Champion Leadership #2 - Even an 8-Year-Old Knows It’s About “Belief”
November 9, 2009 by Skip Weisman
Filed under Champion Leadership
James, an 8-year-old boy, was sitting in the front row of a small class room in which he and 15 other Martial Arts students were listening to my workshop on becoming a Champion Leader.
A few minutes into an exercise in which I asked the students to list people whom they knew that they believed were great leaders, James raised his hand to ask a question. When I recognized him, he asked, “can I put ‘me’?
To which I said, “James, that is an outstanding question and one I’m glad you asked because that may be the most important lesson I am going to teach tonight. Yes, you should put ‘me’ on your list because if you want to be a great leader you must believe you are a great leader.”
As the old saying goes, “from the mouths of babes…”
Do you believe you are a great leader?
You may feel uncomfortable proclaiming yourself a great leader as being braggadocious, or feel you just don’t have the experience to make such a claim.
Get over it!
To become a great leader you must believe you have great leadership tendencies within you, and you do. Own it, take responsibility for it, and look for ways to develop the outstanding leader within.
Believing you are an emerging great leader will give you the empetus to take the steps necessary to develop the skills necessary.
Champion Leadership Tip #2 - Exercise:
Before you move on to the next task of the day upon completing reading this post, write down three experiences you have had in your life that are positive references that you either, a) are a great leader, or b) have the potential to be a great leader.
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Champion Leadership Tip #1 - Leadership Defined
October 24, 2009 by Skip Weisman
Filed under Featured
Ten years ago I heard U.S. Army General and first Gulf War Commander Norman Schwartzkopf speak at a leadership conference. He told us that day that defining leadership was similar to the Supreme Court’s definition of obscenity, “I can’t define it but I know it when I see it.” He proceeded to try to define it anyway with, “getting others to do things they ordinarilly wouldn’t do because they want to do it.”
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.
“Little” Things Make a “Big” Difference in Customer Service
October 16, 2009 by Skip Weisman
Filed under Featured
Often times when I walk into a company for a meeting, whether it be a marketing call on my behalf or a client consulting session I am usually offered a beverage by someone in the company. Sometimes the offer doesn’t come until I meet with my party, other times it comes when I am greeted by reception and I am waiting for my party to arrive.
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.
It Is Time to Forget About Your Company’s “Mission”
October 14, 2009 by Skip Weisman
Filed under Featured
One of the most mis-understood and mis-construed concepts in all the business world has to be the concept of “mission.” There are probably as many different takes on “mission” as there are consultants who facilitate strategic plans. Many times the vision and mission are confused. Other times the mission is two-three paragraphs long and no one cares to read it after its created and put on a poster to hang in the hallways, never mind trying to memorize it.
I want to give business leaders a different approach to make the concept more useful and give it greater impact throughout their organization. That is why I am recommending doing away with your company’s “mission.”
Instead of developing a “mission,” business leaders should be focusing on their company’s “purpose.” Your company’s “purpose” is a very simple concept to understand. There should be no confusion.
What is a “purpose”? It is the reason your company’s exists. In eight years of facilitating strategic planning processes this has been the number of concept that has provided the most value to my clients and is something that has been extremely well received and remembered.
This concept was reinforced for me twice last week. The first time was when I was watching the new Ken Burn’s PBS series on “The National Parks.” In reviewing the history of Yellowstone National Park the message over the North Gate was discussed, which states, “For The Benefit and Enjoyment of the People.”
This message over arch of the gate is Yellowstone’s “purpose.” It is simple, easy to recite and remember. It is also a statement both park employees and visitors can understand and associate to in a very positive way.
Other examples include the first purpose I ever created with my co-workers at my former employer, the Hudson Valley Renegades minor league professional baseball team. There is a long story and a lot of inner-office debate behind the creation of this purpose and it took all of my influencing skills as a leader to help our executive team agree to it, but it is something I believe is the true essence and purpose of the organization to this day:
“Making Magical Moments and Memories for Our Community”
Some other recent clients have developed the following Purpose Statements and are all using them in place of “Mission” which I believe to be an obselete concept, it is time to put it out to pasture:
“Constructing Exceptional Buildings and Exceptional Environments for Our Community”
“Transform the mental health system so that each individual with mental illness
has hope for recovery, choices for quality care, and a sense of empowerment and self-determination.”
