Lessons of Execution & Leadership from Cotton Patch Cafe

January 31, 2012 by

LeadershipFor the past 3 months I have been consulting with a company in the city of Lubbock. Located among the flat landscape and cotton fields of West Texas, this small city is brimming in abundance with many things, but three in particular: banks, churches, and restaurants. Fortunately, as I have been traveling for extended periods of time there, I am thankful for the many restaurants. Anyone that travels for extended periods of time understands that eating out meal-after-meal can be a frustrating endeavor. Restaurants are one of the few places where the top-down effectiveness of the leadership of organizations can be experienced so intimately and instantly; and where you can win and lose a “client” in minutes.

I am never as picky about customer service or product quality as when I am at a restaurant. The product of a restaurant is the experience and the food. Restaurants that are successful & have successful leadership, continually strive to perfect these items at every level. It is quite easy to see through the restaurants that have poor leadership, as their lack of attention to innovation and quality is easily recognized. This is all about drilling down into the little things: butter that is not frozen when it comes out, food that is warm, friendly staff, drink always full, etc…

Among the many restaurants that I have eaten at, the one that I keep coming back to time after time during my stay in Lubbock is the Cotton Patch Cafe. (*Note: this article is NOT sponsored). The Cotton Patch cafe has 39 locations in only 2 states, but the lessons of innovation, execution and leadership, are valuable for businesses worldwide. While no restaurant is perfect all the time, this restaurant has exceeded all my expectations and given me a home away from home feeling.

Let me share with you what I have learned over the last couple months about leadership, perfection, innovation, and successful execution from my 2 to 4 visits a week to the Cotton Patch Cafe:

Setting the Tone

When you walk in the door one is instantly greeted by two smiling hostesses. I have never had to wait for a hostess to show up. I think many people in leadership positions overlook this fact of how much a smile and a good experience, right when you “walk in the door,” can set the tone for the rest of the experience. This is no different a lesson if you do not have a customer facing business.  Have you ever called a business and been met with an indifferent or rude person on the other end of the line? Or receieved a technician at your business that was just “doing their job?” A smile can do wonders, whether in person …or over the phone. The staff at Cotton Patch all take the time to remember my name, and ensure that my experience is good from the onset. The day I wrote this article, I had been to two restaurants before finally going to Cotton Patch. The service at both restaurants was horrible and I left each of them without eating. Looking back, neither of them met me with a smile at the door. So if you think this is not that important, think again.

Quality of People

I can only assume that the Cotton Patch leadership has a great training or orientation program, and/or even a great hiring process, because I have never had a bad experience with any individual there. In fact I will take that a step farther and say that I have never, not had, an exceptional experience with any individual there. I see new faces on different days and they still perform the same as others. There cannot be enough said to the lesson of: hire good people, train them well, and success will follow.

Teamwork & Silos

At most restaurants, the hostess is the person that greets people and escorts them to their table. The bartenders stay at the bar, the waiters and waitresses – take orders and serve, the clean-up crew cleans the tables. Well at Cotton Patch those position all exist as well, but their teamwork is amazing. Waiters and waitresses at most restaurants are especially territorial. Same goes for sales staff at businesses. They are protecting their tip, their “commission.” Yet at Cotton Patch, I have seen the hostesses cleaning-up tables to help the clean-up crew. I have had waiters and waitresses that were not my waiter or waitress at the time, go and get me a drink. I have had other waitresses come to my table to make sure things were OK.

There are no silos that I have been able to identify; they all work as a team. Many books have been written on teamwork and avoiding silos. This important lesson of leadership creates synergy and multiples an organization’s success – many fold. A team of people that cares first for the successful experience of the customer, rather than protecting their personal tip amount, is a beautiful site to see.

Innovation & Consistency

One thing about restaurants that has always bothered me is if there is something on the menu, or the atmosphere that is not perfect, I have never understood why the restaurant leadership does not take the time to innovate and make it perfect.  Instead, many restaurants keep serving up the same poor quality food over and over or doing the same poor practice over and over. At Cotton Patch, the bread is always warm, butter is never frozen, the food is always good, and each menu item tastes just as good …each and every time. Over 2 months ago I had their pork chop meal. They were best pork chops I have ever had, and for over a month, I was actually afraid of getting it again because I was afraid that the “best” could only happen once, and I did not want to ruin the perfect memory I had. Well, I was wrong, it was awesome the second time too.

Leadership & Execution Perfection?

Those in leadership at all organizations need to take the time to perfect their processes, perfect their products, and provide consistent quality and service. Of course a business shouldn’t get stuck down in the details and avoid delivering; but it is important to always be innovating and trying to achieve perfection in all aspects of an organization’s operations, services, and products. In my opinion, Cotton Patch has done just that.

These lessons from Cotton Patch Cafe are important for all businesses. I use the term “perfection” loosely, as the best any business can do is to satisfy the highest number of people, most of the time. Of course… hmm… if Cotton Patch were to start serving sweet potato pie, well then, I would probably have to concede perfection…… 🙂

If you are ever in Texas or New Mexico, take the time to see these lessons in action for yourself at Cotton Patch Cafe. And if you happen to visit Cotton Patch Cafe in Lubbock, TX, please say “Hi” to Leeann, the General Manager, and give her a high-five.

