Movie stars and choppers

Not long ago, Sunset Beach (CA) hosted their annual arts & crafts fair on the narrow grassy area between Pacific Coast Highway and the beach front homes. It is a local family event and the furthest most people might travel is 5 or 10 miles to attend. Interestingly, Sandra Bullock and Jessie James (hopefully you have heard of these 2 very different, but married celebrities) are locals to the immediate area and joined in the festivities. What struck me about seeing them in the crowd was how well they fit in. They did not want, or get, any special attention from anyone. They enjoyed themselves as simply as we all do.

There is a leadership lesson about perception, remaining true to one’s self and being fearful of isolation in this observation. Months ago on the LifeAtBoeing blog, Brian talked about how reserved parking for executives could create isolation if not realized. As we progress in our professional careers, we need to maintain a self-awareness of who we are, what is important to us and how it all relates to the expectations of the positions we hold. If we accept a job, we need to do what it takes to be successful. At the same time, we need to remain “real” people and not be consumed with the title and trappings. Don’t lose site of what made you successful in the first place.

What other similar experiences do you believe we need to be aware of to avoid isolation?

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Never be the one!

I received an email Sunday afternoon that a colleague had passed away from a massive heart attack while on the golf course. It was very sad to hear, and my heart goes out to the family and friends. Later that day, it reminded me of the most basic of all leadership responsibilities – safety. This is the first of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.

Can you even imagine being the manager that has to call the spouse of one of your employees to tell them their partner was seriously injured or even killed in an accident while at work? In some ways, I was lucky to learn the importance of safety early when I was seriously injured while training to be a welder at a technical school. A couple hundred stitches and a few months later, I was back on the basketball court. But that did not prepare me in any way for the day I had to call the spouse of an employee who had a life ending medical emergency while on the job. I did not know at the time that it was a brain aneurysm and believed it to be work-related.

Leaders must do absolutely everything within their power to ensure a safe workplace. You never want to make the call I did. This lesson is short and direct.

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It’s the second one that will kill you

In a recent Leader is a Verb posting on the importance of being a positive role model and always putting the team ahead of self, I used the poor judgment of LeBron James after the Orlando-Cleveland series to highlight what not to do. MANY of you commented with various insights.

Having thought about it a few more days, I now believe there is an even more important leadership lesson to be learned from this drama, and it just may be still playing out. ALL leaders will make mistakes. If you do not make mistakes, you are not trying anything new or taking risks. The key is how does the leader who has made a mistake react and present the error in public. Mr. James tried to justify an obvious incorrect action and people saw right through it.

A couple years ago, a senior executive at a Fortune 100 company broke the law by talking to a government official about employment. Once uncovered, the two tried to say it did not happen. Both were imprisoned. When the CEO was asked what the leadership should learn from the ordeal, he said “you MAY BE fired for making a serious error, but you will ALWAYS be fired for covering it up.” It is the second mistake that gets otherwise good people into trouble. Just stand up and admit what happened. We tend to accept imperfection.

Have you seen someone admit a serious error, and was forgiven?

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It’s about the people, stupid.

“Why should I shake their hands, LeBron doesn’t,” said Patrick’s nine year-old son.

I know it drives some of you nuts when I bring sports analogies into the discussion of leadership, but I strongly believe role modeling and the resulting imitation is a big part of being a leader.

The Orlando Magic was victorious over the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Eastern Conference Finals. LeBron “the King” James was surprisingly upset by Orlando because they acted and played as a team. Although I was publicly hoping for a Cleveland-LA match-up in the finals, such is basketball.

At the series conclusion, LeBron James walked off the court, did not congratulate the other team and skipped the post game news conference. James said, “It doesn’t make sense for me to go over and shake somebody’s hand.” Whether or not Mr. James understands this at age 24, he was thrust in a position of power and many people (young and old) look up to him. Even though it was brief, LeBron forgot the basics and went into a “me” world forgetting that it is not about him, it is about the people. Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports explained it well.

It is in the worst of times when great leaders are tested for to see if their true values come through. Some bend the rules or avoid the tough decisions. Others stand up and do the right thing.

Have you observed a strong leader do the right thing in a tough situation? Did it result in more respect for the leader?

