I have always wondered the same thing? Also why is it that people who should succeed in life don't and those that shouldn't succeed do? Crazy stuff. Nice to see that someone else believes that "work ethic" is important!! Enjoy!! Great article.
By Steve Tobak /November 15, 2010
There certainly appears to be a growing divide between the “haves” and the “have-nots” in America. But when it comes to achieving success in your business and career, that divide exists solely in your head.
That means you can cross it, if you know how.
While there’s certainly more than one way to do that, I found that certain characteristics and one method in particular worked for me. And since they can be learned, they can work for you.
You see, I grew up a have-not, the youngest of a lower middle-class family that lived in a tiny apartment in Brooklyn, New York. My dad was a clerk in the post office and my mom worked in a bank. My dad had a high-school diploma; my mom didn’t. Life wasn’t easy, but they did everything they could to give their kids a chance at a better life than they had.
My dad instilled in me a rock solid work ethic. When I broke my leg in high-school, he was pissed off because he had to take a day off from work. And that was from a job he hated. I got the message. You do your job and you do it right, no matter what.
Early on, I demonstrated an unusual thirst for knowledge and a desire to understand how and why things worked the way they did. I was constantly asking questions to which my folks did not know the answers. It was incredibly annoying, so they bought me books and got me a library card. That was the only thing that kept me quiet.
Those two things - work ethic and thirst for knowledge - got me through school and into the high-tech industry. In the working world I learned that lots of things didn’t work quite right, which fed right into my compulsion to fix them. I learned a pretty simple way to do that. First, learn how things work, then figure out how to do them better. Simple.
I would soon learn that that ridiculously simple technique would work for everything - technology, management, even workplace politics. So I climbed the corporate ladder, pretty much by approaching every problem the same way. I call it going from Point A to Point B. Very creative, I know.
That worked up to a point when one of my many compulsions - a relentless drive to succeed - started working against me. These days, I call that self-limiting behavior. You see, everyone’s got issues that, left unchecked, will impede their success in the workplace, even their happiness as individuals. Some people become bitter and angry at their stunted growth. They blame everyone from their boss and coworkers to their spouse and parents. They look everywhere but where they should look, inside.
Socrates said, “know thyself” and “the unexamined life is not worth living.” Smart guy, that Socrates.
For the longest time, I didn’t get that. And yes, it stunted my growth. Ironically, the same method I had employed to solve problems in the working world turned out to be effective in dealing with my own self-limiting behavior. The only difference is Point A requires taking a long, hard look in the mirror. Once you do that, Point B becomes wherever your passion and goals take you.
These days I use that new, modified version of going from Point A to Point B in my strategy consulting business. Turns out it works for companies, too.
Bottom line:
So, the journey from “have-not” to “have” was made possible by three qualities:
1. Strong work ethic
2. Passion for how things work and how they can work better
3. Introspection
And a method for problem solving at work and resolving self-limiting behavior:
Going from Point A to Point B, where Point A is how things really work, i.e. reality; and Point B is how to do things or make things work better.
Of course, I don’t think these are the only factors that play a role in crossing the divide. There’s also drive, determination, and tolerance for risk and sacrifice. But for me, this is what made the difference. I’m sure we’d all be interested in knowing what worked for you.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
WWCD - What Would Churchill Do?
Great piece about one of the great leaders of our time. Enjoy!!
By Margaret Heffernan
November 11, 2010
Warren Buffett, trying to describe the importance of leadership, once called it a “secret sauce,” arguing that it makes all the difference to the value of a business, even if you don’t quite know what it is.
I was reminded of the issue last week when I was in London and visited Winston Churchill’s cabinet war rooms. As you’d expect, they’re underground, dark and rather dismal, and neither Churchill nor his staff much liked spending time in them. That the government spent so much time above ground was due not to heroism but claustrophobia.
But on one level, I envied these men and women. They had a very clear, well-defined problem with an obvious goal: Defeat Hitler. How many business leaders yearn for so simply articulated a task! What’s easy to forget, in such nostalgia, is just how daunting it was. Three days before Churchill delivered one of his most rousing speeches — “this was their finest hour” — he confessed to a colleague that he expected them both to be dead within three months. A clear goal, yes. But with only the slimmest chance of success.
How did Churchill define leadership? In his own words, what he did was “keep buggering on.” In more contemporary words, what this meant was he and his Cabinet just kept going, putting one foot in front of the other, making the best decisions they could, many of which turned out to be wrong. He never made unilateral decisions, and he spent a lot of time in that bunker arguing.
I’ve never had much affinity for the business-as-war metaphor, and Sun Tzu leaves me cold. But what I respect in Churchill’s wartime leadership was his recognition that there were no magic bullets. He had no illusion of control. Strategy, alliances, technology, and mental, emotional and operational discipline were all essential — for six long years. But there was no such thing as a quick fix.