If you want to get the most out of your employees, connect at a deep level with your customers and build a brand around something that shows your company makes a difference forget about the mission and find its“Purpose.”
At a recent workshop with a half-dozen business leaders this subject was a hot topic we discussed for at least 30-minutes because they all wanted to know “where to start?”
You start with asking and answering these questions:
“What is the one thing that our company must fulfill for our customers that will absolutely ensure our financial success for the long-term?”
“What is it that we do consistently that makes a difference in our customers lives/businesses every day?”
Even with these questions leadership teams have a challenge in answering them by themselves because internal facilitators fail to push the issue deep enough to get to the core essence of the company’s existence. What is created is a statement that lacks power and emotion. If you want to create a statement that has power and emotion like the ones above, it helps to have an outside facilitator take the leadership team through the process.
CEOs Are “Wusses?” I Agree With Pat Lencioni
October 7, 2009 by Skip Weisman
Filed under Champion Leadership, Featured
In Tuesday’s Wall St. Journal Pat Lencioni wrote an article proclaiming that many CEOs are “wusses,” meaning they are weak when it comes to proactively managing performance. I have one thing to say:
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
Champion Organization Defined, Does Yours Stack Up?
September 2, 2009 by Skip Weisman
Filed under The Traits of Champion Orgs
This morning at a client meeting I was challenged to define a Championship Organization so the company leadership could get a grasp on the concept. That was unusual for me. Usually I’m the one asking the question of the client to get them to focus on what they want to create that is different, better and/or special from where they are at.
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
How a Champion Culture Gives Your Company a Competitive Advantage
August 2, 2009 by Skip Weisman
Filed under Champion Leadership
Differentiation in the marketplace is key to sustaining long-term business growth and success. How and where to accomplish that market differentiation so that a company gains a competitive advantage is a question I consistently get from my clients.
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.
Does Your Company Have a CYA Culture?
July 14, 2009 by Skip Weisman
Filed under The Traits of Champion Orgs
I realized yesterday while facilitating a clients’ senior leadership team meeting that they were stuck in the old style CYA culture. You know, “Cover Your A##.”
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.
Appriss - One Example of a “Champion Organization”
June 22, 2009 by Skip Weisman
Filed under Real Life "Champion Organizations"
There has been a lot of chatter in the media, the blogosphere and the micro-blogosphere (Twitter & Facebook) about the outstanding corporate culture and customer service of online shoe retailer Zappos.com
The hype over Zappos.com is well-deserved as it offers an outstanding model to follow. I’d like offer another company I’ve been referred to through a contact I made on Twitter that seems to also have the right approach to company culture.
Thanks to a link provided me on Twitter from one of my followers I was pleased to watch the corporate recruiting video for Appriss, a specialized software company in the midwest.
I encourage you to spend a couple of minutes (5-minutes to be exact) watching their Great Place to Work Video on their “About Us” page. It’s worth the time as it shows what’s possible.
They tell their story very well but I’m sure their employees can tell the story even better. According to my Twitter follower Appriss “management that treats employees with trust & respect…they tell us the truth & keep us in the loop on important decisions.”
I’m sure there are other Appriss team members that also have things to say about their Champion work environment. I encourage them to leave comments below and encourage comments from a from their satisfied customers about the products and services.
One of the key’s to a Champion Organization as I wrote in a previous post is having a compelling Vision, Strategy & Purpose. From what I’ve read and heard, the Appriss mission and how the company came into being is certainly compelling and the company is filling a tremendous role in our society in the field of criminal justice and crime victim advocacy.
If you are an employee or customer of Appriss, feel free to leave a comment offering other company’s your view of the #1 thing that makes Appriss a Champion Organization that other business owners and CEOs can learn from.