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Someone has to end it

Suppose you are the absolute expert in your job. You are the person people come to ask directions, policy, etc. You are comfortable and seldom does someone ask you something you have not experienced or do not know the answer to. Someone has to bring an end to this!

While there is something to be said for having people in the organization that truly understand the inner workings and have the ability to work the system, there is also something to be said for people being challenged and growing. This is an extremely delicate balance new leaders must learn through trial and error.

I remember working with a 35-year expert that was completing his last couple of years before retirement. He appeared as someone not interested in a challenge or learning something new. We talked honestly a few times and I learned he was passionate about people learning from his experiences before he left. Long story short, he ultimately took over the new college hire orientation process giving his knowledge away.

Have you been in too comfortable situation where it had to end? Have you helped others see this dilemma without them realizing they were in it? How did it turn out?

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But would they take your call?

I received some outstanding coaching many years back that “the time you need a strong professional network is not the time to start networking.” While I am a very outgoing and gregarious individual, I have never been much for meaningless conversation. It took me a few years to understand that the strongest network relationships were built from professional business dealings, by taking a genuine interest in individuals and a quest to really help others.

Over the last few months, I have tested the strength of my network and was surprisingly pleased. I had a simple litmus test that proved overwhelmingly successful. When I called for absolutely no apparent reason, in today’s economy, with no current active business, did they take my call. I was pleasantly surprised to find the “old school” way I was taught to do business paid off handsomely. This made me step back and think for a moment about what it was I had actually done for so many years. It was not magic, but it was constant and consistent. Here are some simple examples:

• Care about others as much as yourself.
• Care a lot about both sides of “the deal” you are negotiating.
• Stand up for your supplier/customer inside your company when appropriate.
• When you read something that will interest a colleague, send it to them.
• Always make time to visit when you are on someone else’s location.
• Make time accept a colleague visiting your location.
• When someone calls and you don’t know the answer, recommend someone who may help.
• Speak at events that assist them fulfilling their obligations.

This is so simple you may not believe it could work, but I have been doing these little acts daily for many years. I am fortunate to be in a life-changing opportunity that only became available based on my personal and professional network.

What small tips or tools for network building would you add to this list?

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The world is perfect

Think back for a moment to when you were eighteen years old and in your final week of high school. The world was perfect. You had great friends, your future was an open book, people were congratulating you and, of course, there were the gifts. While you did not know what the future would bring, you believed it would be good and you were looking forward to it with every fiber of your being.

I received this graduation photo in an email the other day, and it immediately brought me back 30 years. These two young men own the world and it is filled with challenge, opportunity and promise. You can see it in their faces. They have accomplished something important and are headed into a world of unknown perfection.

The photo also made me think that as a leader, this is one of my key responsibilities. To help my team accomplish the present challenges and excite them about the future, even though no one really knows for sure what that future will include. As the leader, (or parent) you work with the team to create this level of “possibility” in what might be.

Does your team demonstrate this level of excitement? Were there times they did?

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Life by Regina

The below list was written by Regina Brett, 90 years old, of The Plain Dealer in Cleveland, Ohio "to celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me. It is the most-requested column I've ever written."

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.
3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch .
5. Pay off your credit cards every month.
6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree .
7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.
8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.
9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.
10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.
12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.
13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.
15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.
16. Take a deep breath . It calms the mind.
17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.
19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.
20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.
21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.
22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.
23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.
24. The most important sex organ is the brain.
25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.
26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words 'In five years, will this matter?'
27. Always choose life.
28. Forgive everyone everything.
29. What other people think of you is none of your business.
30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.
31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
32. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
33. Believe in miracles.
34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.
35. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.
36. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.
37. Your children get only one childhood.
38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.
40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's,we'd grab ours back.
41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
42. The best is yet to come.
43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
44. Yield.
45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift."

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Don’t be a bore!

There are those leaders that have such charisma that people migrate toward them. Other leaders are great communicators and are able to express their vision in ways that attract people. Certain leaders are obvious experts in their fields and this causes people to respect and listen to them. Of course, there are those raconteurs that can make their points using stories and teams simply understand and follow them.

At an absolute minimum, there are few boring leaders. I came across this April 29, 2009 posting by Gretchen Rubin on Shine from Yahoo titled “7 topics to avoid if you don’t want to be a bore.” While the post itself is insightful, it also has almost 500 reader comments! A key lesson Gretchen provides is to be sure that the topics you bring to a conversation have room for the listener to add content.