When I meet with CEOs, they’re all eager to hear what other companies are doing. Their curiosity is driven by a lingering sense that somewhere out there must lie a solution, a quantum leap that will catapult their business out of recession and themselves out of the doldrums. They’re sick of recession, despairing of government, cynical about temporary market rallies and deeply nostalgic for the good old days of predictable if slow growth.
It’s a lesson any leader would do well to remember as we enter the fourth year of the credit crunch. If there were a magic solution, someone would have found it by now. Growth is elusive and, in a recession, more so than ever. Maintaining morale is hard but fundamental. No miracle — in the form of strategy, technology or stimulus — will substitute for mental, emotional and operational discipline. The only thing that leaders can do, and must do, is abandon the illusion of control and keep buggering on.
By Margaret Heffernan
November 11, 2010
Warren Buffett, trying to describe the importance of leadership, once called it a “secret sauce,” arguing that it makes all the difference to the value of a business, even if you don’t quite know what it is.
I was reminded of the issue last week when I was in London and visited Winston Churchill’s cabinet war rooms. As you’d expect, they’re underground, dark and rather dismal, and neither Churchill nor his staff much liked spending time in them. That the government spent so much time above ground was due not to heroism but claustrophobia.
But on one level, I envied these men and women. They had a very clear, well-defined problem with an obvious goal: Defeat Hitler. How many business leaders yearn for so simply articulated a task! What’s easy to forget, in such nostalgia, is just how daunting it was. Three days before Churchill delivered one of his most rousing speeches — “this was their finest hour” — he confessed to a colleague that he expected them both to be dead within three months. A clear goal, yes. But with only the slimmest chance of success.
How did Churchill define leadership? In his own words, what he did was “keep buggering on.” In more contemporary words, what this meant was he and his Cabinet just kept going, putting one foot in front of the other, making the best decisions they could, many of which turned out to be wrong. He never made unilateral decisions, and he spent a lot of time in that bunker arguing.
I’ve never had much affinity for the business-as-war metaphor, and Sun Tzu leaves me cold. But what I respect in Churchill’s wartime leadership was his recognition that there were no magic bullets. He had no illusion of control. Strategy, alliances, technology, and mental, emotional and operational discipline were all essential — for six long years. But there was no such thing as a quick fix.
When I meet with CEOs, they’re all eager to hear what other companies are doing. Their curiosity is driven by a lingering sense that somewhere out there must lie a solution, a quantum leap that will catapult their business out of recession and themselves out of the doldrums. They’re sick of recession, despairing of government, cynical about temporary market rallies and deeply nostalgic for the good old days of predictable if slow growth.
It’s a lesson any leader would do well to remember as we enter the fourth year of the credit crunch. If there were a magic solution, someone would have found it by now. Growth is elusive and, in a recession, more so than ever. Maintaining morale is hard but fundamental. No miracle — in the form of strategy, technology or stimulus — will substitute for mental, emotional and operational discipline. The only thing that leaders can do, and must do, is abandon the illusion of control and keep buggering on.
Friday, November 5, 2010
Striving To Be A Real Leader
Great article by Graham Jones! I am looking forward to reading his book!! Enjoy!
Graham Jones, PhD, is Director of Lane4 Management Group, a performance development consultancy, based in Princeton, New Jersey. Graham is the author of Thrive On Pressure: Lead And Succeed When Times Get Tough , published by McGraw-Hill in August 2010. For more information, visit his website and blog at www.sustainedhighperformance.com. For information on Lane4, visit www.lane4performance.com.
The last couple of years have brought an intriguing quandary for senior leaders, and one that is probably here to stay. These are times when leaders have the option of keeping their heads down, staying out of the firing line, and playing it safe. The other option is to contribute to the current and future health of the organization by stepping up to be real leaders.
The Choices You Make As A Real Leader
Being a real leader is not easy which is why too many incumbents of leadership positions, knowingly or unknowingly, go for the easier option of safe leadership. Although I am sure you have some friends who have gone for the safe option, you, of course, will have opted to be a real leader and, in doing so, have made a number of choices that you will need to remind yourself of from time to time.
1. Your Choice To Take On The Pressure
Your choice to take on the visibility of real leadership means that you will be exposed to sometimes relentless pressure that can cause you to feel isolated, lonely, and vulnerable. And that is just during normal times! During economic downturns and when market conditions are tough, you will be stretched to the limits of your capability and resourcefulness. At times like these, it may be hard to see beyond those pressures that your responsibilities and accountabilities bring with them. You will need to remind yourself why you have chosen this path – the internal drivers that provide positive challenge, the change that you bring about because you have the guts to do it, the development you see in your people because you give them the opportunities, and the individual care you provide that makes your people feel valued.