Leadership Take-Away’s From Cotton Patch Cafe

1.   Set the tone with your customers right off the bat.
2.   Make sure your staff knows how to smile, on the phone and in person.
3.   Hire quality people
4.   Train your people well
5.   Foster teamwork & abolish silos
6.   Perfect your product and/or services for the market you are serving
7.   Keep innovating
8.   Execute with consistency
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So, now that you’ve read this article, how are you going to use this information to bring about greater success in your organization?

Please take a moment and share your ideas in the comments section below, share this with your social media friends, and subscribe to receive A Slice of Leadership notices, as well as occasional leadership advice, articles, tips and freebies.
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Filed Under: Leadership Perfection Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Leadership / Parenting Analogy

January 5, 2012 by

LeadershipI recently heard a poem, that while amazingly simplistic, held a very powerful message about parenthood. But later, when I found the text of the poem online and read it, I was amazed at the how the same message could ring true to leadership and management. I am fascinated at the intricacy of leadership and the lessons that can be pulled from all walks of life, including as in this case, parenthood.

The poem below is called “Children Learn What They Live” by Dorothy Law Nolte, PH.D. As you read this replace the word children, with employees, and see how closely leadership parrallels to parenthood.

If children live with criticism, they learn to condemn.
If children live with hostility, they learn to fight.
If children live with fear, they learn to be apprehensive.
If children live with pity, they learn to feel sorry for themselves.
If children live with ridicule, they learn to feel shy.
If children live with jealousy, they learn to feel envy.
If children live with shame, they learn to feel guilty.
If children live with encouragement, they learn confidence.
If children live with tolerance, they learn patience.
If children live with praise, they learn appreciation.
If children live with acceptance, they learn to love.
If children live with approval, they learn to like themselves.
If children live with recognition, they learn it is good to have a goal.
If children live with sharing, they learn generosity.
If children live with honesty, they learn truthfulness.
If children live with fairness, they learn justice.
If children live with kindness and consideration, they learn respect.
If children live with security, they learn to have faith in themselves and in those about them.
If children live with friendliness, they learn the world is a nice place in which to live.

Comparing Leadership to Parenting

I know all these attributes do not necessarily align with employment traits. But I sure would rather manage and lead the employees that were raised by parents that taught the positive attributes, than the negative ones. Additionally, if your leadership style follows the practices of the negative traits in this poem, it is scary to see what kind of employee you might be developing.

Other Good Leadership Reading

You might also read “How To Be A Horrible Leader – 50 Bad Leadership Traits“, which would be a good read after reading this post.

One of my favorite books on parenting is called Parenting Kids: To Become the People Employers Really Want and… America Desperately Needs! by Charles Fay Ph.D.

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So, now that you’ve read this article, how are you going to use this information to bring greater leadership to your or your organization? Or perhaps greater parenthood to your family?

Please take a moment and share your ideas in the comments section below, share this with your social media friends, and subscribe to receive A Slice of Leadership notices, as well as occasional leadership advice, articles, tips and freebies.
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Filed Under: Leadership - Parenting Analogy Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

The Ultimate Personal Success Plan

December 30, 2011 by

Success PlanThe blogosphere is currently flooded with information on goal setting and New Year’s resolutions, but lets be honest, goal setting is not enough to be successful…you need a plan. At the beginning of 2011 I wrote about my 2011 Personal Success Plan.  I had a many wins and some losses in my 2011 goals, but overall, I am a better person and I achieved a lot more because of my plan. This year I have made a number of changes to help guarantee a successful 2012. The changes are not just aesthetic, but in how I manage my success, execute on the goals, keep motivation, track progress, and hold myself accountable.

Ben Stein beautifully said, “The indispensable first step to getting the things you want out of life is this:  Decide what you want.” This image to the left serves as the basis for stating what you, “want out of life”, or more specifically, what you want out of the year.  I value this document because it serves as a singular focal point to all I want to accomplish in the year (Read on to receive a template for yourself). Each of the parts are important to the success of the whole. I suggest you open up the image in another window to lok at as you read.

The Success Plan

The first part of the success plan is this success plan document. This is a Microsoft Word document that holds everything that is important for defining my goals. I will not use this document for tracking, but for defining and planning. Tracking comes later. Here are the parts of this “defining” document:

1. Annual Vision

I debated on what to call this section, but ultimately decided it was almost like a mini BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal). It was not a definite goal, because goals ultimately define what your overall success looks like.  It is a statement that is meant to define what I will become and what I will look like when I complete all my goals. It serves as the inspiration to WHY I’m doing this and WHAT I will become when I am successful. It is written as if it already happened, setting the mental image and motivation for the hard-work ahead.  My vision statement for 2012 is “2012 was a launching-point for a better future and a better me. I have set positive habits for the future that will make me a better father, a better husband, and a better friend. I have strengthened my professional reputation as an innovative, solid, and proven leader and I have become more spiritually in-tune and financially stable.”

