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
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
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