2. Your Choice To Be Accountable When Things Go Wrong
By being a real leader, the buck stops with you! The failures of your people are your failures – you are the one who is accountable. Have the courage to seek to understand the causes of failure so that you can learn from them and take your learning forward.
3. Your Choice To Accept That You Will Make Mistakes
You have chosen to put yourself in a position where you are expected to innovate and take calculated risks. You will sometimes get it wrong and you will make mistakes. These are what will make you a better and stronger real leader as long as you see mistakes as a key part of your learning and development.
4. Your Choice To Do What Is Right
You are aware of your responsibility to make those difficult, often critical, decisions that might not be popular with everyone, but are the right thing to do. You know that no matter how hard you try, there will always be someone who is unhappy with your leadership. There may even be people who think they can do the job better than you. No matter what, it is important that you tackle hard issues head on.
5. Your Choice To Drive Change
No individual, team, or organization can ever stand still. Sustained success is underpinned by constant change that takes you to the next level. As a real leader, your responsibility is to lead by example in driving continuous change. Encourage challenge and collective problem-solving among your people because you cannot do it all on your own.
6. Your Choice To Be A Role Model
Role modeling is a critical part of your role as a real leader. Role model what you want to see and hear in your people, and also role model the aspirations of the organization. If you want your people to raise their performance bars, then raise your own. Show them that you are hungry for feedback because it is so important to your development. And recognize and celebrate success in a way that inspires them to want more.
7. Your Choice To Develop The People You Lead So That They May Some Day Be Your Boss
If you do a great job of being a real leader, then you may find that, one day, you are being lead by someone who used to follow you. Your choice to empower and coach your people, combined with encouraging them to be creative and innovative, will enable them to make a significant contribution to achieving your vision. It will also help their individual development as they pursue their own aspirations in the organization. The best of them may end up being your leader! Take huge satisfaction from this.
Your Role In Creating A High Performance Environment
Real leaders create environments where high performance is inevitable and sustainable. If you are to achieve this goal, then there are a number of core principles that you should remember and follow.
Accept That You Can No Longer Do All The Things That Got You To Where You Are
This is where some leaders get it wrong. Most are promoted to leadership positions because they are functional experts and they make the mistake of continuing to be involved in the detail because they enjoy and are good at it. But, as you know, leadership is about people, and not about managing a function. As a real leader, your role is to create the conditions for your people to thrive. Minimizing constraints and maximizing supports for your people is a critical role that will help them deliver the performance you are now leading and no longer ‘doing’ yourself.
Identify And Communicate A Compelling Vision
Your people want to know where you intend to take them. Figure out what your vision is and communicate it in a way that it makes sense and also demonstrates a passion that will inspire your people to follow you and find a way of delivering it even in the most trying circumstances.
Get The Strategic Focus Right
You will have to manage the dynamic tension of current versus future focus. Your responsibility is to focus on the longer-term; specifically, the innovation and well-being that the future health of the organization is dependent on. Of course, your focus will be dragged into the current, day-to-day detail, especially when times are tough, but do not fall into the trap of getting stuck there.
Make Sure You Have The Right People In The Right Roles
If you are to stay out of the detail, then you need to have people with the appropriate knowledge, skills, and experience in the appropriate roles. This is your responsibility, and achieving this will provide you with the space you require to focus on your job as a real leader.
Clearly Define And Communicate What Is Expected Of Them
Having the right people in the right roles is insufficient – they must know what you expect from them. They want to know what their short-term focus should be and how their individual performances will contribute to achieving the longer-term aspirations and vision of the organization.
Have The Courage To Let Go
If you have the right people in the right roles, and they know what is expected of them, then have the courage to place your confidence and trust in them to deliver the goods. This will probably feel strange at first as you struggle with relinquishing some control. And it will not be possible before you have the confidence and trust in yourself to pass it on to your people.
Balance Vision, Challenge, And Support
Once you have everything in place, then your day-to-day role as a real leader is to remind people of the vision, challenge them to deliver against it, and support them in doing so. Remember that if you can get the balance right, then you will create an environment where the potential of your people is unleashed and high performance is inevitable and sustainable.
Over To You
Being a real leader will be stimulating, energizing, and, perhaps most important, enjoyable. And when you get it right, being a real leader will also provide you with an enormous sense of satisfaction and achievement. It really is something worth striving for.
Graham Jones, PhD, is Director of Lane4 Management Group, a performance development consultancy, based in Princeton, New Jersey. Graham is the author of Thrive On Pressure: Lead And Succeed When Times Get Tough , published by McGraw-Hill in August 2010. For more information, visit his website and blog at www.sustainedhighperformance.com. For information on Lane4, visit www.lane4performance.com.
