

I was a little taken aback, and was somewhat embarrassed, by the response of the audience on Saturday when I closed my keynote address in front of 1,500 people.  This was more than the usual polite applause and then, gradually, some in the auditorium began to stand (I’m still awaiting the official photos from the event, which I will certainly post when they arrive.).

The event, the 2009 Northern California Career & Leadership Summit at the Community Presbyterian Church in Danville, CA is in its 7th year, and I was one of three speakers on the program.

How does one respond to a “standing ovation” if one has never been the recipient of such a response. It was a little uncomfortable, to say the least, but a learning experience for which I look forward to applying again soon, hopefully.

It is certainly a rush to complete a performance knowing you gave 100%, connected with a large group of people and very well may have significantly inspired some in that group to do something different afterward.  

For 33 years and 62 live performances, Bruce Springsteen, has done that for me. Now I know how Bruce feels (somewhat) as he stands on stage, holding the hands of his bandmates taking that final bow before they leave the stage. I also now understand why he plays live so often and has historically played marathon concerts, its a rush to have other people enamored with what you are providing them.

A lot of lessons learned in this process that I’ll be writing about over the next few days and weeks. I have to prepare for another presentation, a somewhat smaller venue of a conference room and 25 workshop participants on Wednesday.  Just like Bruce, whether its 25, 2500, or 25,000 I’m committed to giving 100% each time out!

Much thanks goes out to four very special people, professional mentors who helped make this success possible (or necessary as Yogi Berra once said), and have me excited to pursue the next opportunity:

Dr. Shirley Garrett - (www.ShirleyGarrett.com) my most immediate speaking/performance coach, who helped me craft the speech over a weekend intensive and then worked with me to tweak it over the ensuing two months. Shirley also helped with specific stage performance and delivery tips that were invaluable, as was her wonderful wordsmithing and on-going encouragement and support.

Jane Atkinson - (www.SpeakerLauncher.com) I’ve been a member of Jane’s Club Quick Start, a monthly coaching program that has been a consistent development tool for the last 7 months. Thanks to Jane’s program I selected my focused lane “Helping Leaders Create Champion Organizations,” my new brand. Without that decision early on in the Club Quick Start program, my message for this keynote would not have been as focused and inspiring as it turned out to be. This blog is a testament to my work in her program.

David Greenberg - (www.SimplySpeakingInc.com) My original speaking coach from 2 1/2 years ago who got me started on livening up my presentations. Although progress since our sessions 30 months ago has been slower than I would have liked, David has been a constant inspiration, resource and friend for me. I appreciate his candidness and professionalism to refer me to Shirley Garrett shortly after reaching out to  him to help me with this project.

Dr. Alan Weiss - (www.SummitConsulting.com  www.ContrarianConsulting.com ) Alan may be the most intelligent and most challenging personality I’ve ever come across in my life but I have to thank him for his constant push to exceed the limits we all place on ourselves getting to the next level. Before attending his Million Dollar Consulting College two years ago (where the original concept of this Champion Organizations brand was birthed) I never would have imagined believing I could present to an audience of this size and get the results I did. Alan has no idea of the impact he has had on my growth in the last three years but his is a constant inner voice that has a strong tendency to override the critical one inside my head, allowing me to continually stretch my comfort zone!

I highly recommend each of these professional speaking and consulting resources above.

Who Cares If Your Company Is a "Champion Organization?"

Eight weeks into working with one of my clients to help lay the foundation of a Champion Organization at his company he asked me a very provocative and interesting question as I was leaving a recent leadership team session.

He said, “Skip, does anyone really care if we have a champion organization here. You know, our employees, our vendors or customers, is this really worth the effort beyond lowering my own stress level?”

There is only one answer to that question.

The question kind of put me on the spot, what am I supposed to say to that, “no, all the time, money and energy you’ve invested doesn’t really matter at the end of the day.” The only ethical answer I could give “yes.”

But, I can see why he asked the question. When you are in the beginning stages of transforming a negative workplace culture to a Champion culture there are growing pains/ At times when some people respond and others don’t. Everyone is different and gaining buy-in has to be done on an individualized basis. It can see like a daunting task as we move through the process. 

I explained that there are a number of stages that will take time to sink in that have to worked through for various constituencies. Each will have to have a reason to get excited about the initiative, we have to continue to reach deep and tap into the WII-FM (What’s In It For Me) for each individual on the team. It will be more important for some than for others. For the ones that don’t jump on board some time in the not too distant future there will be the equivalent of a major league sports’s trading deadline. 

There is a very low threshold for what is expected in the industry in which this company operates. Over the years the entire industry has developed an approach and a culture in which confrontation and conflict is the norm and expectation. It’s going to take time to change the impression that this company is just like the rest but eventually and not too far into the future, the customers and clients will begin to notice.

Here’s what will make it happen quicker:
1) Company leadership team must be the exemplars of the attitudes, behaviors and communication style we’ve decided are consistent with the image the company wants to put forth;

2) The expectation must be set with all employees and team members that moving forward the new Values/Behaviors are the new culture;

3) Any deviation from the expected behavior from among leadership team members or other employees must be addressed and adjusted immediately (all team members will be held accountable to the same expectations and in the same manner);

4) Training and coaching of individuals to bring their interpersonal skills up to the expected standard may have to be provided.

5) Client, customer, sub-contractors and referral sources should be communicated with at the beginning of each project to set the tone and expectations on the new terms with the new approach, so that they know what to expect regarding the interactions with the company moving forward.  Setting the expectation on the front end and then fulfilling them will go a long way towards building the new belief as to what’s possible in this industry.

