Trucks carrying hazardous cargo are so commonplace on U.S. highways that many towns have road signs that prohibit the trucks from driving through the heart of the town—no hazardous cargo is permitted. Unfortunately, organizations of all types are full of different types of hazardous cargo.
In some organizations, the most hazardous cargo is the truth. It is routed around the corner office because the boss doesn’t want to hear it. And woe to the poor soul who dares to ignore the No HC Permitted sign on the door.
Rumors are a common form of highly toxic hazardous cargo. They move freely on the main communication highway of the office because the leaders operate with a “they don’t need to know” policy. If your followers don’t know what is going on, they’ll make something up.
Gossip is another form of hazardous cargo. It spills out in the hallways, contaminating everyone. The most destructive gossip originates in the corner office because it carries the approval stamp of the boss—but it’s still gossip. Here is a working definition of gossip:
Talking about someone, to someone else, when neither of you is part of the issue nor part of the solution.
Just because it may be true, doesn’t mean it should be shared. Is it kind? Is it necessary? Do you need to know?
By the way, if you think gossip isn’t so bad because “everyone is doing it,” in the Bible, it is included in a list of sins alongside “evil, wickedness, greed, murder, and arrogance” (Romans 1:29).
Want to raise the level of your leadership? Get rid of the hazardous cargo in your organization. Find someone who will tell you the truth about yourself and the organization—even when it hurts. Communicate the truth so rumors can’t gain traction. And stamp out gossip—starting with any gossip that originates with you.
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© Copyright 2020 by Dick Wells, The Hard lessons Company.
So how do you get pigeon poop out of your attic? A Wall Street Journal article reported on the futile efforts of the Select Board in a well-known town in Massachusetts (unnamed to protect the guilty). Pigeon poop had piled up in the town hall attic and become a health hazard. The Select Board budgeted $125,000 to clean up the mess, but the lowest contractor bid was more than twice that. A group of citizens volunteered to clean up the mess for nothing, but that idea was nixed by the lawyers, fearing the city would be sued. Finally, someone had a brilliant idea: “If we can’t clean it up, why don’t we at least make sure it doesn’t get worse by keeping the pigeons out? We could patch their entry hole in the attic window frame.” Duh.
This true story is a great example of an organization focused on the symptoms, not the problem. There are lots of other examples:
We make the same mistake as individuals: heart patients go back to cheeseburgers soon after their quadruple bypass relieves the chest pain and golfers try to fix their swing by buying a new set of clubs (quitting would be smarter).
Why do we fall into this trap so often? Fixing symptoms is often easier and quicker than fixing the problem (but only in the short run). Once the symptoms are relieved, we move on to the next set of symptoms. Often, we focus on the symptoms because we are in denial about the real problem—very common when the leader is the problem. Unidentified problems continue their hidden destructive work until they finally erupt into the open with sometimes fatal consequences.
Tired of relief? Want to actually fix the real problem? Do this:
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© Copyright 2020 by Dick Wells, the Hard Lessons Company
George Burns, the popular cigar-smoking comedian of the WWII and Baby Boomer generations (yeah, I know, I’m dating myself), had this to say about advice:
Too bad that all the people who really know how to run the country are busy driving taxi cabs and cutting hair.
He’s right. Sit in any barbershop on a busy Saturday morning and you’ll learn how to fix the government, which coach ought to be fired and which quarterback ought to be starting. You will also learn which is better, Chevrolets or Fords, and where to go for the best fried chicken (The Chicken House, New Albany, IN). Preachers can learn how to improve their sermons (shorter is better) and you’ll hear spirited debate about the virtues of John Deere (for real farmers) versus those “foreign” brands (for hobby farmers). Generally speaking, the barbershop mantra is: “If I want your advice, I’ll give it to you.”
Eugene Peterson, paraphrasing Proverbs 15:22, says, “Refuse good advice and watch your plans fail; take good counsel and watch them succeed.” The problem? It’s easy to get advice; not so easy to get good advice.
There are times, lots of times, when we all need advice. We are facing a hurdle or an opportunity, and we aren’t quite sure what to do. We may have an idea and need confirmation, or we may have no idea at all. In either case, someone asks us, “Have you talked to ____________?”
An overall principle for seeking counsel is the old adage, consider the source. Here are some questions about the source that I ask:
A few concluding thoughts:
(This post taken from chapter 3 of 16 Stones. If interesting and useful, please forward it to a friend.)
© Copyright 2020 by Dick Wells, The Hard Lessons Company
According to the Gallup organization, only about 30% of employees in a typical American workplace are actively engaged in their job. The rest—70%—are benchwarmers taking up space, doing only what they are told to do and waiting for payday and Friday (my words, not Gallup’s).