The last couple of years have brought an intriguing quandary for senior leaders, and one that is probably here to stay. These are times when leaders have the option of keeping their heads down, staying out of the firing line, and playing it safe. The other option is to contribute to the current and future health of the organization by stepping up to be real leaders.
The Choices You Make As A Real Leader
Being a real leader is not easy which is why too many incumbents of leadership positions, knowingly or unknowingly, go for the easier option of safe leadership. Although I am sure you have some friends who have gone for the safe option, you, of course, will have opted to be a real leader and, in doing so, have made a number of choices that you will need to remind yourself of from time to time.
1. Your Choice To Take On The Pressure
Your choice to take on the visibility of real leadership means that you will be exposed to sometimes relentless pressure that can cause you to feel isolated, lonely, and vulnerable. And that is just during normal times! During economic downturns and when market conditions are tough, you will be stretched to the limits of your capability and resourcefulness. At times like these, it may be hard to see beyond those pressures that your responsibilities and accountabilities bring with them. You will need to remind yourself why you have chosen this path – the internal drivers that provide positive challenge, the change that you bring about because you have the guts to do it, the development you see in your people because you give them the opportunities, and the individual care you provide that makes your people feel valued.
2. Your Choice To Be Accountable When Things Go Wrong
By being a real leader, the buck stops with you! The failures of your people are your failures – you are the one who is accountable. Have the courage to seek to understand the causes of failure so that you can learn from them and take your learning forward.
3. Your Choice To Accept That You Will Make Mistakes
You have chosen to put yourself in a position where you are expected to innovate and take calculated risks. You will sometimes get it wrong and you will make mistakes. These are what will make you a better and stronger real leader as long as you see mistakes as a key part of your learning and development.
4. Your Choice To Do What Is Right
You are aware of your responsibility to make those difficult, often critical, decisions that might not be popular with everyone, but are the right thing to do. You know that no matter how hard you try, there will always be someone who is unhappy with your leadership. There may even be people who think they can do the job better than you. No matter what, it is important that you tackle hard issues head on.
5. Your Choice To Drive Change
No individual, team, or organization can ever stand still. Sustained success is underpinned by constant change that takes you to the next level. As a real leader, your responsibility is to lead by example in driving continuous change. Encourage challenge and collective problem-solving among your people because you cannot do it all on your own.
6. Your Choice To Be A Role Model
Role modeling is a critical part of your role as a real leader. Role model what you want to see and hear in your people, and also role model the aspirations of the organization. If you want your people to raise their performance bars, then raise your own. Show them that you are hungry for feedback because it is so important to your development. And recognize and celebrate success in a way that inspires them to want more.
7. Your Choice To Develop The People You Lead So That They May Some Day Be Your Boss
If you do a great job of being a real leader, then you may find that, one day, you are being lead by someone who used to follow you. Your choice to empower and coach your people, combined with encouraging them to be creative and innovative, will enable them to make a significant contribution to achieving your vision. It will also help their individual development as they pursue their own aspirations in the organization. The best of them may end up being your leader! Take huge satisfaction from this.
Your Role In Creating A High Performance Environment
Real leaders create environments where high performance is inevitable and sustainable. If you are to achieve this goal, then there are a number of core principles that you should remember and follow.
Accept That You Can No Longer Do All The Things That Got You To Where You Are
This is where some leaders get it wrong. Most are promoted to leadership positions because they are functional experts and they make the mistake of continuing to be involved in the detail because they enjoy and are good at it. But, as you know, leadership is about people, and not about managing a function. As a real leader, your role is to create the conditions for your people to thrive. Minimizing constraints and maximizing supports for your people is a critical role that will help them deliver the performance you are now leading and no longer ‘doing’ yourself.
Identify And Communicate A Compelling Vision
Your people want to know where you intend to take them. Figure out what your vision is and communicate it in a way that it makes sense and also demonstrates a passion that will inspire your people to follow you and find a way of delivering it even in the most trying circumstances.
Get The Strategic Focus Right
You will have to manage the dynamic tension of current versus future focus. Your responsibility is to focus on the longer-term; specifically, the innovation and well-being that the future health of the organization is dependent on. Of course, your focus will be dragged into the current, day-to-day detail, especially when times are tough, but do not fall into the trap of getting stuck there.
Make Sure You Have The Right People In The Right Roles
If you are to stay out of the detail, then you need to have people with the appropriate knowledge, skills, and experience in the appropriate roles. This is your responsibility, and achieving this will provide you with the space you require to focus on your job as a real leader.
Clearly Define And Communicate What Is Expected Of Them
Having the right people in the right roles is insufficient – they must know what you expect from them. They want to know what their short-term focus should be and how their individual performances will contribute to achieving the longer-term aspirations and vision of the organization.