2. Mission Statement

Developing a personal mission statement takes some time, but once you have it, it will serve as a guide for all your actions. I feel it is important to state this on the personal success plan because it is my “code of conduct” and guides me as I execute and as I come to problems throughout the year. Leaving this out leaves a big hole in the plan. My personal mission statement is, “I will not accept status quo and as such will seek after that which is efficient and effective in all areas my life, but never at the expense of my relationships.  I will focus on that which is important versus that which is critical.  I will be teachable and will strive to always learn new things that will help me reach my full-potential.  I will act with Integrity at all times and will treat others as they would like to be treated.  I will look for the good in all I experience, and remember all the blessings that I have been given.” Take the time to develop your own, it will be well worth it.

3. Values (Areas of Focus)

My values are actually listed in 2 places, for 2 different reasons. In my mission statement I actually list values that are important to me. You do not have to do this, but you can. These values are more guiding to my life. Right above my mission statement I list the values that I will be focusing on in 2012. These could be called my areas of focus. My focus’ for 2012 are: Relationships, Spirituality, Intellectual Stimulation, Financial Success, Physical Wellness, Professional Growth, Giving Back, & Renewal. These help me to categorize my lower-level goals into groups that are easier to track and help me to see how everything fits together. The image is meant to remind me that everything contributes to the whole of who I am and who I want to become.

4. Lead Measures (Goals)

Lead measures are something I talk about in detail in my book. But basically they are smaller goals that predict the success of a higher goal. In my case, the higher goal is my annual vision. The beauty of a lead measure is that, assuming you set the right lead measures, when you complete them, you will have accomplished your goal. My lead measures are organized according to my areas of focus. They are all written as if I was in the future looking back. They are positive and stated what I have accomplished, not what I want to accomplish. Kind of the same thing but a mental difference.

5. Vision Board

Below my lead measures is a small vision board with images that remind me why I am doing these goals. I did not change this over last year, because my focus areas are the same. I know a lot of people put a crazy amount of effort into this part alone, but for me it is a mental reminder of the what is important in this plan.

6. The Reward (The Clincher)

This is probably the biggest change to the plan this year. One of the problems I saw with this plan was motivation. The thrill of achievement sometimes just isn’t enough, even for those like myself that are motivated by achievement. So the reward concept was brought in. It took me a while to come-up with a reward that would be motivational enough to keep me going, but a trip to Europe or Asia is what did it for me. There was one other problem with the reward. You see the vision accomplishment could be subjective. I don’t necessarily have to complete ALL my lead measures to accomplish my annual vision. So I am going to have to prove myself to a board of 4 people. I am going to have to keep records and track my progress. My “board” will consist of a financial expert, a business expert, a relationship expert and one other wild-card.  Only a unanimous decision will result in the reward. This is a kind of kick-in-the-rear, motivation also. I have to be a success in others’ eyes, not just my own.

Some Important Steps in Creating Your Success Plan

1. Take time to make sure the goals are right for you and what you want to accomplish. It took me over a month to nail down all my goals.

2. Talk to others about your goals. I have a personal performance partner that spent loads of time questioning me and helping me to narrow and define my goals better. The best thing I did was have a meeting with my wife to talk to her about my goals and get her feedback. Some of my goals changed because of that meeting and she is now vested in my success and we worked out some details to the execution that I had not thought of. Depending on who your goals touch, will determine who you should talk to.

3. Push yourself. I told a friend the other day that I felt like a very small person about to climb a very big mountain.  I am scared of my goals. Once that fear came on, I knew I had pushed my goals far enough to make me a much better person. I know they are all achievable as well. If you are not scared of your goals, you are probably not reaching far enough, and therefore you are limiting your capacity to grow.

Execution & Tracking of your Success Plan

I spent a lot of time setting up the processes to make sure that nothing will prevent me from hitting the ground running when I start. I am using a service at http://www.sendrecurring.com/ to schedule emails and text message reminders to myself and to my wife for certain things we need to remind ourselves to do. Until everything becomes a habit and second nature I want to be bugged about it.

The next and most important thing is I let my personal performance partner or accountability partner know about my goals. He will push me, make sure I am on track and not let me waiver. I will be sending reports to him on a weekly basis and we talk on a weekly basis via phone on the goals.  We also email each other on a daily basis regarding important weekly and daily goals or things we are struggling with. I am doing the same for him. This type of relationship is really important to the success of a plan that pushes your comfort level.

Success PlanThe last thing I needed was a system of tracking and measuring my progress. Everyone has to do what is best for them on this.  Some people like to track things on paper, not me. I am in front of the computer most of the time, I prefer typing and I like charts and graphs and percentages and other hard data to look at. I thought about using Excel, but it was going to be too much of a pain. I use Outlook all the time, and while I will be using it for task management and calendaring, it is not good for managing goals and running reports. I ultimately settled on a software program called Goal Enforcer (http://www.goalenforcer.com/).

Goal Enforcer is a mind map based program that’s sole purpose is Goal Management. There are a couple reasons why I chose it. First is because it allowed me a quicker method of inputting (or really importing from excel) my goals. When all my goals are broken down into daily tasks and weekly tasks and unit based tasks I had 3,448 tasks for the year just involving my success plan.  That does not include other things I do. Using excel I was able to knock all the goals into a spreadsheet in a couple hours and import that into Goal Enforcer.

Success PlanGoal Enforcer  integrates with Outlook tasks and beautifully setup all my tasks for the entire year on the appropriate days. It also imports from Outlook, so I can complete my tasks in Outlook and it will update Goal Enforcer.  It also allows me to email a report from within and save it to a remote location, which is good for me as I travel a lot.