By following the five steps outlined above, my client will be setting a new tone and become a leader in its industry for changing the entire culture of that industry, one client and one employee at a time.

I’m working on a very exciting project.

NY Times Offers Champion Insights from Two Champion Thought-Leaders

This past weekend the New York Times ran stories on two business leaders others can and do learn from. One is author and business thought leader Jim Collins, the author of “Good to Great.” Collins is presently researching a new book, not due out for a couple of years but the story gives great insights into the authors philosophy, strategy and lifestyle that is an interesting read at this link .

In the same business section there was also a Q&A with Eduardo Castro-Wright, Vice Chairman of Wal-Mart, who spoke about key leadership values and keeping it simple - read more at this link.

Southwest Airlines' Champion Culture Fosters Creativity & Fun

This YouTube video below says it all. 

For years Southwest Airlines has been touted as an airlines with a different experience for its employees first, which fosters a unique experience for its customers. Here’s one outstanding example:

This Article Shows Many Companies Tolerate the Opposite of a Champion Culture

This article in Inc. Magazine discusses workplace bullying, the numbers sited here are frightening and can kill a company’s bottom line, a must read for any business owner:

http://www.inc.com/news/articles/2009/05/bully.html

How a Champion Organization Addresses Developing Leaders for Successful Succession Planning

One of the three (3) key tenets in creating a Champion Organization is Developing Leadership Throughout. Today an article came across my e-mail from Fortune Magazine on how Proctor & Gamble, a Fortune 500 stalwart, develops its leaders so as to be ready when key positions open.  Just three months ago a void was created at P&G when its global business units president Susan Arnold announced her departure ahead of expectations at the age of 55.

This Fortune article discusses the future of CEO A.G. Lafley, and how P&G develops its future leaders and hires mostly from within.

Small and medium sized business leaders can learn a lot from P&G’s approach and should, if they haven’t already, begun developing their own internal leadership development and career path program. This topic came up two weeks ago in a leadership team session with one of my clients’ and we’ve begun discussing developing just such a program.

The Traits of the Champion CEO

In today’s New York Times columnist David Brooks wrote an excellent column discussing the traits of the best CEOs and how the best are not exactly warm and fuzzy individuals but are results driven.  

To me the research and Brooks’ points come off as being a little too simplistic. I’ve found the best leaders are the ones that can get things done but do so in a way that empowers their people and makes them feel valued. I think you can and should strive to have it both ways.

A recent client, the owner of a $20 million firm, came to me because he was burning himself out by being so focused on execution and bottom-line results that he wanted to be able to more respectfully get things done through others. The feedback from his employees, peers and customers was that he certainly does get things done but leaves a wake of fear and anxiety along the way.

I’d say the best CEOs are the ones who can balance those personality traits but Brooks’ column is worth a read at this link:  Traits of a Champion CEO 

After reading the article come back and post a comment, let me know what you think.

Online or Offline, Building a Champion Is Always About the Fundamentals

A colleague posted a note and a link to an article by Bob Burg, a business networking and referral expert. I thought it was an outstanding commentary on how business success whether it be on line or offline, always comes down to the fundamentals. 

Readers of this blog know that I believe becoming a Champion Organization is always about mastering the fundamentals. Burg reinforces this idea when it comes to social media networking, it’s worth a read. Here’s the link

Zappos.com, The Model of a Champion Organization

My wife has been buying shoes from Zappos.com for a few years but I’ve only been reading about Zappos.com corporate culture and customer service philosophy for about six months.

You can’t swing a cat without coming across some article about Zappos.com’s CEO Tony Hsieh and his philosophy.

I just read another  this week that adds another dimension, “happiness.” Here’s the link to the Business Week article  “Delivering Happiness the Zappos Way.” 

If you’re interested in creating a Champion Organization, it is well worth the few minutes to read.

Whose Fault Is Poor Employee Performance, Anyway? It's the Leadership…Always!

I hear on a regular basis how business leaders are frustrated with the level of responsibility and ownership employees take on the job. It’s my belief that this phenomenon is always the fault of the business leaders who are complaining about this to me.

That may sound harsh and it may sound too much of a global generalization but  we have to start somewhere and this is the premise I’ve found that gets the best results for my clients.

Many small businesses, and a lot of large companies, fall short of having the performance management systems that are one-third of the tripod strategies necessary to create champion organizations, the other two being a) a compelling Vision & Strategy, and b) effective leadership throughout the organization.

Whenever I begin working with organizational leaders to begin their transformation to a championship culture, we work on adopting the belief that the employees are not at fault for failing to take responsibility and ownership of their roles. I place the blame firmly on the leadership for not:

a) hiring properly at the outset;

b) setting clear expectations after an individual is hired;

c) creating the environment with the accountability and support/feedback structure that nurtures the type of performance desired which allows the individual to contribute at the highest level they can.

I ask the leaders to take a step back and offer everyone a blank slate from past experience and begin anew with a completely new approach that offers a more effective performance management process, which includes:

1. Setting clear performance standards and expectations at the beginning of the employment relationship;

2. Providing specific, respectful and timely feedback on an employee’s performance;

3. Understanding what motivates the individual and rewarding them accordingly, not expecting everyone to be motivated by the same things.

4. Providing clear insights as to the positive contribution the individual makes to the overall vision and purpose of the organization and letting them know how they make a difference.

This provides joint responsibility for developing the desired performance of the individual team members and the team as whole. It gives both sides specific guidelines for what is expected and how to bring out and nurture the desired performance. This is the beginning of the process and when leaders take this approach, more often than not, team members rise to the occasion. They do so because of three fundamental beliefs that make this work, which I’ll write about next time.

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