Champion Leadership #2 - Even an 8-Year-Old Knows It’s About “Belief”

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.

Subscribe to the “Champion Leadership Tips” Here and be notified via e-mail each time a new one is posted.

Champion Leadership Tip #1 - Leadership Defined

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.

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

“Little” Things Make a “Big” Difference in Customer Service

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.

CEOs Are “Wusses?” I Agree With Pat Lencioni

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

How a Champion Culture Gives Your Company a Competitive Advantage

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.

5-Steps to Create Effective Strategic Alliances To Explode Your Business

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

Championship Lessons From the Two Newest Champs

Two things that make an organization a true Champion is consistency and resiliency. Those traits exemplify the two most recent Champions crowned in North America’s winter long professional sports leagues, the National Basketball Association’s Los Angeles Lakers and the National Hockey League’s Pittsburgh Penquins.

Consistency is the Lakers’ trait, for sure. The franchise has won 15 NBA Championships in its history and nine in the last 29 years, since 1980, winning five in the 80’s and four since 2000. Their coach, Phil Jackson, now has 10 NBA Championships on his coaching resume after winning six with the Michael Jordan led Chicago Bulls in the 90’s before moving to Los Angeles to start a new dynasty with the Lakers.

The Pittsburgh Penguins on the other hand have been the resilient franchise. After winning two Stanley Cup Championships in the early 90’s with Hall of Fame Center Mario Lemieux leading the way, the team struggled in the early part of this decade rebuilding its player personnel and fighting to financially stay alive.

Lemieux saved the franchise for the city of Pittsburgh by putting together and ownership group and becoming its managing partner. He has since negotiated with the city for a new arena to replace the antiquated Civic Arena. Lemieux’s hockey personnel have rebuilt the team by taking advantage of top draft picks and adeptly identifying role players that make the sum greater than their individual parts.

Which is a great lesson for all of us looking to build Champion Organizations, when you focus on team members strengths and put them in positions to leverage their what they do best, a team without a lot of superstar performers can achieve great things (in the case of the Penguins the mixed three superstar performers Centers Sydney Crosby and Evgeni Makin and goaltender Marc-Andre Fluery with a superb supporting cast).

The Lakers took the much the same approach by leaning on superstar Kobe Bryant but looking to teammates to step up and lead the way when called upon.

Now, there’s a recipe for Championship success. Where are the opportunities in your organization to do similar work?

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.

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.