Have The Courage To Let Go
If you have the right people in the right roles, and they know what is expected of them, then have the courage to place your confidence and trust in them to deliver the goods. This will probably feel strange at first as you struggle with relinquishing some control. And it will not be possible before you have the confidence and trust in yourself to pass it on to your people.
Balance Vision, Challenge, And Support
Once you have everything in place, then your day-to-day role as a real leader is to remind people of the vision, challenge them to deliver against it, and support them in doing so. Remember that if you can get the balance right, then you will create an environment where the potential of your people is unleashed and high performance is inevitable and sustainable.
Over To You
Being a real leader will be stimulating, energizing, and, perhaps most important, enjoyable. And when you get it right, being a real leader will also provide you with an enormous sense of satisfaction and achievement. It really is something worth striving for.
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Under Pressure: Learning to be a "Clutch" Leader
Great leadership article by Sean. Makes so much sense. I have always maintained that leadership is something you learn to do. Enjoy!
By Sean Silverthorne | November 3, 2010
In the sports world, a “clutch” player performs best when the pressure is on, backs are to the wall, and all eyes turned their way. Think Michael Jordan, Joe Montana, Martina Navratilova. When it was all on the line, they not only didn’t wilt, they got better.
Is there such a thing as a clutch leader? Do you know managers or CEOs who rise above when everything is on the line? A bigger question: Can you learn to be clutch?
The latest issue of Harvard Business Review is spun around the topic of military leadership, and there is an interesting blog post on HBR.org about how military cadets learn what it takes to be clutch. New York Times business writer Paul Sullivan, author of Clutch: Why Some People Excel Under Pressure and Others Don’t recounts a talk he gave at West Point on the subject.
All clutch leaders display five traits, he said: focus, discipline, adaptability, being present, and fear and desire. Read his post for more depth on each of these.
Sullivan’s good news for the rest of us is that organizations can train their performers to respond well to pressure. Sullivan says there are three things business leaders can learn from cadets:
- Focused on a goal. “When they graduate they will be deployed to lead a platoon, probably in Afghanistan or Iraq. They know the responsibilities and the risks. And everything they are doing is preparing them for that moment. Do you know what your primary mission is at work?”
- Continuous improvement. “They work in an organization that is continually striving to be better. When a mistake happens, the Army tries not to let it happen a second time. Are you aligned with the right organization? Or if you’re leading that organization, are you prepared to change things that aren’t working, even if change could be hard or even a reversal of something you implemented?”
- Practice for success. “These cadets are given the physical and mental training that will help them do their jobs at the highest level. They know you have to be able to perform a task perfectly under normal conditions before you can expect to do it in a stressful situation. Can you say the same thing? Are you able to do your job at a high level every day? If not, then you should not be surprised when you make the wrong decisions under pressure.”
Will following this advice make you the Michael Jordan of your business? Well, maybe not–some people are just hard-coded for success in tough situations. But working at focusing on the objective, adaptability to the environment and improvement of skills sure puts whatever natural abilities you have in the best position to succeed when the going gets tough. Looking through history, who were the greatest clutch leaders? Churchill? Lincoln? Alexander the Great?
An urgent call to fix golf
By Gene Yasuda
Call it a cavalry of round-bellies and graybeards.
For years now, a stagnant game has been awaiting the arrival of club-wielding baby boomers. Experts promised the unprecedented generational wave, nearly 80 million strong, would take up golf as they entered their golden years and revitalize golf courses that often resemble abandoned lots.
By all accounts, these fiftysomethings are doing their golfing duty. They now are responsible for about half of all rounds played in the U.S., and as they grow older and bask in the luxury of free time, they’re teeing it up even more.
What’s perplexing is that participation still is sliding. Since 2005, the total number of golfers has declined steadily, from 30 million to 27.1 million in 2009, according to the National Golf Foundation. Rounds played is trending the wrong way, too – off nearly 3 percent during the same period.
So, why isn’t golf reveling in its senior moment?
Because it’s suffering losses in another demographic that may prove far more vital: golfers ages 25-44.
In 1990, there were approximately 12.4 million golfers in that age group; by 2005, their ranks had fallen to 9.2 million – an alarming 26 percent drop. According to industry consultant Stuart Lindsay, who attributed the data to the National Sporting Goods Association, the fall-off bluntly underscores that golf isn’t appealing enough to the sweet spot of the U.S. population. He says the participation rate for that age group is about 20 percent lower today.
“All the boomers are doing is masking what’s really leaking in golf,” he says.
The situation is hurting golf, but the real pain likely is yet to come, considering the link between aging golfers and their increased frequency of play.
“Twenty years from now, there’ll be far less demand,” warns Lindsay, principal of Edgehill Golf Advisors, which conducts market research for golf courses and industry groups. “It could be catastrophic.”