Because I have some sub-goals that are daily, resulting in 366 circles under a task, I will not be using the mind-map very much. Instead I will be using the tree view. The tree view allows me to quickly click tasks that are done, update the percentage, if it is that type of goal, and easily add notes or logs to the task. I will be using this daily and weekly in my planning sessions. I can also attach files or website links to a task if I am using another type of log or agenda for something. It is reasonably priced and you can get a free demo and purchase it from http://www.goalenforcer.com/.

Another thing to prevent barriers was I systematized and created processes and checklists for various tasks such as my daily planning agenda, my weekly planning agenda and my social media strategy.

This was a long post and a lot to take in, but I believe there is not anything more important to do for your success, than to develop your own 2012 Personal Success Plan.  I would love to hear your thoughts in the comment section.

If you would like a blank 2012 Success Plan to work your own plan, subscribe the the Slice of Leadership list on the top-right side of this page. I am happy to provide my Daily Planning Agenda, Weekly Planning Agenda, and Social Media /Personal Branding Checklist for those that would like a copy. Just subscribe and request it in the comments below.

I hope that everyone has the most successful year in 2012 that they have ever had.

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Never Underestimate The Lowly Peasant In Front Of You

October 10, 2011 by

I was at a couple conferences recently and a familiar topic came to mind, that is the value of those you network with.  The reason why this topic stuck with me because I had an interesting conversation with the CEO of an association that serves the IT industry.  There was an exclusive party for technology vendors and sponsors at this conference. I was invited by one of the technology vendors.  I was just a guy that had recently resigned and was looking for other opportunities.  I guess to the lay person, I was an unemployed nobody.  As with any party, I circled the room and talked with people about what they did and what companies they were from.  I met some fascinating people.

During the party, I ran into the CEO of the association that was putting on the conference. I congratulated him on the event and engaged in small talk. He then asked who I was and who I was with. When I explained that I was not with anyone and that I had recently resigned and was looking for other opportunities, he kind of shook his head, chewed some food and non-chalently turned around and started talking with someone else.  I stood there in in awe at this experience.

I don’t consider myself prideful, but later I thought to myself. Does he realize I run the largest IT operations oriented peer group with CEO’s from 3 continents? Does he realize I have almost 10,000 social media connections, of which at least two-thirds, work in the IT industry?  Does he realize that I write guest articles for an IT Industry Channel blog that is read by thousands of IT executives? Does he realize I have been asked to speak at several IT industry events in the coming year that will be attended by thousands of IT executives? Does he realize I have a book that will be published soon by a major publisher? Does he realize I was invited by one of the vendors paying him money to be there?

No, my head is not getting big. I guess to the lay person, I am an unemployed nobody. But who knows where I will be in a few years and what kind of influence, good or bad, that I could have on his association. I have often heard people say that they only connect with fellow peers of equal or greater position. I always respond that I connect with just about everyone (I have a few moral exceptions).  I tell them, that I will connect with people from other industries, because someday the IT industry could drastically change(i.e. Cloud Computing).  I explain that I will connect with an entry-level technician, or customer service rep., because one day I may need to hire one, and one day that person might be CEO of their own company. I will connect with an artist, because I might need one (I have), or any just about any other person, because you never know who they know. Perhaps they are the son of a Board member that will make a decision about having me come into the company.

The point I am trying to make goes back to the golden rule.  Treat others as you would like to be treated. Treat others with respect and interest, because you never know when you may need their help or when another might help you for no other reason than, they can. 

Filed Under: Networking Leaders Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Are You a Leader When No One is Watching?

September 30, 2011 by

I am in Las Vegas for a couple days attending a conference.  I do not visit Las Vegas very often, so it is always eye-catching to see the magnificence of the architecture and how technology seeps from every crevice of the city, especially in contrast to what many of the buildings represent.  The day in the conference center was filled with lots of great content.  I was a little slow leaving after it ended, from talking to people and answering some emails.

To exit the conference center to get to the hotel entrance one must walk a long corridor that leads into the middle of the Casino.  As I walked out of the corridor and made my way to the entrance I witnessed many of my colleagues attending to the festivities of the Casino.  Some of the same individuals that were calm, focused, and studious during the conference, were now zombies in front of a slot-machine. Some were already partying, drinking and gawking at the dancing girls overhead.  As I looked at this, a thought popped into my head. The thought was, “Are you a leader, when no one is watching?”

I am not making a statement about those activities.  I believe everyone has the freedom to do what they want, within reason. I do believe that too much of anything can be bad. In Las Vegas like many other cities, especially for a traveling businessman, it can be easy to get “lost”. There are infinite places that one could go to and no one would probably ever know. If what I was seeing was occurring only 30 minutes after the conference, I wondered what was in store for later in the night. I also wondered what colleagues had disappeared and gotten “lost”.

I thought about what a leader is and the thought popped into my mind, being a manager is a job, being a leader is a calling.  I know people who have been fired for activities at conferences. I know colleagues who lost some respect because of their lack of control at conferences. I have avoided purchasing from certain vendors and partnering with certain companies, because of what I have seen at late night activities. But what about numero uno, you? Are you ok with entering into a dimly lit area and participating in activities that you would not want your significant other to see? Or in activities you woudl not want your staff see?

