If you love those golden, cream-filled, 150 calorie, spongy cakes called Twinkies, you better stock up. Hostess Brands—the maker of Twinkies—is in their second round of Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The first round was in 2004-2009; this round was filed in January 2012. Are they going to make it? Maybe. They have asked their workforce for $200M in cost savings in wages, healthcare and pensions. We’ll know by the end of September if the workers accept the company’s ultimatum. (They have little choice if they want to keep their jobs.) But even these cost reductions may not be enough to save Twinkies in the long run.
How did they get in this mess? By years of lousy leadership—company and union. There is no other way a $2.5B company could end up with:
● twelve different unions
● 40 separate pension plans
● 36 plants● six different CEOs in the last ten years
● more debt when they exited bankruptcy in 2009 than when they entered in 2004 (I thought the purpose of bankruptcy is to reduce debt.)
● work rules that require different drivers to deliver different Hostess products to the same retail location
● sales sinking at a 10% rate
● losses exceeding $300M per year and escalating
● debt of almost $1T though hundreds of millions have been written off
(All the sordid details are in an article by David Kaplan in the 8/13/2012 edition of Fortune magazine.)
The company blames the “Atkins” diet (low carb means no Twinkies), the economy and the unions. The union blames management and those overpaid executives. The truth is, Hostess got where it is by what I call “cumulative effect consequences.” Hostess is suffering from hundreds of decisions made over decades that have the cumulative effect of destroying—or nearly so—the company. That is why no decision is inconsequential. In the long run, they add up. A questionable acquisition here, a labor agreement concession there, a self-centered CEO for a few years, slow response to changes in the economy or customer preferences, and before you know it, Chapter 11 bankruptcy is staring you in the face.
“Cumulative effect consequences” are a real part of life. One cheeseburger per week is probably okay. But add in a milkshake per week, a sugar-filled energy drink…or two…or three, a “loaded” baked potato, a couple of beers on Saturday afternoon, your “one vice”—a Twinkie every day, and before you know it, your health is threatened by obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes, or worse.
“Cumulative effect consequences” are how we get in financial trouble. A car payment we can afford, a house we can’t, the vacation of a lifetime, the iPad we put on MasterCard, and before you know it….
In life and in leadership, every decision is important, even the “little ones,” because at some point, they all add up. So take care. In the long run, a number of “no big deal” decisions can become a very big deal.
[If this post was interesting and useful to you, please forward it to a friend. Thanks.]
© Copyright 2012 by Dick Wells, The Hard Lessons Company
When Cornelius Vanderbilt died in 1877, he was worth 20% of all the cash and demand deposits in all the banks in the US—about 143 billion in today’s dollars (per Wikipedia.com). Today’s richest Americans must have trouble making ends meet when compared to Vanderbilt (Bill Gates is worth only $59B and Warren Buffet a paltry $44B per Forbes).
As documented by T. J. Stiles in The First Tycoon, Vanderbilt made his money in transportation: first steamboats, then railroads. He was successful because even as a teenager, “His life was regulated by self-imposed rules and with a fixedness of purpose as invariable as the sun in its circuit.” In other words, he had a high degree of self-discipline and a clear goal for his life.
One of his “self-imposed rules” was “to spend less every week than he earned.” It was a great rule in the 1800’s…the 1900’s…and still today. Dave Ramsey would have been very proud of him.
His “fixedness of purpose” was driven by a “…unending hunger for wealth….” He accomplished his goal and died as the richest man in the cemetery, sparking a court battle among his heirs over how to distribute the bounty.
Vanderbilt should have paid attention to an earlier richest man, Solomon, who experienced the same thing:
“I hated all the fruit of my labor for which I had labored under the sun,
for I must leave it to the man who will come after me.
And who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool?
Yet he will have control over all the fruit of my labor for which I have labored…This too is vanity.”
Ecclesiastes 2:18-19 NASB95
A thousand or so years after Solomon, Jesus said this about purpose fixed on riches:
“For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?”
Matthew 16:26 NASB95
All of us would do well to follow Vanderbilt’s example of living with self-discipline and a fixed purpose. But in your personal life and in your role as a leader, set your purpose on something greater than self. Do you really want to die believing, like Solomon, that “all is vanity”? I hope not. Whatever your age, whatever your status, it’s not too late to fix your purpose on something valuable and enduring—something worth really living for.
