In preparing for a leadership keynote address I was asked to deliver recently at a regional martial arts school I decided I needed a definition that rang true for me.

I sat down this week to craft my own and in reviewing not just my 27 years in business, 20 years in minor league professional baseball management, and now 10 years studying business success and successful leadership I reflected on the role those I respect as the best leaders I’ve experienced in my life played in making me who I am today.

What I realized was they inspired me to go for something that I was not even aware of was something I could enjoy achieving or being a part of. They usually did so by being a role model in how they went after the same or similar thing. Additionally, they took responsibility for their role in inspiring me to go for it and continued to me by coaching and guiding me to perform at the level necessary to achieve success at it.

Based on my experiences as identified above, here’s what I came up with:

“Inspiring others to do something they ordinarilly would not do, and/or coaching them to perform at an even higher level than they ordinarilly would perform, if left on their own.”

What do you think? Does it ring true for you? What would you add or change about it? Or, what is your definition of leadership and what specific references do you have that have directed you to define leadership in the way you do?
I look forward to your comments and contributions.

(you can find a complete list of my Weekly Champion Leadership Tips here, beginning Monday, October 26, 2009)

Today, with regards to customer service I experienced something completely new, different and most importantly - exceptional and memorable

The company is one of the largest and most prestigious CPA firms in the Hudson Valley Region of New York - Vanacore, DeBenedictus, DiGovanni and Weddell.

After the “Director of First Impressions” greeted me from behind her open window at the reception counter, she promptly called my party to let him know I had arrived, she handed me a menu of beverages. This menu was presented to me as if it were a wine list at a fine restaurant. The options included soft drinks, coffee, tea, sparkling water, and regular water. I chose plain water.

A few moments later she walked out to the waiting area and handed me a real glass full of water. Usually I am proferred a paper or plastic cup, or a coffee mug with water. This was an impressive drinking glass.

In my business consulting I encourage my clients to focus on the “fundamentals” to achieve market differentiation. In football they call it “blocking and tackling,” in ice hockey its skating and stickhandling, in basketball its the free-throws and blocking out under the basket. Every sport has them and all businesses have them.

My musical hero Bruce Springsteen wrote a song a long time ago which is rarely, if ever played, called “It’s the Little Things That Count.” It relates to personal relationships but is just as pertinent in the business setting.

So, today, my vote for a “Champion Business” goes to Vanacore, DeBenedictus, DiGovanni and Weddell based in Newburgh, NY for the presentation of a beverage “menu” to its guests, offered by their “Director of First Impressions.” Great job!

What are the “little things” in your business that for little or no cost and little additional effort, you could easily raise the bar on the impression you make on your clients, prospects and competitors? Pick one today and start working on it.

ABSOLUTELY!

I couldn’t agree more.

As many of you know my coaching practice began by helping business owners breakthrough the habit of procrastination. I continue to do workshops where I get uncomfortable, squirming in the seats of business owners and CEOs when the subject of procrastination is broached.

Why are CEOs “wusses” and what do they procrastinate on? You’d be surprised to learn a myriad of things, including as Lencioni points out confronting behavior issues that negatively impact individual and organizational performance. Other procrastination items include marketing, sales, accounts receivables, delivering bad news to employees and customers, and the list can go on.

Not to be flip here but one of the big issues CEOs procrastinate on is the procrastination of their employees. Instead of confronting performance issues, they hope they get better, they hope they get better, they hope they get better. Then, they blow wreaking havoc on the individual and ripple affects are felt throughout the organization impacting the culture for months, if not years.

Here are some resources with more specific articles on some of these issues, if you want to learn more and go a little deeper into this issue. Thank you to Mr. Lencioni for bringing the issue to the fore, I’ll do my part to help CEOs build the skills they need to more positively influence individual and organizational performance and improve workplace morale:

Manage Workplace Conflict to Improve Employee Morale

Stop Procrastination Before It Kills Your Business

Well, two client incidents this week reinforced in me the belief that one of the most important keys to creating and maintaining a high morale work environment and company culture is the simple concept of “specific communication.”

From frontline employees at a companywide workshop, some of whom were hired as recently as two weeks ago, to a business owner in a leadership position for 25 years, I experienced non-specific communication doing damage to employee morale.

In one instance a new hire was asked by the company owner to finalize a report, the conversation went like this:

New employee: When do you need this? (he said holding up the unfinished report)

Company Owner: NOW!

New employee: Well, I have some questions for you before I can move forward on putting this information together. If we sit down after your meeting this afternoon would by noon tomorrow be soon enough?

Company owner: Oh, sure that’s fine, I don’t need those items to be delivered until late next week.

Had the new employee not stood up for himself and asked for clarification to an unrealistic and unnecessary demand, it would have created tremendous stress and anxiety trying to meet an unrealistic demand. It would also have begun to develop low-trust and low-morale in the new employee.

