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
Yesterday was the big day. It was Tim Cook in a blue-collared shirt instead of Steve Jobs in a black turtleneck. Otherwise, it was supposed to be the same. It was in San Francisco. The lights were low and diffused when they should be; bright and focused when they should be. The occasion was the unveiling of the iPad3…oops, just the “new iPad.” With a higher resolution screen, a better camera, higher speed and 4G connectivity, Apple will undoubtedly sell millions of them.
Apple stock is up $11 today (to $541 @ 2:00pm EST, 3/8/12); they have $100 billion cash on hand and their market cap is over $500 billion. That is more than the entire GDP of all but nineteen countries in the world. And the beat goes on. A new iPhone is expected later this year and there are rumors of an iTV at some point. Wow! It is easy to make the case that they are the best company in the world…at least for now.
Steve Jobs said in one of his last interviews with Walter Isaacson, “My passion has been to build an enduring company where people were motivated to make great products” (from Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson, a truly great book). They achieved Jobs’ passion while he was there. There are a lot of reasons, but three stand out.
First, it was their products, not profits, that motivated them. They never compromised quality, function, aesthetics, etc., just to make an extra buck. Their products are more expensive than their competitors’, but enough better that people are willing to pay the price.
Second, the “enough better” actually means a “lot better.” Jobs believed in “leapfrog” products that jumped over and far past any alternatives. He wasn’t satisfied with being the best of the lot; he wanted Apple products to be in a lot by themselves. More often than not, they are.
Third, Apple products are a unique and harmonious merger of art and technology. Every detail is intended to blend together in a way that stirs the soul. They are intended to not just make life easier, but make life better. That is why Apple groupies are so fiercely loyal.
It has been five months since cancer took Steve Jobs’ life at the early age of 56. So Apple is now on it’s own without him. That is a very big deal because Jobs was intimately involved in every detail of every product. For example, all Apple products have rounded corners. It wasn’t a design engineer that selected “how round” they should be, it was Jobs. There are ten thousand more examples of how his fingerprints are all over the Apple products.
How much of Apple is left without Jobs? I don’t know. I’m sure there is not another Steve Jobs who will emerge, so motivation and decisions that came from him will now have to come from Tim Cook and his leadership team. They have a huge vacuum to fill. Will they? Check back in four or five years; we won’t know before then.
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© Copyright 2012 by Dick Wells, The Hard Lessons Company
Delta has the most aircraft and carries the most passengers.
United flies to the most cities.
Southwest passengers have the most fun.
American just filed for bankruptcy (as have all of their major competitors—Delta, USAir, United, Northwest, and Continental—in previous years), putting several hundred thousand of my frequent flyer miles at risk.
Do you know which of these has the best “on time” score? Which has the highest “customer satisfaction” ranking? Which is the most profitable (based on earnings per share) and beat overall airline stock performance by 55% last year?
The answer is “none of the above.”
The best airline in America today is…Alaska Airlines. Surprised? Me too.
You may be thinking it is because they are non-union since it is popular to blame the unions for most everything these days. Nope—they are 80% unionized.
So maybe it’s because they have mostly good weather flights. Are you kidding? They fly primarily in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska. Have you ever been up there in the winter?
How did a relatively obscure airline become the best? Per their CEO, Bill Ayer, in a WSJ article by Matthew Kaminski on 2/4/12:
They have focus…they share the wealth…they keep it simple…they only expand when it will be profitable. Works for them. Will it work for you? You won’t know unless you try it.
I wish they would expand into Nashville.
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© Copyright 2012 by Dick Wells, The Hard Lessons Company
As a boy growing up in Oklahoma, there wasn’t much I liked more than an Indians versus wagon train movie, especially if John Wayne was the one who led the charge to rescue the wagon train. (Of course, this means my favorite movies and TV shows are 50 or so years old and often in black and white.) When evening came after a long, hot, dry day on the trail, ever alert for hostiles, they would “circle the wagons” so they could sit around the campfires, eat a gourmet meal cooked by somebody named Sagebrush, and sing songs about the prairie while they gazed at the stars. Then it was off to bed for a night of sweet dreams about how wonderful California was going to be. Well…that’s what they did in the movies. The circled wagons were a respite from the constant danger—a place of safety that took the edge off of the fear that hovered over the trail every day.
It is a wise leader who knows when it is time to circle the wagons; there are a lot of reasons to circle up every now and then.
When you are tired and need rest is a good time to circle up. You have been hard at it for weeks on special projects, introducing new products or services, relocating, and so on. Your followers are exhausted and a day or two by the campfire will re-energize them for the rest of the journey.
Sometimes you have to stop to fix the wagon wheel that is busted and fill empty water barrels or put ointment on lame horses. You need to take some time to repair the damage from the hard journey so far before you set out again. Especially, look for damaged relationships.
If everyone is afraid because intense new competition, or new technology, or a slowing economy is threatening the future, you need to circle up to counter the fear. Your followers are looking for you to be calm, unafraid and determined to fight and win.
A good reason to circle the wagons is when it’s time to have a party: you have finished a long climb up a mountain and see the ocean for the first time, the new building is finished, or the numbers are in and it was a record breaking year. You may be ready to move on, but everyone else wants to look at the view and celebrate a bit.
Circling the wagons can take a lot of forms depending on the need and type of organization. As the leader, it’s up to you to know when and how to do it. If you aren’t sure, ask. Your people will love being part of the decision.
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© Copyright 2012 by Dick Wells, The Hard Lessons Company
In his terrific book, True North, Bill George says: “People today demand personal relationships with their leaders before they will give themselves fully to their jobs.”