Appriss, keep up the good work!
5-Steps to Create Effective Strategic Alliances To Explode Your Business
June 20, 2009 by Skip Weisman
Filed under The Traits of Champion Orgs
A little over twelve months ago I began to get concerned about the direction the economy was going. I made a pro-active decision to shift my marketing strategy into high gear and being that like most small businesses with limited marketing funds I had to get creative. So, I decided to begin marketing a marketing idea among a group of business associates whom I trusted and respect, the concept of Strategic Alliances.
Strategic Alliances are a powerful marketing approach that allows you to leverage your value and maximize your efforts and energy. We’re only halfway through 2009 and I can pretty much guarantee this is going to be my best year of my eight years in business.
Basically, the way I view Strategic Alliances is that they are one or more businesses that offer complimentary products and services that have significant to a similar target market. For my business which focuses on improving the bottom-line and company culture of businesses my ideal strategic partners are in the following industries: commercial insurance, commercial banking, commercial lending, accounting, bookkeeping and payroll services, advertising specialty firms, web and internet marketing companies, and traditional advertising/marketing/pr firms.
Here are some tips for getting started on adding Strategic Alliances to leverage your marketing efforts:
STEP 1
Brainstorm the types of businesses that go after similar target markets with complimentary products and services.
STEP 2
Identify the specific components of your product and service offerings that you could proivde as a “value added” offer to your alliance partners (e.g., I offer a 2-2 1/2 hour introductory workshop for the clients and prospects of my alliance partners, which is a $3,000 retail value).
STEP 3
Identify individual businesses from #1 above that you already have established relationships with. Then grade those relationships on an A, B, C scale for those that you have a high “know, like, trust & respect” factor.
NOTE: Notice that two of my upcoming speaking events, August 5th & August 6th, in the column to the right are Strategic Alliance programs!
STEP 4
Create your offer to your Strategic Alliance partners in a way that they can easily see the benefits of offering your expertise as a “value added” service to their clients/prospects. Always craft the pitch so that it focuses solely on the value the SA partner receives by joining forces with you.
*side note here: these Strategic Alliances are all around you, once the Reticular Activating System in your brain is engaged by understanding this concept you will begin to notice them. I just noticed one this morning as I was watching the US Open Golf Championship on NBC-TV. When the network cut away to its “Sports Update” at the top of the hour the anchor read a story about the Wimbledon Tennis Champions starting in two-days and that defending Champion Rafael Nadal withdrew due to an injury. This was a valid news story any network would have announced, but particularly pertinent since NBC-TV hosts the Wimbledon Tennis TV coverage. After the story, the announcer told the audience to pick up a copy of USA Today on Monday, the first day of the Wimbledon Tournament to get all the tournament news including a feature on 5-Time Champion Roger Federer. Behind the announcer was a very prominent USA Today logo. It clearly shifted from a true news story to a cross-promotion with the newspaper. Another example is when Disney releases a new animated movie, or the latest Star Wars, Star Trek or Super Hero movie comes out. The Hollywood production houses always partner with fast food restaurants like McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s, etc. and the soft drink companies because they are catering to similar targets, families and kids.
STEP 5
Begin calling your “A” list, letting them know that you have identified them as your first choice as someone you’d like to work with in their industry and that if they decide they are not interested you have other competitors of theirs you will be reaching out to.
Results for me have been truly outstanding. I’ve delivered eight SA workshops in the last 10 months which has exposed me to over 300 new business prospects. It has brought me two significant clients this year I wouldn’t have secured otherwise, allowed me to sellout a “open enrollment” workshop that I offered mostly to those new members of my database which allowed me to net about $3,000 for a one-day program, and finally I’m meeting next week with three new prospects for consulting projects directly related to my Strategic Alliance marketing efforts.
That’s all there is to it, other than delivering on your promise in the Strategic Alliance, of course. Get started. If you have any questions feel free to e-mail me at Info@SkipWeisman.com