by D. Kevin Berchelmann | Nov 28, 2015 | Brazen Leader, Executive Improvement, Kevin Berchelmann, Organizational Effectiveness
I mentioned earlier that leaders must lead from the front. I observed something last week that reminds me that they must also lead “from the ground.”
No matter who we are, what title we have, how many people are working for us, or how much money we make… we can never forget that we lead others, and that those others are the ones who are on the ground — the front lines — of our organizations. Making money.
You may be able to manage from your office on the 32nd floor, or the front corner of your plant, or from A-space, downtown offices detached from the real operations. You can manage from there, but you cannot lead from there.
To lead, you’ve got to come down the elevator, go to the back of the plant, or hop on an airplane and head to “where the action is,” on the ground.
An example: I was in Dallas last week on business. While there, I stayed at a Marriott Suites close to Love Field. At the time of my visit, there was also a national sales force meeting there (I’ll let the company remain nameless… for now). On the 12th (top) floor, this hotel had a “concierge” lounge; you know, the ones with a small bar, free food, quiet atmosphere to end a day.
Only it wasn’t quiet today. The management — only the senior management — of this sales force was staying on the top floor where they had concierge access. And they were a bit rowdy, to say the least. That’s neither here nor there, as my stay was going to be brief regardless. Afterwards, I went downstairs to the lobby lounge to wait for a client of mine… we were going to go have dinner.
So, here I am in the lobby lounge, twiddling my thumbs and people-watching. It’s strangely crowded for a Thursday night. The group nearest me is almost a dozen strong, mostly men, and they quite obviously were part of this same sales organization I mentioned above. Only these guys were ground-level troops, not uppity-ups like the ones in the concierge lounge. These guys were the ones who just woke up every day, went to work, and made that company money. Lots of money.
And they were not happy. They were railing on about the VP and Manager who, apparently, were otherwise too occupied to go to dinner with them. Like me, they obviously knew where they were. One of these sales guys had a neat idea: seems his buddy back home (same company) had recently been recruited by a competitor, and that recruiting executive, coincidentally, was in Dallas. Why don’t we, he said, call this guy and see if we can get together for a drink?? All but 2 of the guys agreed, so he made the call.
The competitor executive, probably reeling in surprise at his incredibly good fortune, agreed to meet the guys — at a fairly upscale steakhouse to buy them dinner. To heck with a couple of drinks, this guy was going in for the kill.
All but the 2 dissenting voters went to dinner.
My client showed up shortly thereafter, so I had to leave, or I might have stayed in that lobby bar until those guys came back, just hoping to pick up on some more of that conversation.
The folks staying on the 12th floor were so self-absorbed that they forgot to lead. They didn’t realize that leaders do so from in front and on the ground — managers can manage from a distance (though even with managers, I’d argue about their effectiveness in doing so).
Did they lose their entire sales force? Unlikely. These things are always easier to discuss than to pull off successfully (that’s experience talking). Regardless, those sales guys now had a great contact — on a personal, first-name basis — at a competitor. And they were interested enough to spend their free time while at a company-sponsored sales event.
Pretty bold.
And damned foolish on the part of those managers in that 12th floor lounge.
We lead; as such, we are essential for successful, growing organziations, to be sure. But never, ever, forget who actually makes the money on a daily basis. It’s them, those contributors on the ground, fighting the fight each and every day, and we must stay focused on caring for, providing for, and recognizing their worth to our organziations.
Always.
by D. Kevin Berchelmann | Oct 20, 2015 | Brazen Leader, Executive Improvement, Kevin Berchelmann, Miscellaneous Business Topics
Show me da money!!
If we aren’t careful, we buy into the malarkey that says we can’t motivate without dinero. Hard cash. Moolah. Wampum.
It just ain’t so.
Money has its place. Zig Ziglar was fond of saying that “Anyon
e who says money doesn’t matter… well, they’ll lie about other things as well.” It does matter. It doesn’t motivate. Except in rare instances of some sales compensation or specific activities fully controllable by the employee. Rare instances.
The rest of the time–it’s all you. So, what to do then? How do I do the motivation-stuff? Simple–use your leadership skills and lead.
Some simple tips to consider…
- Be honest and become really trustworthy. Do what you say you’ll do.
- Remember always: You are not responsible for a person’s happiness.
- Give praise promptly and specifically when it is due.
- Root out poor management; it’s a huge drain on staff morale, adversely affecting business performance.
- Address poor/non-performance quickly, fairly and unemotionally.
- Give your team flexibility, and the room to do their work. Not many people work better with micro-management…
- Create a compelling, energizing vision of your future.
- Send handwritten notes. Thank yous, Birthdays, Company Anniversaries, or simply for motivation and/or encouragement.
- Remind people that you — their leader — are there, and there for them.
Don’t complicate this stuff. It really is this easy.
Be Brazen.
by D. Kevin Berchelmann | Sep 29, 2015 | Brazen Leader, Executive Improvement, Kevin Berchelmann, Miscellaneous Business Topics
When I was growing up in Luling, Texas (population ~4,500), my next-door neighbor and best friend was Randy Moore. We did everything together — played baseball together, went swimming together, even worked in his dad’s watermelon patch together. His dad’s name was Marlin.
Marlin passed away recently, and at his funeral service, the pastor described his life as chapters in a book. The Book of Marlin.
Now, working in that watermelon patch all those years, I had the opportunity to hear many chapters and pages of that book played out in real-time. Things like: Boy, that’s a good ‘un. Both sides got to get a horse to make a horse trade. …and many more.
Most of you will recognize the latter comment as the precursor to modern-day “win-win negotiations,” before being named such by some consultant selling a book. The first comment, however, bears a reminder due to its timeless simplicity. Boy, that’s a good ‘un.