Golf finds itself in this predicament for one main reason: In a day and age when free moments – let alone hours – are scarcer than ever, the game has become a time-sucking affair. Simply put, golf hasn’t adapted to sweeping societal changes, including the predominance of dual-income households. The increase in the number of married women in the workplace has redefined child-rearing and the division of household labor.
“Helicopter parenting” – hopping from one child’s activity to another – saps potential time on the links. And when these harried folks finally do get a chance to play, they’re quickly discouraged from going out again, thanks to five-hour-plus rounds.
Indeed, slow play is an epidemic. Blame it, in part, on developers’ desire to build tougher tracks: 70 percent of courses built in the U.S. between 1990 and 2006 had a slope rating of 125 or more. By comparison, the average U.S. slope rating has been hovering around 119.
It also hasn’t helped that golf’s biggest promoter perpetuates plodding. “We’ve depended way too much on the PGA Tour to market our product for us,” Lindsay says. “And frankly, all they do is market slow play.”
Much of golf’s woes are self-inflicted, and for years, industry leaders, acknowledging their mistakes, have pledged improvements – to make the game faster, family friendly, more affordable. But lip service won’t suffice anymore. Many of the proposed fixes actually work; it’s just a matter of copying those who already have put them in play.
For example, the Cincinnati Recreation Commission’s seven municipal courses in 2006 began a simple program: One paying adult entitles an accompanying junior to play for free. That means a parent and child can play nine holes during off-peak hours for $13.50.
“We started it to boost juniors, but we quickly realized it was allowing families to play together,” says Rob Higby, director of golf for the commission’s facilities, which are managed by Billy Casper Golf. The program has grown at an average rate of 26 percent annually since its inception.
Others are rethinking how golfers can consume 18 holes.
At Ka’anapali Golf Resort in Hawaii, guests can play “Golf My Way,” which enables them to enjoy a round in “portions” that best suit them. For example, they might play six holes at a time over three days. Such unconventional approaches likely won’t appeal to traditionalists. But that’s the point.
“If you do what you always did, you won’t even get what you always got,” says Scott Anderson, president of Kohler Co.’s Hospitality & Real Estate Group, which includes Whistling Straits.
That maxim should be heeded. Otherwise, there’s a chance that no one will be left to rescue golf.
Call it a cavalry of round-bellies and graybeards.
For years now, a stagnant game has been awaiting the arrival of club-wielding baby boomers. Experts promised the unprecedented generational wave, nearly 80 million strong, would take up golf as they entered their golden years and revitalize golf courses that often resemble abandoned lots.
By all accounts, these fiftysomethings are doing their golfing duty. They now are responsible for about half of all rounds played in the U.S., and as they grow older and bask in the luxury of free time, they’re teeing it up even more.
What’s perplexing is that participation still is sliding. Since 2005, the total number of golfers has declined steadily, from 30 million to 27.1 million in 2009, according to the National Golf Foundation. Rounds played is trending the wrong way, too – off nearly 3 percent during the same period.
So, why isn’t golf reveling in its senior moment?
Because it’s suffering losses in another demographic that may prove far more vital: golfers ages 25-44.
In 1990, there were approximately 12.4 million golfers in that age group; by 2005, their ranks had fallen to 9.2 million – an alarming 26 percent drop. According to industry consultant Stuart Lindsay, who attributed the data to the National Sporting Goods Association, the fall-off bluntly underscores that golf isn’t appealing enough to the sweet spot of the U.S. population. He says the participation rate for that age group is about 20 percent lower today.
“All the boomers are doing is masking what’s really leaking in golf,” he says.
The situation is hurting golf, but the real pain likely is yet to come, considering the link between aging golfers and their increased frequency of play.
“Twenty years from now, there’ll be far less demand,” warns Lindsay, principal of Edgehill Golf Advisors, which conducts market research for golf courses and industry groups. “It could be catastrophic.”
Golf finds itself in this predicament for one main reason: In a day and age when free moments – let alone hours – are scarcer than ever, the game has become a time-sucking affair. Simply put, golf hasn’t adapted to sweeping societal changes, including the predominance of dual-income households. The increase in the number of married women in the workplace has redefined child-rearing and the division of household labor.
“Helicopter parenting” – hopping from one child’s activity to another – saps potential time on the links. And when these harried folks finally do get a chance to play, they’re quickly discouraged from going out again, thanks to five-hour-plus rounds.
Indeed, slow play is an epidemic. Blame it, in part, on developers’ desire to build tougher tracks: 70 percent of courses built in the U.S. between 1990 and 2006 had a slope rating of 125 or more. By comparison, the average U.S. slope rating has been hovering around 119.
It also hasn’t helped that golf’s biggest promoter perpetuates plodding. “We’ve depended way too much on the PGA Tour to market our product for us,” Lindsay says. “And frankly, all they do is market slow play.”
