“I have a few loose ends to tie up and then I’ll be home.” Does that sound like a familiar phone conversation at the end of a long day? Sometimes those loose ends take a few minutes; sometimes an hour or more. It can be cleaning out your inbox, returning a phone call or two, or packing up your briefcase for an early morning flight. Whatever the loose ends are, the trip home will rest easy on your mind if they are done. And if they aren’t, sleep comes hard that night, because a rope, or business, or church, or life with loose ends has a way of coming unraveled.
It is common today for leaders to believe that the details are beneath them: “I leave the details to my staff.” Great leaders don’t buy into that line of thinking and know that the difference between good and great is often attention to detail. In the business world, no one has ever understood this better than Steve Jobs. From the iMac…to the iPod and iTunes…to the iPhone…and finally to the iPad, Jobs was obsessive about personally ensuring that every detail met the standard of excellence he expected in Apple products. General Colin Powell, who served our country ably as both the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and as the Secretary of State, had this to say about details:
“Never neglect details. When everyone’s mind is dulled or distracted the leader must be doubly vigilant.”
“Never neglect details.” Wow! Never? Really? That’s what he said, and he’s right.
History is full of missed details that brought down nations, companies, individuals and organizations of all kinds. The Greeks defeated the Trojans because someone forgot to look inside the Trojan Horse. In the late 1990’s, a Mars Orbiter Satellite was designed partly in metrics and partly in English units. Guess what? The navigation system malfunctioned and it was lost in space. In 1994, a small detail—a safety valve left off—caused an explosion that killed 167 men on the Piper Bravo oil rig. As the old saying goes, the devil is in the details. I am not saying that the leader has to personally take care of every detail, but the leader does have to be “doubly vigilant” to make sure that every detail is taken care of. Steve Jobs did. Colin Powell did. You have to also.
[This is an excerpt from my first book, One Stone At A Time, coming this fall.]
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© Copyright 2012 by Dick Wells, The Hard Lessons Company
The Polo Club in Palm Desert—think palm trees, blue cloudless sky, low humidity, Ritz Carleton and cool evening breezes—was the site of the opening reception for our corporation’s annual meeting. All of the directors, corporate officers and key staff, and division presidents, along with their spouses were there for three days of business in the mornings, fun in the afternoons, and dinner every evening.
It was my first time at the annual meeting so I was excited as Dottie (my wife) and I worked our way up the receiving line. After the Chief Human Resources Officer, Chief Legal Counsel, and Chief Financial Officer, we came to the second highest chief, the Chief Operating Officer (COO). (Yeah, I know, you’re thinking too many chiefs, not enough…. Well, a $10B+ corporation takes a lot of chiefs and assistant chiefs.) As we approached the COO, he had a huge smile and made my day by introducing me to his wife by saying, “This is Dick Wells. He runs our Nashville division and he’s one of my favorites.” For about ten seconds my ego soared completely out of control until the COO’s wife brought me down to earth by commenting, “You say that about everyone.” Oh well, it was nice while it lasted.
Let’s be honest. Don’t we all want to be someone’s favorite? We learn early in life the advantages of being a favorite. We strive to be the teacher’s favorite, or the coach’s, then at some point it’s a girl or guy we hope to marry, and later the boss’s. If that striving is focused on serving, not manipulating, flattering, etc., it is a good thing.
In my various leadership roles, I have been very blessed to have some exceptional people serve and support me. They earned favor with me. When they needed a hearing to ask for special favor, they got the hearing and more often than not they got “yes” to their requests. They were all different in terms of their talents and personalities, but they all had these things in common:
● They were trustworthy. They did what they said they would do whether it was a huge project that took months, something simple, or something hard.
● They were not high maintenance. I didn’t dread it when they walked into my office. They didn’t expect me to be their counselor or therapist and they didn’t expect me to fix all their problems.
● They were focused on the company’s needs, not personal agendas. They knew that promotions would come if they excelled in the job they had rather than worrying about the job they wanted.
● They were positive and fun to work with. I looked forward to time with them. They didn’t bring gloominess into the room with them.
● They got results. They knew that working hard and being lovable was not the goal. We needed to satisfy customers, deliver profits, motivate and develop employees, and introduce new products.
● They told me the truth when I messed up (which was often). There was no sugar coating or walking on egg shells around the boss.
They gained my favor without manipulating, maneuvering, flattering, politicking, or abusing others. They had a simple strategy: be exceptional every day. It worked for them. It will work for you.
[This is an excerpt from my first book, One Stone At A Time, coming this fall.]