By the way, if you enjoy biographies, The First Tycoon is an interesting and worthwhile read.
[If this post was interesting and useful to you, please forward it to a friend. Thanks.]
© Copyright 2012 by Dick Wells, The Hard Lessons Company
the USA…or Great Britain…or Jamaica…or Grenada?
The USA won the most medals (104), including the most gold (46) and the most silver (29). The host nation, Great Britain, won a total of 65 medals; Jamaica won 12, all in track and field; Grenada had only one medal, gold in the men’s 400m sprint.
If the winner is decided by the total weight of the medals, then the award goes to the USA by a large margin. But based on population, Grenada, with only 105,000 people, is the clear winner:
Grenada 9.5 medals per million people
Jamaica 4.4 medals per million people
GreatBritain 1.03 medals per million people
USA 0.33 medals per million people
(By the way,China, with the world’s largest population, won only 0.06 medals per million people.)
The USA is the richest nation in the world and has the most money to spend on athletics. We should win the most medals. We did. That was success.
Great Britain, as the host nation, wanted to make a great showing. They did—65 medals was their most ever! That was success.
Jamaica wanted to maintain their position as the sprinter capital of the world. They did. Will you ever forget watching Usain Bolt win the 100m, 200m, and 4x100m relay with ease? That was success.
Grenada won its first medal ever, and it was gold! They went home happy and feeling like winners. That was success.
If winning the most medals was the only measure of success, then there was one winner (the USA) and 203 losers at the 2012 games. I guarantee you that 203 teams did not go home feeling like losers.
Now…here is the point: do not let others define success for your organization or for you personally. Don’t let others try to squeeze you into their mold. You decide for yourself what success is, and then go for it. On your mark…get set…go!
[If this post was interesting and useful to you, please forward it to a friend. Thanks.]
© Copyright 2012 by Dick Wells, The Hard Lessons Company
Have you watched the Olympics? If so, you have seen America’s newest sweetheart, Missy Franklin, a hundred times. She won five medals (four were gold). You also know who Rebecca Soni is; she won three medals (two were gold). Dana Vollmer won three medals (all gold) and Allison Schmitt won five medals (three were gold). Missy, Rebecca, Dana and Allison are called the “smiley girls” and why not? Their baggage will be loaded down with sixteen medals when they fly home. Hmmm…checked or carry-on?
If you were watching on Saturday night (8/4), you saw the “smiley girls” set a world record in the 4X100 Medley Relay. The medal ceremony was great. After receiving their gold medals, they all stood with hand over heart, singing our national anthem as the stars and stripes were raised. Yeah, I got misty eyed. I always do.
Everyone knows who the “smiley girls” are, but who is Rachel Bootsma? Rachel is a backstroke specialist from Eden Prairie, Minnesota. She failed to qualify for the finals of her one individual event, the 100m backstroke. It was her only chance for the medal stand. Breeja Larson, a breaststroke specialist, also missed the medal stand, as did Claire Donahue (butterfly). Jessica Hardy, a freestyle specialist, got a 4x100m relay bronze medal, but missed out in her two individual events and did not get to sing the anthem with hand over heart.
Still, however, Rachel, Breeja, Claire and Jessica are all bringing a gold medal home. They didn’t get to stand and sing while the flag was raised, but they are bringing home gold anyway. Why? Because unseen and unlauded, Rachel, Breeja, Claire and Jessica swam the qualifying heat of the 4×100 Medley Relay on Friday night that set up the “smiley girls” to win the gold in the finals on Saturday night. Missy, Rebecca, Dana and Allison got their glory and gold on the medal stand. Rachel, Breeja, Claire and Jessica got their gold in a no-tv coverage backroom ceremony that only their teammates and parents knew about.
If your organization, large or small, is winning and setting records, you have both medal stand performers and backroom performers. A wise leader makes sure they are all recognized, appreciated and rewarded. Why don’t you take a few minutes today to go find a Rachel, Breeja, Claire or Jessica and thank them for putting you on the medal stand? You wouldn’t have got there without them.
[If this post was interesting and useful to you, please forward it to a friend. Thanks.]
© Copyright 2012 by Dick Wells, The Hard Lessons Company.