Interestingly, the percentages don’t change much because of age, education, gender or even income. People making more than $90,000 per year are no more engaged than people making less than $36,000 per year. Imagine that. Gallup has proved once again that pay is not a long-term motivator for most people.
Is there something leaders can do to raise the engagement level? Yes. Employees will engage with their jobs when leaders engage with their employees. It’s that simple.
So if you are the leader, it’s up to you. Try this: sit down with one of your unengaged employees, ask how you can help him, listen (really listen), ask questions, act like you owe her as much as she owes you. Do it with somebody else tomorrow…and the day after…and the day after…. Is it worth the effort? Yes! Imagine your competitive advantage and improved productivity if you can increase your engagement level to 40% or even 50%. Why don’t you get started today?
[I became aware of the Gallup report at Wally Bock’s Three Star Leadership Blog, a daily read for me.]
© Copyright 2020 by Dick Wells, The Hard Lessons Company
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High school students with good grades and good attendance need not apply for a job at Southwire’s Carrollton, GA, plant. Southwire is focused on helping those who are on the edge of dropping out and failing in life. They call it 12 for Life—finishing high school is the first step toward a better life.
From Forbes (August 18, The Dream Factory by Christopher Helman): “Since the launch of 12 for Life the district’s dropout rate has plunged from 35% to 22%. A total of 851 kids have graduated from the program…40% of whom have gone on to college.”
You can get the full story at http://goo.gl/xAp87p, but the short version is:
One of the keys to enduring greatness in any business is a purpose greater than profit. Southwire gets it. Now don’t be confused; they are a for-profit company with more than 7000 employees, 20 factories and $5B in sales. They manufacture wire, so they aren’t as glamorous as TOMS shoes and aren’t given shelf-space in Whole Foods. But along with profit, they are proactive in impacting their community for good (proactive meaning investing more than $3M to set up the 12 for Life program).
Southwire, founded in 1937, is owned by the Richards family of Carroll County, Georgia. What do you think they are most proud of? #1, we’ve made a lot of money; or #2, we’ve helped a lot of kids.
In your business and personal life, do you have a purpose greater than making money for yourself? If you don’t, follow Southwire’s example—get one!
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© Copyright 2014 by Dick Wells, The Hard Lessons Company.
Most everyday, I start the day with a bowl of Cheerios or Shredded Wheat—great with some strawberries or a banana. Cheerios is a General Mills brand; the original Shredded Wheat is a Post product. Actually, I eat the Kroger store brand of each and per a 9/18/14 WSJ article, a lot of other people are also. (Stick with me; I’m getting to an important leadership point.)
In a recent AP interview, General Mills CEO Ken Powell said that Cheerios sales are “down somewhat” and in the WSJ article “blamed its marketing and promotions strategy for much of the disappointment….” Really? Sales are down because your ads aren’t effective? What could be more effective than a little girl serving Cheerios to her dad because it is good for his heart?
I asked Dottie why she buys Kroger Toasted Oats instead of General Mills Cheerios. Because it tastes better? No. Because you get more Kroger points? No. Because we own Kroger stock? No. (We don’t.) Because they don’t put toys in Cheerios anymore? No. The answer is simple: Cheerios are almost twice as expensive as Kroger Toasted Oats (26.6¢/oz. vs. 14.2¢/oz.). Now on the shelf, Cheerios only looks 50% more expensive because their nearly-same-size box contains only 12oz. vs. 14oz. in the Kroger box. (You have to look at the fine print to discover this little subterfuge.)
Max De Pree, retired CEO of Herman Miller says in Leadership Is An Art, “The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality.” The leadership at General Mills would benefit from reading De Pree’s book.
Here is the Cheerios reality as I see from a customer perspective:
Is your organization “down somewhat” in sales? Attendance? Donations? __________? The cure will start with an honest assessment of reality—no matter how painful. Cheerios first hit grocery shelves in 1941; for decades it was the choice of boys (including me) and girls all over America. No more. It’s time for General Mills to accept that fact. What fact do you need to accept?
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© Copyright 2014 by Dick Wells, The Hard Lessons Company.
If anyone understands how to do a Big Reveal, it’s Apple. Steve Jobs started it and current CEO Tim Cook has kept it going. I’m not sure who is involved in planning the Apple rollouts, but they know what they are doing. The September 9 rollout of the iPhone 6 and iWatch was the most anticipated tech event of the year and it did not disappoint. And, iPhone 6 sales are booming world-wide.
Big Reveals have not always been so successful. Before the days of brand experts, event professionals, and “everything sends a message” consultants, rollouts were planned by a secretary in the marketing department or the CEO’s golf buddy. That is what Ford must have done when they rolled out the Edsel in August 1957.
After months of buildup and anticipation, Ford invited 250 auto industry reporters (and their wives) to the Edsel Big Reveal in Detroit. So what happened?