Much of golf’s woes are self-inflicted, and for years, industry leaders, acknowledging their mistakes, have pledged improvements – to make the game faster, family friendly, more affordable. But lip service won’t suffice anymore. Many of the proposed fixes actually work; it’s just a matter of copying those who already have put them in play.
For example, the Cincinnati Recreation Commission’s seven municipal courses in 2006 began a simple program: One paying adult entitles an accompanying junior to play for free. That means a parent and child can play nine holes during off-peak hours for $13.50.
“We started it to boost juniors, but we quickly realized it was allowing families to play together,” says Rob Higby, director of golf for the commission’s facilities, which are managed by Billy Casper Golf. The program has grown at an average rate of 26 percent annually since its inception.
Others are rethinking how golfers can consume 18 holes.
At Ka’anapali Golf Resort in Hawaii, guests can play “Golf My Way,” which enables them to enjoy a round in “portions” that best suit them. For example, they might play six holes at a time over three days. Such unconventional approaches likely won’t appeal to traditionalists. But that’s the point.
“If you do what you always did, you won’t even get what you always got,” says Scott Anderson, president of Kohler Co.’s Hospitality & Real Estate Group, which includes Whistling Straits.
That maxim should be heeded. Otherwise, there’s a chance that no one will be left to rescue golf.
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
The Only Interview Tip You'll Ever Need: Don't Pee in Your Soup
Great article by Donna Ferm. Enjoy!!
By Donna Fenn
November 3, 2010
Before last week, the last time I’d seen Larry O’Toole, he was carrying my favorite chair on his back, down a narrow staircase in a Beacon Street brownstone in Boston. I was moving. Or more accurately, O’Toole, then brawny and bearded, was moving me. That was 26 years ago, but I still remember what a pleasure he was to work with and how gently he treated my meager but precious possessions. O’Toole’s Somerville, MA-based company, Gentle Giant Moving, now racks up $25 million in revenue, and I’m betting that the thousands of customers he’s moved since I first met him have had similar experiences to mine. And that has a lot do with how O’Toole hires his staff, a subject he talked about last week at the Inc. Magazine and Winning Workplaces Leadership Conference.
“My grandfather told me that if you pee in your soup, it’s bloody hard to get it out,” says O’Toole, who frequently slips into an Irish brogue. The business lesson: if you hire the right people in the first place, you won’t have to worry about how to get rid of them later on. So O’Toole has a very unconventional, but highly effective, interview strategy. Anyone who wants a job as a mover at Gentle Giant must run the 37 sections of stands at Harvard Stadium - training exercise that the six foot six O’Toole regularly performed as a varsity rower at Northeastern University. Sure, he wants his movers to be fit, but there’s more to the stadium run than just a demonstration of physical prowess. “People reveal themselves at the stadium,” he says. Here’s what he’s looking for in job candidates:
Enthusiasm: “We tell them that after six to ten sections, your body is going to tell you to stop and that’s when you have to reach down deeper,” he says. “We don’t want quitters working for us, so it’s better to identify them there.”
Honesty: “They may try to skip a section and we’re looking for that,” says O’Toole. He wants to be sure he’s hiring movers who, for example, wouldn’t even consider keeping an envelope full of cash discovered on a moving job.
Positive attitude: “The stadium is great for identifying whiners,” says O’Toole. “When things get tough, you have to tackle it with humor, enthusiasm, and support for one another.” So while you may finish all 37 sections, if you’re a whiner, you won’t be invited to be a Gentle Giant.
O’Toole knows that his employees, who always run on a job when they’re not carrying something, are the key to differentiating his company in a commodity industry. If he spends time on recruiting, hiring, and training, then the customer service that the company is so famous for will essentially take care of itself. “We’re not just a moving company, we’re a leadership development company,” he says. “We always have people moving up so they can replace people who are leaving. We’re all about consistency.” Gentle Giant, by the way, was Winning Workplace’s Top Small Workplace in 2007.
While O’Toole certainly doesn’t recommend that every business owner put potential employees through their paces at the local stadium, he does feel strongly that all CEOs should come up with an interview challenge or test that will tease out the character traits that are most likely to lead to success on the job.
By Donna Fenn
November 3, 2010
Before last week, the last time I’d seen Larry O’Toole, he was carrying my favorite chair on his back, down a narrow staircase in a Beacon Street brownstone in Boston. I was moving. Or more accurately, O’Toole, then brawny and bearded, was moving me. That was 26 years ago, but I still remember what a pleasure he was to work with and how gently he treated my meager but precious possessions. O’Toole’s Somerville, MA-based company, Gentle Giant Moving, now racks up $25 million in revenue, and I’m betting that the thousands of customers he’s moved since I first met him have had similar experiences to mine. And that has a lot do with how O’Toole hires his staff, a subject he talked about last week at the Inc. Magazine and Winning Workplaces Leadership Conference.