If you are the leader, you have a positional relationship with everyone who works for you—you are the boss. However, if you would rather be a leader than a boss—and you should want to—you are going to have to develop personal relationships with you the people you lead.
The starting point for personal relationships in organizations is respect. The building blocks of respect are time…
“How does a person show respect for anything? He gives it time.”
Coach Mike Krzyzewski Leading With The Heart
and listening:
“…listening is probably our greatest opportunity to give attention to others on a daily basis and convey how much we value them.”
James C Hunter The Servant
By the way, M. Scott Peck nailed it when he said, “You cannot truly listen to anyone and do anything else at the same time.” Included in “anything else” are checking email, text messages, and taking phone calls—all of these can wait fifteen minutes. [For me at home, this means putting down the WSJ and turning off CNBC.]
Why fifteen minutes? Because that is about what it takes—on a regular basis—to build a personal relationship with your employees. Fifteen minutes with each one, once a week, listening as they share about their life—kids, hobbies, church, fishing, golf, etc. On their birthdays, make it lunch. And then occasionally, to really show you respect them, ask, “What do you think we should do about _________________?”
Now, some of you are thinking I don’t have time to do this. If you have ten people working for you, it will take 2½ hours per week—about 5% of a 40-50 hour workweek which is typical for leaders. Do you really want to send a message that the people who work for you aren’t worth 5% of your time? What’s at stake here? Only whether your people will “give themselves fully to their jobs,” or not.
Would employees who “give themselves fully to their jobs” make a difference in your organization’s performance, morale, future, etc.? It’s up to you. Get started today…“Hey, Joan, let’s get a cup of coffee.”
© Copyright 2012 by Dick Wells, The Hard Lessons Company
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On Thursday, January 19, 2012, another giant fell. Kodak, one of America’s best known brands, joined a growing list of other iconic brands (American Airlines, Borders and Blockbuster) that couldn’t compete in today’s changing world. AA was done in by high labor costs, Borders by internet competition, and Blockbuster by Netflix. Digital cameras and high quality home printers/cheap online printing spelled doom for Kodak. All of them should have seen it coming, especially Kodak. It’s not as if the move to digital photography was a big surprise that happened overnight. In 1999, Americans bought more than 800 million rolls of film. This year, the number will be less than 50 million.
Robert Burley, an associate professor at Toronto’s Ryerson University, describes Kodak as a “company stuck in time” (from Bloomberg.com, January 19).
Kodak’s initial response to the digital onslaught was Kodak brand digital cameras (technology they pioneered and could have dominated). However, a flood of cheap digital cameras, followed shortly thereafter by cell phones, smart phones and tablets with built-in cameras, short-circuited that strategy. Today, they are trying to penetrate the highly competitive world of inkjet printers, dominated by Hewlett Packard, Epson, etc. Good luck. To keep the doors open, Kodak has been selling what to me is any company’s most valuable asset—intellectual property (patents). It wasn’t enough, so now they are counting on a bankruptcy judge to save them. Isn’t that what leaders are for?
Everything in this world is changing: customer preferences are changing, technology is changing, and demographics are changing. Where will radio be when cars have easy access to the internet? Who can even guess what the ultimate impact of Cloud Computing will be? The birthrate in America will not sustain our traditional population distributions of race and age—what does that mean to the future of your organization? Pastor, where are the twenties—still in your church or down the street in a more formal liturgical church? Is your business printing books? What are you going to do when people go to Barnes and Noble and print their own books?
Any organization that gets “stuck in time” is headed for trouble. What got you to where you are is not likely to keep you there. Leader, it is your job to move your organization into the future, not sustain it in the past. You can lead change or play catch up. Don’t wait until it is too late—get started today!
[The January scorecard for my five New Year’s Resolutions is one A, one B, two C’s, and one Incomplete. How are you doing?]
© Copyright 2012 by Dick Wells, The Hard Lessons Company
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The New York Jets started the 2011 season with high expectations. Their legendary hero, Joe Namath, described the 2011 team as “one of the best we’ve ever seen.” He should have hedged his bet because the Jets finished out of the playoffs with a mediocre 8-8 record, collapsing as the season wound down by losing their last three games. What happened? They were a collection of players, but not a team.
GM Mike Tannenbaum said, “Chemistry was certainly a factor this year.” Future Hall Of Fame running back LaDainian Tomlinson said the locker room was “as bad as any I’ve ever been around.” Others commented that the team, oops, collection of players had some “extremely selfish individuals” and described one player as “lazy and content.”
“Team” is an overused word. Just because a group of people has been pulled together with a common goal doesn’t make it a team.
The first stage of a team is respect for the ability and competence of the other team members. If you don’t believe your teammates “have what it takes,” molding them into a team is going to be impossible.
The second stage of a team is confidence that everyone is actually going to do their job. When the game starts, everyone will step up and get it done.
The third stage of a team is trust that when the going gets tough, teammates won’t undermine each other and will put team interest above self-interests.
The final stage of a team is camaraderie. Respect, confidence and trust have created an environment in which the players have fun working together and care about each other.
If you are the leader, it is your job to mold your collection of followers into a team. It won’t happen just because you all share the same locker room…or office suite…or worship venue. And by the way, “talking out of school” about team problems is not a good thing, but silence about team problems doesn’t fix them. The real problem is lack of respect…or confidence…or trust. Fix that and you won’t have to worry about “talking out of school.”
© Copyright 2012 by Dick Wells, The Hard Lessons Company
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