As the night continued, I went and had sushi with a group of colleagues and vendors.  Yes they were drinking, but they were in control (well most were 🙂 ).  We had a lot of fun and I learned from my colleagues and built deeper relationships. I am not sure what happened after I left, but I am glad to know that there were others that exhibited control.
 
Those leadership lists that I hate so much came to mind and I thought that maybe they could be used in this situation.  It is the concepts of values and priorities in life. I think they should apply all the time, not only when you chose. If you value trust in your company, I think it would serve well to ask if the activity you are about to participate in will create or destroy trust in others.

In the morning, as the first keynote speech started at 7:15 am, I looked around and beheld that the room was barely 1/4th full.  In fact I could have probably stood up and counted everyone in a few minutes.  The sea of empty chairs seemed to be a sign of the previous night’s activities

Remember being a manager is a job, being a leader is a calling.

Filed Under: Leading At All Times Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Revitalize – Getting Things Done Through Aligned Execution – Part 1

August 13, 2011 by

A couple of posts ago I mentioned that I had written a book.  I started writing the book in July of 2010 and finished it in April of 2011.  The book is written as a business fable and describes a methodology that I developed to solve one of the most mystifying problems that organizations experience.  That problem is the ability to get everyone’s activities in an organization aligned to help achieve the top-line goals of an organization. 

I have often pondered about why there are so many businesses that fail, why small business are more likely to fail then succeed and most importantly, why there are so many small businesses that never seem to progress beyond their plateaus that leave them at the same place for years and years.  The concepts in the book are not revolutionary.  In fact they are the basic building blocks of business. But it is how they are organized that is different. 

Below I have pasted the introduction to the book as well as some of the reviews I have received.  The reviews have been phenomenal. I actually had to go back to a few of the reviewers and ask if they were telling the truth.  I already have verbal orders for the book from CEOs that want it for everyone in their company and I have received invitations to speak and conduct workshops on the process.  Of course I have to get the baby published first.  It is in the hands of a great agent, so keep following me and I will let everyone know when it is available.

Introduction

    In the book Execution, by Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan; Larry Bossidy wrote, “Leadership without the discipline of execution is incomplete and ineffective. Without the ability to execute, all other attributes of leadership become hollow.”

    I wish that every leader could have that quote ingrained in their memory. I have had the privilege of meeting with thousands of business owners and leaders in various capacities and situations over the years. Many of them that I have met are stuck in a cycle of constant ineffective commotion. A commotion filled with busywork and all the myriad things, both big and small, which are required to run an organization. These leaders work countless hours, yet don’t really get much done to move their organization forward. All this busywork is “critical” work that must get done; but none of it helps the company progress toward becoming a bigger, better, and more profitable entity. When a leader is stuck in this cycle, the staff is sure to follow. This can continue for years until people wonder what they have accomplished with all their hard work.

    The ability to execute and get one’s staff dedicated, aligned, and moving in the same direction should be the study and focus of all leaders. I think sometimes we are so focused on getting every ounce of performance out of ourselves and others that we forget to lead them, we neglect to manage them, and rarely take the time to properly plan for our success.

    This book will guide you through a straight-forward process: a flexible methodology that allows organizations or teams to get their actions focused and their goals accomplished, all while remaining in alignment with organizational objectives.

    Though the process is simple in nature, it will take vision, focus and creativity to implement. I hope you will accept the challenge to follow this process through to completion and achieve great things as a result.

Okay. Let’s revitalize!

Praise for Revitalize

    “I would highly recommend Revitalize – Getting Things Done Through Aligned Execution. This book gives a solid foundation and systematic process for organizations to step out and jointly get things done more powerfully in their life and work. The way that organizational focus, alignment, and execution are woven throughout the story provides a clear path for organizational success.” 

~Kris Cavanaugh (Author of Stuck to C.E.O., Speaker & Coach | Atlanta, GA) Website

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    “I’ve probably read hundreds…perhaps thousands of business books. I’ve invested over $250k into seminars, books, audios, and other continuing education since I started my company; yet it didn’t all crystalize for me until I read Revitalize. Your book gave me the framework to execute the vision that has existed only in my head. It took the “what ifs” and “somedays” and “hopefullys” out of my world and replaced them with absolute certainty. Now I know there IS a way to absolutely guarantee success…and it is simple. Thank you!”

~Pamela Viveiros (CEO/President, ThinkTech Computers | New Bedford, MA) Website

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    “Revitalize – Getting Things Done Through Aligned Executiondoes a better job of explaining how to align behavior to goals than all of the hot-shot speakers I’ve heard over the years, and more importantly, it is done in such a simplified way that individuals at every level can understand the process to make significant organizational improvements.”

~Tim Shea (CEO, Alpha NetSolutions, Inc. | Millbury, MA) Website

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    “This is a work that can empower the reader with the concepts and inspiration to make the changes necessary to grow and prosper in our difficult economy. Revitalize is exactly what the doctor ordered to bring anyone back to business and life health.”