For more examples of non-specific communication and how they can negatively impact employee morale and sabotage the desire to create a high-performance work environment read my latest article “How to Improve Employee Morale by Improving Organizational Communication” here.

The question challenged me to come back to my office and define it for myself sothat I can better articulate it to my clients, here is what I came up with.

Championship Organization Defined:

A Championship Organization is one that stands out from the rest by continually striving to achieve something unique and special from others in its field. A Champion Organization is one that is exceptional in the way it operates, exceptional in the way it treats its employees, exceptional in the way it serves it customers, and exceptional in the way it interacts with its community, and doing it all with a high level of integrity.

The Championship Organization does it in a way in which all stake holders are:

• Enthused to participate,
• Empowered to contribute in their own unique way, and are
• Engaged in contributing to fulfilling the Vision & Purpose of the organization by consistently interacting with other stakeholders according to agreed upon values and behaviors.

Is that the type of organization or company culture that can thrive? If an organization were to fulfill that definition would it or could it be considered operating at a Championship level?

I think so, what about you? Feel free to leave a comment about what you would add or subtract to make my definition even better.

To read about five key traits that Champion Organizations should require of individuals they hire and retain read this article at www.SkipWeisman.com titled - How a Champion Culture Can Give You a Competitive Advantage

There are three primary areas through which a company can gain a competitive advantage in a crowded marketplace. It can be done via a company’s products, its service offerings and the relationships it builds with its ideal customers.

To develop and maintain this elusive market differentiation takes a consistent and comprehensive effort throughout a company. It requires a corporate culture in which creativity, innovation and motivation thrive.

There are five areas on which company leaders must focus to create this culture; what I call a Champion Culture:

C = Commitment
Athletic teams become champions because their athletes are committed to the compelling Vision, Strategy and Purpose of getting to the championship game. In business, companies can create a similar commitment by creating and communicating a compelling Vision, Strategy and Purpose to their team members.

Are your employees committed or just complying with their job descriptions to collect a paycheck?

H = Humility
Athletes become champions because they continually improve as they face tougher competition every step of the way. This means they must be open to regular feedback and continually look for ways to get better.

Does your company culture espouse an environment where learning from mistakes is encouraged and asking for help is seen as a strength?

A = Accountability
There are two components to accountability that create champions, setting clear performance expectations and measuring job performance against those expectations. It works in athletics. But most companies fall short in managing specific job performance accountabilities in order to maintain consistent progress toward agreed upon objectives.

What is your company’s process for communicating specific upfront performance expectations and managing accountability to the desired performance?

M = Motivation
Champions are action oriented. When obstacles arise champions find a way through, over, around or under to stay on track. Procrastination (the opposite of motivation) is not in their mindset or habits. I’m amazed at how many business owners, CEOs and other business professionals have significant challenges with the habit of procrastination.

How motivated is your team? How are procrastination and avoidance issues negatively impacting your company’s bottom line?

P = Preparation
Champions show up prepared. They practice almost every day in-season when not playing games. They review films of their opponents to learn the tendencies, strengths and weaknesses they can exploit. Yet in business, you’ve probably experienced far too many team members showing up ill-prepared. Not enough time is invested in preparing for the work week, the workday, key meetings, and sales presentations.

How can your company raise the bar on preparation to begin functioning as a CHAMP?

Focus on raising the bar in these five strategic areas to create a Champion Culture at your company. Doing so will increase the level of creativity, innovation and motivation applied to differentiating your products, your services and your customer relationships in the marketplace. Thus, giving you the competitive advantage you are looking for.

I don’t know about you but the first week back from vacation always takes me a couple of days to get back in the swing of things. This year was no exception despite the fact that this summer’s vacation was one of those new fangled “staycations.”  It seemed like a good idea at the time my wife and I decided to do it and at the end we both agreed it as “okay,” but not ideal for us. Here’s recap of our experience:

The positive’s far outweigh the negatives and is certainly better than the alternative as we were able to do all the local things we’ve been saying we wanted to do for the last few years.

On separate days bookending the week we…

a) attended a show at the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome in Rhinebeck, NY;
b) took a boat trip to tour Bannerman’s Island, in the Hudson River south of Cold Spring, NY;

c) toured President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Top Cottage, in Hyde Park, NY; and
d) visited Kykuit, The Rockefeller Estate in Sleepy Hollow, NY.

All lived up to their expectations and were a way for us to fill voids in our recent study of American political and business history.

The middle of our week was focused on a day of playing tennis, and golf in and around lounging around screened in vacation room porch reading books specifically selected for our week.

All-in-all it was a relaxing week but there was a constant reminder around that we weren’t really on vacation because we were, well, home. We were sleeping in our own bed, watching TV on our own TV in our own living room.

So, I’d recommend going away for vacation if you can. Being totally away from normal surroundings I think allows for greater release, relaxation and regeneration.