Now I am not saying that the Edsel was a failure because of these faux pas, but the reporters and wives must have been laughing all the way home. If Facebook and Twitter had existed then, the whole nation would have been laughing by midnight. (Okay, you can stop laughing now.)
What is the leadership lesson in this? The “everything sends a message” principle is correct. Details matter and it is easy to overlook faux pas. Get help and have more than one set of eyes looking at every detail. Make sure that one of the “one set of eyes” is someone who was not involved in the planning and has a critical eye—someone who loves to point out goof-ups.
If the best hotel in town was the Cadillac, what was the message?
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© Copyright 2014 by Dick Wells, The Hard Lessons Company
The founder of Chick-fil-A, S. Truett Cathy, died in his home last Monday at age 93. Starting in 1946 with a diner named the Dwarf Grill, Cathy built a chicken sandwich empire that today has more than 1800 restaurants and more than $5B in sales. There is a lot to learn about life and leadership from Truett Cathy whether you are leading a small business, church, or large corporation. Much of the Cathy story can be applied at home as well.
How do they do it?
Are you looking for a business model that will help get your endeavors back on track or spur growth? Try the Chick-fil-A way:
RIP, S. Truett Cathy. We have learned a lot from you.
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© Copyright 2014 by Dick Wells, The Hard Lessons Company
Ernesto Sirolli—dubbed The Entrepreneurship Coach by strategy+business—tells this story about one of his early failures:
[We] decided to teach Zambians how to grow food in the beautiful fertile valley where they had always lived as pastoralists, shepherding animals but planting nothing. The team imported seeds from Italy—tomatoes and zucchini—but the locals didn’t seem interested. The team tried to pay them money, but there was little in the valley available to buy. Finally, the NGO started importing whiskey and beer in order to coax the men into the fields. “We kept thinking, what is wrong with these people?”
It soon became apparent. The tomatoes appeared on the vines, huge bursting fruits that put the most bountiful Italian crops to shame. The team members were joyful, but the next morning they awoke to find every single one of the plants gone. Hippos had swarmed up from the river and begun gorging. The Italians ran to tell the Zambians what had happened. “Of course,” said the people. “That’s why we don’t plant in the valley.”
“Why didn’t you tell us?” asked the Italians.
“Because you never asked,” came the response.1
I have made the same mistake many times. One of my notable failures was when I decided I could run a shipyard without knowing anything about building ships. FAIL.
The primary advice Sirolli gives business leaders is “Shut up and listen.”
That reminds me of one of my favorite, but too often ignored proverbs: “Even a fool is thought wise if he keeps silent….” (Proverbs 17:28 NIV)
Effective communication has a pattern:
Listen first;
Then ask questions;
Talk little.
I need to learn to take my own advice.
Dick, repeat after me:
Listen first;
Then ask questions;
Talk little.
Dick, repeat after me:
Listen first;
Then ask….
Dick, repeat after me:
Listen….
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© Copyright 2014 by Dick Wells, The Hard Lessons Company
1 strategy+business, The Entrepreneurship Coach by Sally Helgesen, 1 August 2014
It is a myth that home owning is always a good investment. It has been over long periods of time, but in the short term it works like the stock market—up and down. That has certainly been my experience. (Hang in here—I’ll get to the leadership point in a bit.)
Dottie (my wife) and I have bought and sold houses on seven occasions. I would like to say that we always made money, but on three occasions we didn’t. The primary variables have been how many years we owned the house; the housing economy; and the potential buyer/price ratio (how many buyers can afford the house). The details are:
#1 5 years Profit
#2 5 years Profit
#3 13 years Profit
#4 4 years Loss
#5 4 years Loss
#6 4 years Profit
#7 4 years Loss
#8 7 years Still own
One thing we have learned is that short stays (#4, #5 and #7) have a high risk of loss. The lesson is if you are a nomad (frequent moves for whatever reason), it is hard to build equity. Renting may be a better option.
#5 is a good example of the potential buyer/price ratio factor. The house was comparable to others in its small development (only twelve homes), but was too high for the community as a whole. There weren’t many potential buyers, so it was on the market for over a year and we lost a bundle.
#6 made a profit because the housing market got hot (2003-2006). However, the house we bought and are still live in (#8), lost about 10-15% of its value in the 2007-2011 housing crash, and is just now back to break even.
“Isn’t this supposed to be a leadership blog?” “Yes”—this post is about financial self-leadership, a much-avoided topic. If your personal finances are out of order and causing stress, it will affect your leadership whether at home, work, church, or wherever. So, the next time you are in the house market…
Any house buy/sell adventures you want to share? “Leave A Reply” below.
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© Copyright 2014 by Dick Wells, The Hard Lessons Company
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