The only sign of life was a mangy dog fearlessly ambling down the middle of the road. There wasn’t a single car—parked or moving—anywhere on Main Street. The dog was perfectly safe and seemed to know it. Looking to the west, every building was boarded up, gutted or torn down; looking east…the same thing. There were no grocery stores, banks, dime stores or drug stores; no place for a boy to buy an ice cream cone or a nickel coke. Saddest of all, the RIO was closed! No more Tom Mix, Hopalong Cassidy or Gene Autry 15¢ cowboy movies on Saturday mornings. The nearest theatre is now 30 miles away; too far to walk and too far to ride a bike. Saturday mornings must be boring now.
It had been more than thirty years since I last visited my childhood home—a small, no-stop-light town on the Red River in southwest Oklahoma. It was a town of about 1000 farmers, refinery workers, teachers and preachers, shop keepers, one policeman and…well, that was about it. But it was a great place to grow up. There was swimming in stock tanks, pick-up baseball games in the park (no Little League), “quicksand chicken” in the river and playing Tarzan on the rafter rope in the seed room of the cotton gin. There were horses, real cowboys and real Indians, and donkey basketball games. It doesn’t get any better than that.
It wasn’t prosperous when I lived there and I didn’t expect it to be prosperous now, but I didn’t expect it to be nearly deserted. My boyhood friends have been long gone to pursue careers in Texas or Oklahoma City. People make the drive through the wheat fields and pastures to Lawton or Wichita Falls to shop and work. Except when the wheat is young and green in the spring, the drive always looks the same: flat, dry, hot and brown. Instead of the refinery (which is closed), some people now work in the casinos that are east of town. Some don’t work at all because there is nothing for them to do. There are still some teachers, part-time preachers and a lot of retired folks. The town has a handful of workers at the Farmer’s Co-op and cotton gin, and there are a few at the one and only café/gas station/grocery/convenience store; an insurance office…some city employees…a post office…utility workers…that’s about it.
In spite of the decline, my love for the town and the people is still strong. They are great people. They love God, love America, love each other and don’t expect Washington D.C. to take care of them. It is part—an important part—of my identity, and always will be. As I drove away, I was sad and had thoughts of returning to start a small factory to provide employment for 20-30 people. But I didn’t have passion to do it and I wasn’t willing to leave my comfortable life in Tennessee to do it.
There is a big difference between sentiment or emotion, and passion. You can drive away from sentimental and emotional things, but you can’t drive away from passionate things. Your heart won’t let you—you have to do something.
What are you truly passionate about? If you are a leader, I hope it is people. You don’t lead buildings, machines, computers, products, stores, etc.—you lead people. If you aren’t passionate about leading people, they will know it and follow you only because they have to, not because they want to.
Do you have passion for people? I hope so. My suggestion: don’t try to lead without it; it’s too hard.
[If this post was interesting and useful to you, please forward it to a friend. Thanks.]
© Copyright 2012 by Dick Wells, The Hard Lessons Company
Island Fever by The Beach Boys
Do you ever get the feelin’ that you got to get away?
It’s a sympton of the fever all across the USA.
My family doctor told me,
“Son, the flu is what you have.”
But I know it’s island fever and I got it real bad.
Hey girl, I got some good advice: drive your dad mad and make him take you down to paradise.
My daughter, Cathy, gets island fever almost every year. The only cure for her is a week at St. George Island with her family. I get to tag along to play with my three buddies in the surf and to pay the bills…a daddy’s privilege. Here are a few observations and comments from last week’s trip.
The best thing about the beach is the sand on the beach.
The worst thing about the beach is the sand in the house.
Walking 4 miles on sand is like walking 6 on land.
87 degrees on the beach with a 10mph breeze is like heaven.
87 degrees on the beach with no breeze is…for the devil and his angels.
Sand crabs are as ugly as sin. They must be part of THE FALL.
Watching my five year old “beach buddy” catch his first fish—it doesn’t get any better than that.
2 out of 100 women who wear bikinis look good—too good.
98 out of 100 women who wear bikinis look ridiculous and that’s an understatement.
100 out of 100 men wearing a Speedo look worse than ridiculous.