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© Copyright 2012 by Dick Wells, The Hard Lessons Company
Subtitle: Maybe This Is Why AA Is Bankrupt?
We arrived at the Jacksonville, Florida airport (JAX) about 1:30pm to pick up our friends, John and Kathy Murphey, on our way to spend a few days in historic St. Augustine. The airport status board showed their flight—American (AA) 310 from Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW)—to be “On Time” for a 1:50pm arrival. Great, in about 30 minutes they would be walking up the exit ramp. At 1:50pm, the status changed to “Arrived” and at 1:55pm it said “At Gate.”
We watched dozens of people walk out. Fifteen minutes…twenty…thirty go by…still no Murpheys. The board still said “At Gate.”
Concerned, I checked the baggage area. No Murpheys and no baggage from AA 310. So I went to the baggage claim office to inquire about the flight.
AA “Electrical problem; it will be here at 4:00pm.”
Dick “The status board says it is here now, at the gate.”
AA “The status board is wrong.”
Dick “Who is responsible for the information on the status board?”
AA “The airport is.”
Dick “Who is supposed to tell them the flight is late?”
AA “They are supposed to call us.”
This is actually the simple version of the whole episode. At one point, the JAX status board showed that AA 310 had arrived on time and left on time when actually it was still at DFW the whole time.
Three different AA people told me it was the airport’s job. The airport told me it was AA’s job to let them know when a flight was going to be late. This is a classic case of The Left Hand Doesn’t Know What The Right Hand Is Doing while each hand is blaming the other, saying, “It’s not my job.”
To my way of thinking, because it was an AA flight and AA customers, they have more at stake than the airport. No one will blame JAX because an AA flight is on the ground at DFW with a problem. Evidently, not one single person from AA felt like it was their responsibility to let JAX know that the flight was going to be more than two hours late. (It is still a mystery how JAX posted At Gate when the flight was still in Dallas.)
I am a long-time AA customer: lifetime Platinum, more than two million miles. I don’t fly much any more, but when I do, it is usually AA (three trips last year). Last Monday (5/7/12), I was embarrassed for them—and more than a bit frustrated. They should be embarrassed too. Maybe it is customer service like this that explains at least in part why they are bankrupt.
How about your customer service? Does your left hand know what the right hand is doing? Are your customers wandering around trying to find out what is going on and hearing, “It’s not my job?”
If you are the leader, it’s up to you to fix it.
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© Copyright 2012 by Dick Wells, The Hard Lessons Company
It was Tuesday afternoon about 2:15pm. I was sitting in the Coffee Beanery waiting on a 2:00pm appointment. Just a little “put out,” I called Dottie (my wife) to let her know I would be home early because my appointment was a no show. She reminded me that I had forgotten an appointment every now and then to which I smugly replied, “Only once or twice.” (Remember that.)
Before heading home, I called to find out if I should continue to wait. “Yes,” he had forgotten; he apologized and said, “I’ll be there right away.”
He came; we had a good meeting.
Less than 24 hours later—Wednesday about 1:50pm.
I am putting on my running shoes ready for a go on the Natchez Trace when my phone rings: “Dick, Brenda wants to know if we should reschedule the meeting or are you just running late?”
The call jogged my memory: “You mean the meeting that was supposed to start at 1:30pm?”
“Yes.”
“I forgot, but I can be there in fifteen minutes if she still wants me to come.” (Oh how I was tempted to say I was just running late—much less a blow to my pride.)
I went; we had a good meeting.
Dottie really enjoyed it when I shared this embarrassing episode with her. (I think I saw a smug little “I told you so” look on her face.)
It would be good for all of us to remember that Jesus once said whoever “exalts himself will be humbled….” (Luke 14:11).
I sure need to remember. How about you?
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© Copyright 2012 by Dick Wells, The Hard Lessons Company
Passion—where do you find it? There is not a pat answer to that question. I have Googled ten pages deep looking for a Passion Roadmap. It doesn’t exist. I have, to no avail, exhausted “Bible Search” looking for God’s Five Steps For Finding Your Passion. I couldn’t even find a one step formula. Why? Because passion is not something you find, rather it finds you, or catches you, or calls out to you—take your pick.
The heart is where passion resides, catches fire, burns hot and leads to action. There is a phrase we often use to encourage people to greater effort: “Put your heart into it!” I’ve heard it a thousand times from coaches, teachers, bosses and preachers. However, where there is passion, it’s not necessary because the heart is already into it.
Although there is no formula for finding passion, there are some things that will help you recognize your passion—that thing you must do:
I have passion for leadership. How do I know?