The reason for our staycation was the fact that staying close to home for now was the right thing to do because in fall we are planning a long weekend trip over the Labor Day Holiday in New York City for annual US Open Tennis Championships event, a weeklong trip to Seattle, Washington in later September and our three week vacation to Australia in January.

But, had we not engaged in this staycation we’d still be lamenting the fact that we still haven’t experienced the Historic Hudson Valley sites we knocked off our bucket list.

So, it was nice to get a break, as always, and now its time to get focused creating some powerful programs for my clients so we can all finish 2009 strong over the final 1/3 of the year starting September 1st. Ready to join me?

I asked if they ever went on a construction job site and just gave out praise to the workers and the site supervisor pointing out specific areas where they were excelling or ahead of schedule. In return there was a blank stare, then a comment:

“Well, in our business if the work is done and done well, its a waste of time to rehash that stuff. We need to keep moving forward and make sure the things that aren’t done to spec need to be addressed while focusing on the next phase of the project. Looking back acknowledging things already done never had any value before.”

I could tell a light bulb had gone off in this individual’s mind while another team member chimed in, “you know we’re always looking for pictures of the good work we do and we can never find them because all we take pictures of are the problem areas so we can make sure we don’t get blamed for them or to show our sub-contractors what they need to fix. I sure wish we had some nice, photos of finished projects so we can use ‘em in our newsletter, and on our website and stuff!”

Again, more CYA. So much time is spent in corporate America covering rear-ends that the good work everyone is doing goes unnoticed and un-appreciated.

I’d like to propose a new CYA culture - “Celebrate Your Achievements!”

There is not enough of it!

This does not mean to get soft and open your company to lawsuits, lost revenue, re-doing jobs that eat into profit margins because of a lack of identifying areas that need to be addressed. What it means is taking some time throughout the day, week, month to be open to looking for, and acknowledging and recognizing, the individuals who are doing good work.

It can be as simple as a private pat on the back, or a public recognition at a monthly team breakfast or lunch with a gift certificate as a reward. You can determine what is most appropriate for your situation and budget.

I believe this type of CYA Culture will improve morale and productivity while gradually breaking down the cynicism and lack of trust in most organizations as workers begin to feel appreciated for their contribution.

I’m embarrassed to say as business coach and consultant having been in the business for four years to that point, I couldn’t answer the question, at least not succinctly enough for his liking. He agreed to take me on anyway and that is where we started.

It’s been a huge transformation for me as I now have a systematic process for creating what he calls “marketing gravity,” which is having business prospects gravitate towards me instead of me always reaching out trying to attract them.

It’s been a great transformation, yet even with that approach some prospects who come into sphere of influence become clients quicker than others, and some never do. One case in point is that last January I met a business owner who attended my “End Procrastination NOW!” workshop after just two face-to-face meetings inside of 60-days we negotiated a six-month consulting project.

However, another who has been on my prospect list since 2003  and whom we have discussed various potential projects with which I could help him has yet to bring me onboard, that’s six-years.

The point of this post is that as marketing and sales professionals who are the “rainmakers” for our businesses it is vital that we, a) know our business model, and b) follow it consistently.

I recently read an excellent blog post by Robert Clay titled, “Why 8% of Sales People Get 80% of the Sales” in which he makes note of a various research sources that have consistently shown that 44% of sales professionals give up after just one “NO,” another 22% give up after the second “NO,” 14% more after the third “NO” and another 12% after the fourth “NO.”

The only “NO” I accept as permanent is the one in which the individual tells me to never contact them again and asks to be taken off my mailing list.

Other than that, all prospects once in my marketing reservoir are always considered prospects because you never know when they will need what I have.  One former mentor who helped me get started in my own business always encouraged me to ask the question, “is that ‘no’, forever, or just ‘no’, right now?” Few people ever say “no” forever and allow me to keep in touch with them and send them marketing materials for my latest product or workshop or  pieces of value like articles I’ve written that is pertinent to their business success.

My philosophy is the more value I can provide in my correspondance with the prospect it will gradually move them closer to seeing me as the expert they can turn to when they have a need.

In Robert Clay’s article he noted that only 2% of sales occur when parties meet for the first time. In my business I don’t believe I’ve ever closed a deal on first meeting. I have closed business in two meetings, however, and that is what I shoot for. And, I do it now with a systematic process where I know exactly what my purpose is at each stage of the interaction with my prospect.

Depending on where the prospects comes to me through my marketing gravity system is how I determine the purpose of in the intial and each successive meeting. You must pre-determine in your mind what the next step in your business model is to move towards closing the business.  Many times it will not be closing the business but just closing on a next meeting with a higher purpose that moves the process forward.

What’s your business/sales model look like and how patient are you in following it so that you don’t get ahead of yourself, and how persistent are you in making sure you consistently follow up?