Do you get too excited about your own ideas? As a leader, do you leave room for your teams to participate?

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Be candid – Get candid

Over 20 senior company leaders were anxious how the message was going to be delivered and, even more importantly, received. The teams debated for days whether to even bring up such a sensitive topic. The idea of telling the boss “his baby was ugly” was a frightful thought. Now it was time.

The first discussion did not include such a land mine and went well. The key message was in the middle of the presentation when it was recommended that a key initiative should be “paused.” A kind way of saying “stop it.” The presenter continued on but the boss asked her to go back. “By pause, are you suggesting we can it,” he asked? Actually, that was the recommendation, and the group transitioned into a robust discussion about the possible ways of moving toward far more progressive and positive solutions to the business challenge.

This was an amazing example of the power of a leader’s candid openness resulting in improved communication and business solutions. It created buy-in and a comfort level not often experienced. As leaders, we all need to be open to hear our teams and take the time to clarify what they recommend. This closely relates to the “curiosity elevator” we discussed in “What floor are you on?”

Have you experienced a leader open to having their solutions questioned? Are you this type of leader?

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"Piccolo atto di rispetto"

If you have been to a formal business dinner in Italy, you know the importance of the correct seating arrangements. I have seen a caucus break called during the actual business meeting for our Italian hosts to work on the correct and appropriate dinner arrangements. Cultural traditions and formalities such as this keeps me interested and learning.

A couple years ago, my Italian business partners did a "piccolo atto di rispetto" (Italian for “small act of respect”) that truly impressed me. My wife, Barbara, was traveling with me on business to Italy for the first time and was invited to join the dinner event. While she did not know at the start of dinner, but she was seated at the top guest table position (that would be the seat to the right of the highest ranking leader from the host company). This sent a clear message to all those attending the dinner that she was the guest of honor. My hosts took the time to consider that I had been working with them for many years and had my time in that seat. For that evening, I was in the number two guest position (to the left of the host). Barbara was served first, approved the vino and was treated with great respect.

Upon returning to the states from that trip, I have always considered the importance of the small things we can do as leaders to demonstrate respect to our teams, customers and suppliers.

Have you experienced small lessons such as this that changed the way you act in the future?

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Are you a user friendly mentee?

It is finally the day. Scenario 1 - The high-energy, well-educated, tech-savvy teammate is scheduled to meet with the senior leader she has wanted as a mentor. Scenario 2 – The dedicated, hardworking, proven performer is scheduled to meet with the senior leader he has sought as a mentor.

Both scenarios are important to the leader, but the needs of the mentee are likely very different. Having been in these different sessions back-to-back, I thought it might be a good idea for this forum to debate how to be a user-friendly mentee. Here are a couple of ideas:

• Send helpful advance information – resume and career development plan.
• Use your organization’s forms – performance reviews and development plans.
• Provide pre-meeting topic insight – an agenda or question is helpful
• Focus on “who” questions rather than “how” – as John Strelecky recommends.
• Categorize – let the mentor know where they might best help (Mentor strategy payoff).
• Follow-up – close the loop with the mentor on contacts and recommendations.
• Two way street – Mentees must teach the mentor an equal amount.
• On-going communication – short email updates work well.
• Don’t let it die – keep the relationship active or end it. Don’t let it die of inactivity.

Time is the most valuable resource a leader can provide. It is non-renewable. Mentees that use it well will gain the most and will most likely be invited back.

What successful mentor/mentee relationships have you experienced? What made them successful?

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Mentor strategy payoff

It has happened to me on multiple occasions. A well intentioned, smart, up-and-comer asks if I’ll be their mentor. While I am always humbled and willing to help, I also want to make sure I bring value to the potential mentee.

I’ve learned over the years to ask what it is that the individual thinks I can help with and it they have other mentors for other topics. Similar to the concept of finding the correct “who” in John Strelecky’s books Big Five for Live and Life Safari, I too believe successful people surround themselves with multiple mentors with different areas of expertise. The five categories of mentors I’ve encouraged talented, high-potential people to have are:

• Educational – Mentors to help guide your education decisions.
• Professional – Mentors to provide insight and guidance for your profession.
• Organizational – Mentors to help interpret and navigate organizational land mines.
• Diversity – Mentors very different then yourself for exposure and self awareness.
• Life – Mentors to guide and understand the things life brings.