~Jim Camp (Author of “Start With No”, Founder of The Camp Negotiation Institute | Dublin, OH) Website

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    “Revitalize combines important information on execution and organizational alignment with a critical life topic of urgency. Primo Levi once said, ‘If not now, then When? If not us, then Who?’ This book brings a personal change story into significance by reminding us that we must take action not tomorrow, not next week, but today to execute and begin our organizational transformation and change journey!”

~Louis Carter ( Author, CEO & Founder, Best Practice Institute | West Palm Beach, FL) Website

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“Revitalize-Getting Things Done Through Aligned Execution is by far one of the best business books ever written! The use of the story was a powerful way to demonstrate the importance of developing purpose, vision, core values and goals for any business and personal life! The methodology taught in this book is simple to understand yet innovative in structure. If followed, success is guaranteed!”

~Arvee Robinson (Master Speaker Trainer, International Speaker, and Author | Upland, CA) Website

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    “In looking back through my 30 years of business experience, college, continuing education, and my personal library of hundreds of business books, I find no one has better able to explain the concepts of mission, vision, value and BHAG better than Todd Nielsen.  I found the story to be riveting and filled with business lessons and practical examples of how to apply these intertwined concepts. Many business owners believe the success or failure of their organization is up to fate.  Revitalize breaks through that myth and gives you hands-on, practical tools that can be immediately implemented to make any initiative successful.  As a business owner, I look forward to formalizing these processes in our organization to ensure our future success.  I wish I had this book many years ago!”        

~Diana L. Spurgus (President, MBA, MCP, CPA, CITP – BSSI, Inc. | Lancaster, OH) Website

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    “Revitalize – Getting Things Done Through Aligned Execution, provides the ideal framework for businesses looking to improve their bottom line.  It simplifies the execution of strong solid business principles, and inspires the reader into action.  Revitalize, reinforced where our company needs to make improvements and left me motivated to put things into action, now.”

~ Wendy Panor (Operations Manager, The Digital Architects, Inc. | Stevensville, MD) Website

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“I highly recommend Revitalize – Getting Things Done Through Aligned Execution to anyone wanting to improve the outcomes and productivity in their company or personal life.  It is a quick read and explains the principles and concepts well.  The story shows how all the pieces fit together in real life situations to create synergy and exponential growth or change.  A real treasure in my business book library.

~ Doug Hulme (President, Consolidated Business Systems | Denver, CO) Website

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I’d love to hear your thoughts.  Comment below!

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Imagine Leadership

May 19, 2011 by

Nitin Nohria and Amanda Pepper of Harvard Business School’s Leadership Initiative collaborated with XPLANE to create this video in order to generate a discussion of the value and importance of leadership to address some of societys most pressing problems.

“It is my desire to inspire people of all ages and social demographics to think about leadership on a broad level, contemplate what it means to them and what individual impact they can have when it comes to leading,” says Nohria.

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What a 2-Legged Dog Taught Me About Leadership Resilience

May 4, 2011 by

Several years ago I was in Argentina on a mission for my church.  On one particular day I walked down a dirt road in a small town called General Castex, located in the Las Pampas region of Argentina.  I spotted an animal at the end of this street, but could not figure out what it was.  It was walking on 2 legs, but did not appear to be a 2 legged animal.  As I got closer to the animal, I stopped and gazed in disbelief.  It was a dog, but no ordinary dog.  This dog had lost the use of both its hind legs in some kind of accident, but strangely enough, it was not immobile.  It actually had learned to walk on its front 2 legs.  When it walked, it would bring the back-end of its body high in the air and walk on its front legs.  It could go up and down steps and across the not so even terrain of a small Argentine street.

I snapped a picture (which I can’t seem to find) and knew that there were a hundred lessons to be learned from that animal.  But the primary one ……is resilience.  Resilience is the power or ability to return to the original form, position, etc., after being bent, compressed, or stretched.

I have often felt bent, broken, compressed and stretched as a leader.  I am not aware of too many leaders who have not.  Particularly at the level of start-ups and small business, the stress and problems can be too much for some to bear.  I know of hundreds of small business owners that struggle in one form or another.  Their lives are tough, they sleep little, they work a lot, their families suffer, and sometimes they wonder if it is really worth it all.

I have been there many times, and while I would like to say that those things are behind me, I know that my trials are most likely preparing me for something more difficult.  Only time will tell.   

I can’t say I have all the answers, but I’d like to share a few thoughts I have on how to foster resilience in your own life.