Now for those who don’t know about farming watermelons, here’s a lesson: You tell how ripe they are — whether they are ready to eat at just the perfect time — by thumping on them and listening to the sound that comes from the melon. Marlin would walk that watermelon patch (earlier lesson continued — watermelons are raised in ‘patches,’ not fields or farms), thumping every third or fourth melon, listening for that special sound that would have him say… Boy, that’s a good ‘un.
Then, Randy and I would pick it up, load it into the bed of the pickup, and move on. Believe it or not, there’s a lesson for senior leadership here. It was the right time of the year for picking watermelons since we always picked them at roughly the same time. They all “looked” ready on the outside, and seemed mostly identical to each other, except for slight variations in size or appearance. Digging deeper, however… really looking inside the watermelon, told us things we couldn’t tell through simple appearance and timing. Digging deeper, we could tell if they were truly ready.
The same holds true when evaluating and assessing management talent for your organization. They may have been in the right place, at the right time. They may even have the obvious characteristics that we feel will make them successful. But if we don’t dig deeper — really analyze the person from the inside, determining motivation, propensity for future growth, and ability to manage real accountabilities — then we may miss the true indicators of readiness. The thump that tells us, not just with visual and intuitive senses, but with analytical and logical reasoning, that this person is ready.
Only then can we say, Boy, that’s a good ‘un.
Don’t just rely on appearances, tenure, or career sound-bites; assess future leaders by really getting inside them to test their ability to wear the future mantle of leadership for your organization.
Seems we can still learn things from The Book of Marlin.
by D. Kevin Berchelmann | Sep 8, 2015 | Brazen Leader, Executive Improvement, Kevin Berchelmann, Miscellaneous Business Topics
No, I’m not word-smithing or playing head games. Let me give you some examples.
Many of the aggressive accounting practices at Enron were technically legal or “right.”
But they were wrong.
Many of the sub-prime loans that prompted much of the current mess we’re in were “right” in a technical, legal sense.
But they were wrong. (more…)
by D. Kevin Berchelmann | Aug 31, 2015 | Brazen Leader, Executive Improvement, Kevin Berchelmann, Miscellaneous Business Topics
Leadership is inherently fraught with risks; we can no more avoid them than we can the decisions that cause the concerns. Wringing our hands won’t fix it, neither will running around the figurative circle waving our arms about.
Trust me, it’s been tried. And it ain’t all that pretty…
Any way you cut it, there’s risk in leadership.
(more…)
by D. Kevin Berchelmann | Jul 19, 2015 | Brazen Leader, Executive Improvement, Human Resources, Kevin Berchelmann, Miscellaneous Business Topics, Organizational Effectiveness
Leadership is authentic. You can’t fake it, folks.
So, I recently attended my niece’s wedding in San Antonio. Since we frequently travel there to spend time on the Riverwalk, I thought this a wonderful opportunity to evaluate a new hotel for future stays.
Enter The Hotel Contessa.
Lots of staff, all looking like they were in the right places. Classy decor, reasonably upscale. All-suites, and the one we had — a “King” suite — was quite nice.
For all appearances, this was the real deal.
The Hotel Contessa, however, suffered from a problem. In Texas, we have this phrase (ok, in Texas we have a lot of ‘phrases,’ but I’m just using one):
All hat and no cattle.
Looked good, had all the appearances of the “real deal;” I’ll even go as far as to say that, for the price, it wasn’t a complete disaster. They simply failed to execute. In every way, when given the opportunity to have delivery (service) match their appearance, they failed miserably. Time and time again.
Realize that there were many, many instances over the 2+ days we were there. I’m only sharing a few here for examples.
They promised my sister that the wedding party could check in PRIOR to their absurdly late 4:PM check-in time. When pressed, they stated that “someone made a mistake — we cannot promise anyone an early check-in.” This ridiculous travesty went on for 30 minutes, until finally they just gave in and gave them the rooms. That’s right… they had the rooms available for early check-in; they simply wanted my sister to know that they couldn’t promise anything!
No less than a half-dozen staffers opening the doors and welcoming people; my sister, hands full with wedding “stuff,” slips and falls on the steps. They watch, but do not move a muscle. My sister collects herself, and moves toward the door. Courteously opening the door, the nearest bellman says, “be careful, the steps can be slippery.”
Ya think??
When I checked in, I needed the front desk to break a $20 bill. The guy (Tommy) says, “I’m sorry, I can’t make change.” WHAT? “Yes,” he says, “I don’t have access to cash. Perhaps you can go over there and ask a bellman.” I needed the change FOR the bellman, and had no intention of walking anywhere to get it. I exclaimed how surely some people still actually use cash, and perhaps he should find a manager.
Manager comes over, takes my $20 bill, opens a cash drawer and makes change. Complete with “have a nice day!”
Sunday morning, we’re running late (I have a wife, remember?), so I call the operator to get a late check out. I say, “I’ll need a late check-out, say, until 12:30.” Guy says, sorry, 12:00 is best he can do. I respond, “whatever, but I’ll be here until 12:30.” He asks me to hold… a manager comes on the line, repeats my request to me, taps a few computer keys, and says, “There you are, sir. All set!”
No execution. No one, save a few poorly positioned managers, seemed capable of making even rudimentary customer service decisions.
Did I even mention the part about the newlyweds reaching their room around midnight, to discover they had twin double beds?? Don’t get me started again…
Great looking hotel, lots of dinero spent on staff, money leaking out like a drain because of the real, obvious, lack of leadership authenticity.
All hat and no cattle.
Now, no, this isn’t turning into a travel review site (I give the Contessa one of four stars); I merely wanted to demonstrate how leadership must be applied — it must be authentic — to make a difference. Otherwise, it’s just an act.
And not a very good one.