This list is not meant to be exhaustive but it does demonstrate the need for multiple mentors and finding the right advice and guidance for a particular situation.

Do you have your own mentor strategy? How do you coach those you mentor in this area?

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Who taught you the internet?

WARNING – you must be over 40 to get the full impact of this posting.

It was only 15 years ago and we did not have a personal computer at the house. Why should we? What would you possibly do with it that wasn’t just more work? The early users were moving from Prodigy email service, Dell was just starting, most internet users used their provider’s search engines and workplaces were still trying to cost-justify the purchase of more than one PC per office area.

As a result of the post last week, “Try Honesty,” an old colleague and friend emailed me a comment/compliment that reminded me of an interesting transition time in my career. “You sure have come a long way on your skills with the Internet from those days when I "mentored" you in your office” Randy stated. In the early 1990’s Randy was a first-line manager and I was his boss. He had a quick affinity toward the internet and I was curious. I have mentioned often about being mentored by whoever knows your interests. Level and stature should not matter. I am not sure which thing brought the smile to my face, the memory of Randy teaching me to do a search, or the fact that my mentoring theory proved correct again.

Who initially taught you the internet? Have you been mentored by subordinates successfully?

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What floor are you on?

A day had been added to the annual leadership team offsite for some type of team building event. The offsite itself required preparation, travel and days off the “real” job, so the idea of extra time was not thrilling. The hired consultants were coming.

If we were going to go into a jungle, playing a sport or test trust with a daring exercise, that would have seemed like fun. This, though, was mandated from the top and performed in a hotel conference room. To my surprise and delight, I left that session with one tool that I have used every day since - The Senn-Delany “Mood Elevator.” This is a far too simplistic explanation, but my take-away was to start every conversation at the elevator’s mid-point which was “Curious and Interested.” Think about the difference in the way people provide you information when they believe you want to know. Even your ability to ask probing questions improves. “I’m curious why you feel so strongly about topic XYZ.” “I’m interested to understand the benefits of your proposal over the one we already have?” “I’m curious if your teammates feel the same way?”

Do you start your conversations from a position of curiosity? Try it and share how it went.

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“Melted water pipes”

Dave Hansen is a big dude about 60 years old with motorcycle oil in his blood. He calls himself the Proprietor Extraordinaire of “The Shop” in Ventura. Specializing in Indian motorcycles, he shared some great history of the big shots in Indian motorcycle lore. Most famous of those was Burt Munro from Invercargill, New Zealand. You might remember Burt from the movie “The World’s Fastest Indian” (2005) where Anthony Hopkins portrayed him. Multiple times when Dave was talking he referred to his mentor. He did this enough times that I asked him who and where this mentor was. Dave pointed to the framed photo above the door and said “that is Sam Pierce and he taught me everything I know about Indians, running a shop and just about everything else important.” Dave even told us the story of the time that Burt Munro was passing through Sam’s house on his way to the Bonneville Salt Flats. Sam called Dave and told him to get over to the house right away, sit down, shut up, listen and be in the presence of greatness. Burt was melting old Ventura county water pipes and making piston sleeves for his motorcycles. Burt said Ventura pipes used the best materials. Per Dave, he learned so much that afternoon from Burt and Sam.

I thought about what had just happened for the next 30 miles while I cruised up Hwy 1. It would be amazing to have a mentor so important and influential in our careers that we frame a photo of this person and hang it over the door of our business/office! Wouldn’t we all want such a strong role model? I am fortunate enough to have such a person, and while I stay in touch and thank him often, I do not have his photo proudly displayed (something I might consider). Then it struck me – I’ve really got it backwards. Each of us should strive to be a mentor so positive, so effective, so influential that our mentees see it within themselves long after we are gone to hang a photo of us so others know the role we had. This could be the ultimate test of our leadership ability.

I enjoy when I learn something important when I’m not looking. What are your thoughts on the importance of finding or being a mentor?