  1. Cling to Your Spiritual Side – If you are religious, cling to that.  If your “religion” is to get out in nature, do it.  In tough times I think we need to feel the hope that there is something, someone, or some force out there that can assist us.  It helps us to feel peace and to gain perspective.  Sometimes in the whole scheme of things, our trials really are insignificant.  The peace and perspective that is gained from spiritual renewal can help us logically think through problems and bounce back bigger and better.
  2. Learn – Reading and learning about others who have struggled, and learning ways that I can improve myself have been one of the most rewarding effects in my life.  It has also helped me find out-of-the-box answers, and better perspectives for many of my problems.  Sometimes I am the problem and I need to learn how to better myself, sometimes it is an operational or communication issue.  If you notice a weakness that you or your organizations has, don’t wait, buy a book, take a class, and start gleaning knowledge from others that will prepare you for life’s “bends”.
  3. Ask For Help – Entrepreneurs and leaders tend to have a built in pride gene that is hard to turn off.  I think it is just as important to accept help, as it is to help others.  Asking and accepting help, requires humility.  There are so many professionals out there that are more than willing to share their insight and offer assistance in many ways.  Get out there and ask for help, the worst thing that someone can say is “No”. 
  4. Manage Yourself – Manage your time, manage your energy, and manage your communication.  It is easy to get into bad habits when one is going through a hard time.  This could be bad eating habits, bad sleeping habits, bad time management, focusing on things that are not important, and poor or short communication to those who are central to your success.  You probably need every resource you can muster.  Don’t waste it by falling into common stress traps, which will work against you in bouncing back.
  5. Focus But Keep Proper Perspective – Stay focused on the problem.  Few problems go away by ignoring them.  It may require a lot of work that you do not enjoy, but things will not get any easier if you can’t bounce back, so you have to focus on the problem and not deviate.  But while you are focusing, keep proper perspective on other important things in your life.  If you work really hard to bounce back or solve a big problem, but in that time you completely ignore your family, or ignored an important part of your business or an important customer, then all you have done is fixed one problem and caused another.  You are not any better off.  Communicate with others about your problems and explain what your plan is.  Focusing does not mean you have to ignore everything else.
  6. Persist – I can’t imagine how how many times that dog must have fallen before it was able to balance itself and walk on 2 legs.  If it had just given up after a few falls it would probably have been dead.  Keep getting up!  Sometimes answers come in the final hour of struggle.
  7. Know When To Call It Quits – This may seem to counter the post, but we are talking about leadership resilience.  Sometimes you need to know that the effort to fix a problem isn’t worth it.  Maybe it will require too much money or too much time, whatever it is, you need to know when let an initiative die and move onto bigger and better things.   Bouncing back may just mean moving on.

 

Warren Bennis, a great organizational consultant and author once said “The leaders I met, whatever walk of life they were from, whatever institutions they were presiding over, always referred back to the same failure – something that happened to them that was personally difficult, even traumatic, something that made them feel that desperate sense of hitting bottom–as something they thought was almost a necessity.  It’s as if at that moment the iron entered their soul; that moment created the resilience that leaders need.

I hope that iron can enter all our souls so that we can be more resilient in our lives and leadership capacities and ultimately achieve all the goals we have set for ourselves and our organizations.

I’d love to hear your thoughts, experience, or comments below.

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How A Group Of Frogs Became A Story About Developing Leaders

February 11, 2011 by

Steph Robey put this video together based on a classic story of frogs traveling through the woods.  The video talks about developing leaders.  While this was made for home based businesses it still has two important lessons that apply to all leaders.

  1. Words Have the Power of Life & Death
  2. It Takes the Power of a Leader to Speak Life

It is a great little video that I know you will enjoy.  Those two lessons carry a lot of meaning.  Please comment and share your thoughts.

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Structured Life, Structured Work, Structured Leadership

January 27, 2011 by

Structured Leadership

Harold Geneen the former CEO/President of ITT Corporation (International Telephone & Telegrah Corp.), once said, “Every company has two organizational structures: The formal one is written on the charts; the other is the everyday relationship of the men and women in the organization.” 

Whether we think it does or not; structure or the lack thereof in business causes great impacts on the effectiveness of our organizations.  I don’t believe as leaders we naturally think of structure and how we fix our structures when trying to solve business problems.  I think we often treat (fix) the symptoms of a lack of structure.

I learned years ago when I was Scout Master for a Boy Scout Troop that structure is essential to performance.  In boy scouts, performance is measured by kids advancing to the next rank or getting the next merit badge, or the ability to listen and follow directions and not get mauled by a mountain lion.  When there is chaos, the mind seems to be drawn to that chaos and chaos begets chaos.  Newton’s law of motion says “An object that is at rest will stay at rest unless an unbalanced force acts upon it“.  Have you ever had a messy room in your house, and noticed it got messier and messier until a force was acted on it?  The mess begets the mess.  You think, “screw it it is already messy” and you end up contributing to the mess. The same thing happens in business.  I think when things are orderly, organized, planned, (i.e. structured) and the lines are drawn in the sand; that people actually feel happier, more at peace, and more capable of performing. 

The idea in and of itself sounds counter-intuitive; imposing restrictions and setting boundaries, would seem to limit one’s ability to perform and achieve.  But the opposite is actually true.  I have to thank my wife for teaching this to me many years ago.  She was a first grade teacher and taught me that children are happier and more productive when they have structure.  Over the years I have observed children and noticed this effect and we have striven to provide structure to our child.  He lets us know when we are slipping. 🙂  I have noticed the positive and negative effects of structure and the lack of, in other children and businesses as well.

Structure can mean a lot of things in different situations in life and there are often outliers that might be the occasional exception.  I accept that.  I want to suggest a couple structures that I think are important to consider in leading a business.  These could also apply to one’s personal life.