One thing is certain, if you are in leadership, you better have passion for it. It’s too hard to lead without it.
What’s your passion? If you don’t know, I hope you’ll discover it soon.
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© Copyright 2012 by Dick Wells, The Hard Lessons Company
The WSJ headline was Bio as Bible: Managers Imitate Steve Jobs (WSJ 3/31-4/1, 2012; by Leslie Kwoh and Rachel Emma Silverman).
The gist of the story is how managers are reading Walter Isaacson’s excellent biography, Steve Jobs, as a “how to” manual and are trying to lead the same way Jobs did. Some have gone to the extreme of even dressing like Jobs—wearing black turtlenecks as their exclusive office garb.
Are you interested in trying it? Answer these questions first:
If the answer to all of these is “yes,” you can make a run at leading like Jobs. Let me know in a year or two how it works out.
If the answer to any of these is “no,” you can’t lead like Steve Jobs, so don’t try. My suggestion is for you to adopt the good things about the “Apple/Steve Jobs Way” that are transferable to your organization (read my 3/12/2012 post, How Much Of The Apple Is Left? at www.hard-lessons.com), but don’t adopt the Jobs leadership style. Take to heart what Bill George emphasizes in True North:
“…no one can be authentic by trying to be like someone else.”
“No one” includes you and me.
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© Copyright 2012 by Dick Wells, The Hard Lessons Company
In March 1982, Atlantic Magazine published an important article titled Broken Windows[1] which documented the results of a program which took “police officers out of their patrol cars” and assigned them to “walking beats” in some New Jersey inner-city neighborhoods. The intent of the program was to determine the impact of foot patrols on crime. Interestingly, the results showed that the foot patrols had little impact on reducing the measured crime rates (robbery, etc.). However, there were two significant benefits:
#1 the residents believed that crime had been reduced and felt more secure and free to walk around and live in the neighborhood, and had a favorable attitude about the police;
#2 the foot patrol officers had “higher morale, greater job satisfaction, and a more favorable attitude” about the residents of the neighborhood.
As I read this article, I immediately thought of MBWA—Management By Walking Around—the Hewlett-Packard leadership mantra validated in the Tom Peters/Bob Waterman 1982 bestselling book, In Search Of Excellence. Wikipedia describes MBWA this way: “a style of…management which involves managers wandering around, in an unstructured manner, through the workplace(s), at random….The emphasis is on the word “wandering” as an impromptu movement within a workplace….as compared to remaining in a specific office area and waiting for employees, or the delivery of status reports, to arrive there, as events warrant in the workplace.”[2]
In other words, MBWA is leaders on foot patrol and if you do it, you will get the same benefits as the police did:
#1 employees will have higher morale, feel more secure and free to talk, and have a more favorable attitude about you as the leader;
#2 you will have higher morale and will have a more favorable attitude about your employees.
And, since they will more freely talk, you will hear the truth more often than you will if you stay camped out in your office all the time.
If you haven’t thought about and practiced “leadership by foot patrol” in a while, why don’t you give it a go to see what happens? I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.
Thanks to Wally Bock at threestarleadership.com for pointing me to the Broken Windows article. Wally’s blog is the best out there for pointing to current and relevant leadership articles/books/blogs/etc. See [3] below to sign up.
[1] http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/print/1982/03/broken=windows/4465/
[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Management_by_wandering_around
[3] http://blog.threestarleadership.com/
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© Copyright 2012 by Dick Wells, The Hard Lessons Company
If you have been watching March Madness, you have no doubt seen the Domino’s Pizza ad that tells how Brian Edler of Findlay,Ohio, invented the Parmesan Bread Bites that are featured in the ads. Patrick Doyle, the CEO of Domino’s, says that “new ideas don’t usually come up from the local store level, but a great idea can come from anywhere.”
Now, if Doyle really believes that “a great idea can come from anywhere,” I’m not sure why he also says “new ideas don’t usually come up from the local store level.” In my experience, they do. Lots of new and great ideas “come up” from the factory floor, from customers, or from the congregation. However, it won’t happen by accident.
Every organization needs to create a culture in which new ideas are welcomed, encouraged and given visibility.
Every idea deserves a fair hearing, no matter how crazy or improbable it is. Even if it is an old idea, it should be reheard and reconsidered. There is little more demotivating than hearing, “We have tried that before.” Is it possible the problem wasn’t the idea, but the execution?
As the leader, you need to remember that those who are closest to the product…the customer…the congregation…the listener or reader…and so on, are more likely to hear and know the truth than you are. Especially in large organizations, there can be a lot of filters between you and reality.