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Beer Cans & Ashes

The 3491 foot tall Mt. Greylock is the highest elevation in Massachusetts, the centerpiece of a 20,000 acre state reserve and a rest point on the Appalachian Trail. That is where yours truly was “Ranger Danger” for the summer as the night patrol working solo. The job was simple enough, help anyone in trouble and keep the partying kids off the mountain. The problem was that these were all my friends and if I was not working the night shift, I might have been one of those kids.

The measure of my success was simple. If the park superintendent saw beer/bottles and/or felt warm ashes the next morning, then there must have been unauthorized activity on the mountain the night before. Bottom line, I was measured by beer cans & ashes. If you really think that through, there are lots of ways to have outstanding job performance in this system and still have the park full of undesirable activity at night. Lanterns and recycling come to mind. It was a great way to spend the summer and the park superintendent often congratulated me for outstanding performance.

As leaders, we need to be absolutely sure the metrics we put in place align with the real results we want. We need to think through the unintended consequences of the metrics to ensure we are not creating an environment or activity different than our desired end state. The up side of using beer cans & ashes was the simplicity of the metric and the ease of data collection. The down side was it did not meet the other metric objectives.

Have you seen a good metric gone bad?

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AAR - Leaders prioritize learning

If I were to ask you what you learned from a recent leadership experience, the odds are you would think for a moment and provide an answer. It would be the response you thought up at that exact moment and it might have been a different answer yesterday and/or tomorrow.

Once in a while we are exposed to an idea or concept used in another leadership setting that has direct application to our current challenges. I was reminded of one the other day when reading Tom Magness’ Leader Business blog post “Take Charge (Part IV).” He referenced the military’s After Action Review (AAR) process. Simply put (I apologize to the military experts if I do not do it full justice), right when an important undertaking is complete the team should ask themselves three questions: 1) What did we plan to do? 2) What did we do? 3) What could we have done better? A few very key elements of the process are:

• Conduct the review within 15 minutes of the action (when the boots are still muddy)
• Document the three questions and the brainstorm answers
• Take no more than 15 minutes for the exercise, and
• Distribute the completed AAR to key stakeholders for future plan enhancements

While extremely simple, I have seen this process teach valuable lessons. It is a particularly useful mentoring tool when used as the final submittal for a less experienced teammate to share with a boss before ending an assignment.

Have you used the AAR process? Do you have another tool you have used in the past?

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“You have three months”

• 40% Stock Market Decline.
• 8.6% Unemployment
• High Profile Financial Institutions Fail
• Legacy Fortune 100 Companies in Bankruptcy
• And, “You Have Three Months”

Gary is a respected program leader that I ran into the other day. When I asked him how he was doing, he said his management told him the job he had been doing had ended and he had three months to find a new position within the company. While this appears to be a fair and reasonable process, it is code inside big companies for “we wish you the best, but you are on your own.” What bothered me was how surprised people seem to be in these situations.

We work for ourselves. Our customers are the employers we sell our services to, and our products are the skills and capabilities we provide. Long before hearing “you have three months,” there must have been signals that the customer’s satisfaction had changed. Perhaps you no longer received the best assignments or toughest challenges. Maybe the services and products provided were not meeting a higher same standard or using the latest technology. We do not always have to agree with the “customer."

Do you believe leaders should have the ability to foresee when their services no longer meet customer needs?

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Angry Young Man

Consider these two scenarios:

1 – One 15 year old has ok grades without trying, plays sports, but without passion, and listens to Alice Cooper’s “Eighteen” about 50 times a day. He was generally an easy going person but not going anywhere. (View a 1970’s version of the music video and lyrics.)



2 – The other was 17 years old, has really good grades without trying, is the captain of the basketball and baseball teams, president of the National Honor Society, and listens to Styx’s “Angry Young Man” about 50 times a day. (View a 1970’s version of the music video and lyrics.)



What if the two were the same person just older? Is there a slight chance that this whole idea of self-affirmation really has an impact? I personally vote “yes.”

While a lot of things changed during this two-year period of my life, listening to a lot of music did not. The message in these songs vary greatly. One song is about going nowhere and the other about future achievements.

As leaders we should understand these explicit and implicit messages and ensure we are sending the ones we intend. Are we saying one thing and doing another? Are we surrounding ourselves with people who support our aspirations? Do we support theirs?

Have you seen consistent positive communication improve the workplace?

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