5 Areas of Structured Leadership

1) Organizational Structure
2) Execution Structure  
3) Environmental Structure
4) Relationship Structure
5) Internal (Personal) Structure

Organizational Structure

The organizational structure can be looked at a couple of different ways. One way is the legal structure of a business; i.e. S-Corp, C-Corp, LLC, etc…  But as far as performance and leadership are concerned, people like to know how they fit into the organization of a company and how they can progress, well at least high performing individuals that want a career not a job.  Having something as simple as a organization chart is a start.  But it goes deeper; here are some questions to ask yourself:

  • Do you have a career path set-up for employees and do they understand it?
  • Do employees know how they can move up the ladder?
  • Do employees have a clear idea of who they report to?
  • Is there a purpose for the organization and does everyone know that purpose?

The organizational structure has to also provide some “hard edges”  or limits of what one can and can’t do.  Hiring someone and then saying, “Go at it” is a setup for failure.  Some questions to ask yourself:

  • Is there an on-boarding plan for each employee?
  • Do employees know the hard edges of their job? 
  • Do you have an updated employee manual?  
  • Does everyone understand the employee manual?
  • Does everyone know what is expected of them?

This is just touching the surface, but organizational structure, I think, is often something that leaders love or hate to deal with.  But it really is one of the foundation stones to a successful business.

Execution Structure

Execution structure is the “HOW”.  It is the processes and procedures for getting from A to B.  I think this is one of the most important structures in business.  In Boy Scouts, when earning a merit badge, it is very clear on exactly what has to be done.  Following are the first few requirements for earning the “American Business” merit badge:

Do the Following:
a. Explain four features of the free enterprise system in the United States.  Tell its benefits and responsibilities.  Describe the difference between freedom and license. Tell how the Scout Oath and Law apply to business and free enterprise.
b. Describe the Industrial Revolution:  Tell about the major developments that marked the start of the modern industrial era in the United States.  Tell about five people who had a great influence on business or industry in the United States.  Tell what each did.

Do the Following:
a. Visit a bank.  Talk with one of the officers or staff.  Chart the organization of the bank.  Show its relationship with other banks, business and industry.
b. Explain how changes in interest rates, taxes, and government spending affect the flow of money into or out of business and industry.
c. Explain how a proprietorship or partnership gets its capital. Discuss and explain four ways a corporation gets its capital.
d. Explain the place of profit in business.
e. Name five kinds of insurance useful to business.  Describe their purposes

Imagine how successful staff would be with that kind of structure.  Of course they need to be empowered to make changes and adapt if the need arises, but I think execution strategy is taken for granted, especially in small business, probably because it is one of the more difficult things for people to conceptualize and document.  Documenting the most important processes in a company gives people order.  It makes hiring easier and firing easier.  It makes for a more efficient organization.

Environmental Structure

Walk into company or in a CEO’s office and you will quickly be able to tell how much environmental structure is in place, but you can also generally tell the status of the other structure’s.  Messy offices, files that are not filed, boxes in the halls, desks that are unorganized, all display the culture and environmental structure of a company.  I may get called out on this, but I do not believe anyone works better in chaos.  I know many people that if you took them from their normally messy office and put them in a clean and organized office would have difficulty because of the change, but not for the lack of chaos.  Meaning they used to know where things are and now they do not.

The environmental structure sounds superficial but is really important.  If you are culture like Google, who values innovation and creative thinking at work, then your environmental structure should be setup that way, and theirs is.  If you are a law firm dealing with clients who expect order and professionalism; then that is how the environmental structures should be setup.  The way you and your people dress and groom, how the phone is answered, what time people come into work, are all important aspect of environmental structure.  Virtual organizations can still have environmental structure as well.  Walk around your office and look around and ask yourself; if I knew nothing about my company, what would I think of it by what I see now?  The truth can be scary.

Relationship Structure

I’d like to think of relationship structure as the interpersonal behavior that exists in an organization.  There is a plethora of research out there about why people quit and why people hate their jobs.  Many studies often lead to how one was treated and communicated to.  While I think most would like to erase emotion to some degree and have more rigidity, it is important to have a relationship structure that fosters, positive interpersonal communication and behavior.  Some questions to consider:

  • Do people yell at your company, do you?
  • How does the staff interact with each other?
  • Is feedback asked for and accepted by both the leader and the direct report?
  • Is there healthy conflict in meetings and is that conflict fostered and encouraged?
  • Is there unhealthy conflict that leads to hurt feelings and stress?

Someone once said, “Leave the drama for your mama”, great advice for working relationships.  This does not mean you should not have conflict; you just need to have the right kind of conflict.  Probably not the most enjoyable “structure” for a leader to deal with, but necessary nonetheless. 

Internal (Personal) Structure

The internal structure of employees is not something that you can really control, but you sure the heck can control who you hire.  You want people working for you that live your values, that live your culture, and that actually have some form of internal structure that mirrors the culture of your organization.  If your company values a well-groomed and professional appearance, you will want to hire people that naturally feel comfortable in that kind of attire; otherwise you will be fighting it forever.  If you value ongoing learning and skill advancement, then you want people that like to read and want to progress and are humble enough to admit they have more to learn and actually want to learn.  There are many examples of how internal structure can affect your company culture and the ability to execute.  As Jim Collins said in Good to Great, you have to “get the right people on the bus.”

I think that creating and fostering the improvement of all five of these structures in business is one huge slice of the leadership pie and invaluable to a successful business if you do not want it to resemble the weak, breaking building in the picture above.

Please leave a comment and let me know your thoughts and if there are any “structures” you think I might be missing.

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