Finally, every good idea is a lot of work for someone. That is why you can’t say “yes” to everything, but how you say “no” makes a big difference in whether new ideas will continue to “come up.”
Late in the Domino’s commercial, an employee of the Findlay, Ohio, Domino’s suggests that Brian Edler should become the CEO. With a big smile and chuckle, Doyle says “no.” I’m sure he is right. Inventing Parmesan Bread Bites is not a credential to lead a 9000-store international pizza chain. Evidently, Doyle is doing a stellar job–Domino’s stock has risen 350% faster than the stock market as a whole in the last 30 months. Now, if he can just figure out how to get more ideas to “come up,” there is no telling….
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© Copyright 2012 by Dick Wells, The Hard Lessons Company
When was the last time you thumbed through the Yellow Pages? I mean The Real Yellow Pages—the ones that are printed on paper and published by the phone company. Was it yesterday? Last week? Last month? Last year? If you are under 30 years old, the answer may be…never.
A recent WSJ article started with, “The phone company is selling its phone book” (WSJ, 3/9/2012, Anton Troianovski & Gregory Zuckerman). And why shouldn’t they? Fewer and fewer people use it. There are more and more cell-phone-only people (more than one out of four). It’s expensive to print and even with recycling, the paper used requires millions of trees to be cut down and who knows how much water and power it takes to make the paper.
Generally, I’m partial to reading off of paper, not a screen. I have a Kindle that I use for casual reading, but if I’m in to something serious (like Walter Isaacson’s Steve Jobs), I want a real book that I can hold in my hands, and I like to turn real pages, not hit a button. But the truth is I can do without the yellow pages, the real ones or otherwise. Google is just as easy to use and company websites are a lot more helpful than a 2”x4” ad.
AT&T is making a smart business decision. They understand the world they are operating in and aren’t trying to hold onto a dying heritage of landlines and phone books. For the sake of their shareholders (I’m not one), I hope they are successful in selling it. If they can’t sell it, sooner or later they will just shut it down or start charging a fee for it. Like it or not, free printed phone books are going…going…gone.
In my almost-weekly posts, I talk a lot about the pace of change in our world and how it is affecting everything. Why? Because I see too many organizations that are going…going…gone and either don’t know it or won’t do anything about it. There is very little chance that what got you to where you are, will keep you there for another ten years. The reality is, you may have only a few years left…or months.
If you are the leader, it is your job to steer your business or church into the future. So put your hands on the steering wheel and get to it. No one else will do it.
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© Copyright 2012 by Dick Wells, The Hard Lessons Company
One frequently repeated leadership adage is, “to get what you want, measure it.” The premise is that if you have a particular goal you want to reach (higher profit margin, more donors, weight loss, etc.), you need to measure your progress in reaching the goal. WRONG! You only get what you want if you measure the right things.
For example, if you want to lose ten pounds—which I do—you will never lose ten pounds by simply measuring your weight every day. To lose weight, you need to eat less (portion control) and better (less sugar, less starch, less fat), and exercise more. So the right things to track are what and how much are you eating, and how often are you exercising.
My tracking system is an X for every time I eat something counter to my goal (yesterday was a 2X day because I had Mexican for dinner), and a √ for every time I exercise, knowing that if I have more √s than Xs, I will take off the pounds. I record the √s and Xs every day; I record my weight only once every ten days. So far this year it’s working. I have more √s than Xs and have lost about five pounds.
So, to get what you want, first, measure the things that produce the results, not just the result itself.
Second, to get what you want, have a plan. My lose-weight plan is to exercise at least six days a week and to follow every X day with a no X day. That means since I blew it yesterday, today has to be a no X day. So it’s going to be fruit for lunch and salad for dinner.
Finally, accountability is a big deal. My lose-weight accountability is a chart on the refrigerator that shows my √s, Xs and weight every ten days. In effect, Dottie (my wife) is my accountability partner because she can see how I am doing. If I get off track, she is too kind to say anything, but she doesn’t need to. The very fact that she can see it is all the accountability I need.
In your business, church, life and so on, to get what you want you:
#1 – Measure and track the things that drive results, not just the results alone. Very little is ever accomplished by focusing on the outcome instead of the drivers for the outcome.
#2 – Have a plan. Very little is ever accomplished by happenstance.
#3 – Have someone accountable for the results. Very little is ever accomplished when accountability is fuzzy.
Is there something you want to accomplish, but haven’t made much progress? Try putting these three things in place. You’ll be pleasantly surprised with the results.
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© Copyright 2012 by Dick Wells, The Hard Lessons Company
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