When it rains at the beach, no problem, pull out the Crazee Jumpin’ Beans Race Track featuring:
Barbie Bean (pink)
Stinky Bean (the other beans avoid)
T-Rex Bean (big, slow, ugly)
The King Bean (Elvis, of course, and the winner)
Dinner with friends and fresh gulf shrimp at Harry A’s is a great day at the beach.
The added pounds on the scales is a lousy welcome home.
The best part of the beach is watching Dottie smile at the beach boys and Cathy and Sam as they get an escape from their everyday life.
Speaking of escape…when is the last time you escaped? If you are in leadership, you need it regularly whether it is the beach or the mountains (my favorite) or wherever. And real escape is no email or texts or calls from the office. You aren’t so important that they can’t do without you for a week or so.
[If this post was interesting and useful to you, please forward it to a friend. Thanks.]
© Copyright 2012 by Dick Wells, The Hard Lessons Company
In his first-rate book, Getting Naked, Patrick Lencioni says, “There is nothing more attractive and admirable than people who willingly and cheerfully set their egos aside and make the needs of others more important than their own.”
In The Message, Eugene Peterson says that at times, leaders need to “practice playing second fiddle….” If you are the “first fiddle” leader, everyone already knows it; you don’t need to hog the spotlight to make sure they know.
One episode of my leadership I’m not too proud of occurred when an important general was going to visit our facility in Nashville to review our progress on a defense project. The visit was arranged by our COO who knew the general personally. As the CEO, I expected to have a role in the program, probably introducing the general to our employees. Guess what? The big day arrived, the platform was set up, hundreds of employees gathered, and my role was…nothing. I wasn’t even part of the plant tour. The COO took care of everything. He introduced the general; he escorted the general on the plant tour; he briefed the general on our project status. Guess what else? The general was pleased and impressed. It was hard for me to accept that it went so well without me. I sulked for days with hurt feelings. I didn’t play second fiddle very well.
One of a leader’s foremost responsibilities is to develop other leaders. There are several reasons you should stay off the platform at times:
I didn’t need to be on the platform when the general visited it. It wasn’t my show. As hard as it was for me, I needed to play second fiddle that day. How about you? How long has it been since you “set your ego aside” and played second fiddle?
[If this post was interesting and useful to you, please forward it to a friend. Thanks.]
© Copyright 2012 by Dick Wells, The Hard Lessons Company
On November 15, 2011, Duke beat Michigan State, giving Coach K (Mike Krzyzewski) his 903rd victory—the most in NCAA Division I men’s basketball history. In his worth-your-time-to-read book, Leading With The Heart, Coach K says that “…basketball is a game of adjustments—just like business.” In basketball, the adjustments can be to change the line-up, use a zone defense instead of the man-to-man that isn’t working, call a timeout and so on. The need for adjustments is true for basketball and business…true for churches…true for life…true for you and true for me.
In the sports world, a lot of adjustments are made at halftime. Since it is halftime for 2012, this is a good time to take a look at your 2012 game plan, evaluate progress, then make adjustments for the second half of the year. The mid-year scorecard for my 2012 NYRs (New Year Resolutions) is not too impressive: one A, one B, two Cs, one D, one dropped. I am firmly committed to raising the C and D before the year ends.
How are you doing? Are you on track for the 2012 honor roll, or like me, need to refocus your efforts?
Is your personal life where you want it in terms of health, relationships, and faith?
How about your business? Are you facing any new challenges that have come out of nowhere?
If you are a church or non-profit, is giving on track? Do you have enough volunteers? How is the morale of your paid staff?
Six months—July through December—is a long time. Don’t let a poor start to 2012 keep you from having a strong finish.
If you are the leader, everyone is watching you. You will set the pace that determines where you finish in 2012. It’s up to you. Step it up!
[If this post was interesting and useful to you, please forward it to a friend. Thanks.]
© Copyright 2012 by Dick Wells, The Hard Lessons Company
“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.]
[If this post was interesting and useful to you, please forward it to a friend. Thanks.]
© 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.]
[If this post was interesting and useful to you, please forward it to a friend. Thanks.]
© Copyright 2012 by Dick Wells, The Hard Lessons Company
The Hard Lessons Company
© 2014-2020
All rights reserved.
337 Whitewater Way
Franklin, TN 37064
615-519-3765