“My grandfather told me that if you pee in your soup, it’s bloody hard to get it out,” says O’Toole, who frequently slips into an Irish brogue. The business lesson: if you hire the right people in the first place, you won’t have to worry about how to get rid of them later on. So O’Toole has a very unconventional, but highly effective, interview strategy. Anyone who wants a job as a mover at Gentle Giant must run the 37 sections of stands at Harvard Stadium - training exercise that the six foot six O’Toole regularly performed as a varsity rower at Northeastern University. Sure, he wants his movers to be fit, but there’s more to the stadium run than just a demonstration of physical prowess. “People reveal themselves at the stadium,” he says. Here’s what he’s looking for in job candidates:
Enthusiasm: “We tell them that after six to ten sections, your body is going to tell you to stop and that’s when you have to reach down deeper,” he says. “We don’t want quitters working for us, so it’s better to identify them there.”
Honesty: “They may try to skip a section and we’re looking for that,” says O’Toole. He wants to be sure he’s hiring movers who, for example, wouldn’t even consider keeping an envelope full of cash discovered on a moving job.
Positive attitude: “The stadium is great for identifying whiners,” says O’Toole. “When things get tough, you have to tackle it with humor, enthusiasm, and support for one another.” So while you may finish all 37 sections, if you’re a whiner, you won’t be invited to be a Gentle Giant.
O’Toole knows that his employees, who always run on a job when they’re not carrying something, are the key to differentiating his company in a commodity industry. If he spends time on recruiting, hiring, and training, then the customer service that the company is so famous for will essentially take care of itself. “We’re not just a moving company, we’re a leadership development company,” he says. “We always have people moving up so they can replace people who are leaving. We’re all about consistency.” Gentle Giant, by the way, was Winning Workplace’s Top Small Workplace in 2007.
While O’Toole certainly doesn’t recommend that every business owner put potential employees through their paces at the local stadium, he does feel strongly that all CEOs should come up with an interview challenge or test that will tease out the character traits that are most likely to lead to success on the job.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Being an Extraordinary Leader Through Tough and Challenging Times
Another great Leadership article by Chris. Enjoy!!
by Chris Widener
Tough and challenging times will surely come. That is a given. The question is what kind of leadership we will demonstrate during those time. Those who are weak leaders will see lasting damage done, if not see the organization fall apart completely. With Extraordinary Leaders at the helm, however, an organization can actually become stronger and thrive in spite of the tough and challenging times. That should be our goal so here are some idea on how to be an Extraordinary Leader in tough and challenging times!
1. Keep Your Eye on the Big Picture.
When things get tough, everybody’s temptation is to become acutely focused on the problem. The Extraordinary Leader, however, will keep his or her eye on the big picture. This doesn’t mean that we don’t address the problem. In fact, we have to address the problem. But what separates a leader from a follower is that the leader doesn’t get caught up in the problem. The leader sees the big picture and keeps moving toward the vision. The further they take their followers toward the vision, the further away from the problem they get.
2. Don't Get Caught in the War or the Friendly Fire.
When it gets tough even the most loyal team members can be tempted to start shooting and, unfortunately, they sometimes shoot each other! Rather than focusing on the enemy on the outside, they begin to question each other and find many faults with one another that they normally would not have seen. The Extraordinary Leader is the one who can keep from being drug into the fray. They keep their eye on the big picture and act rationally and objectively. They understand that people are heated and are saying things they don’t really mean. The people are firing because they are angry or scared. The Extraordinary Leader understands this and rises above it. This way, they take fewer arrows and they set the example for their followers.
3. Be First to Sacrifice.
When it gets tough, like when there has to be cuts in salaries etc, the leader should do just that - lead. They need to not only be the one who is rewarded the greatest when all is well, but they need to be the first to sacrifice. The Extraordinary leader says, “I know many of you are concerned with the salary cuts. I am too. In the long run we will be healthy again but for the mean time, this is necessary. Understanding this, I want you to know that I am taking a 20% pay reduction myself. I want you to know that we are in this together.” The Extraordinary Leader is the first to sacrifice and will be rewarded with the loyalty of his or her followers.
4. Remain Calm.
Panic is one of the basest of human emotions and no one is immune to it. The Extraordinary Leader, however, takes time out regularly to think the issues through so they can remain calm. They remind themselves that all is not lost and there will be another day. They remind themselves that being calm will enable them to make the best decisions - for themselves and for their followers. Panic only leads to disaster, while calm leads to victory.
5. Motivate.
In tough and challenging times, people are naturally down. They tend to be pessimistic. They can’t see how it is all going to work out. Thus, they have a hard time getting going. The Extraordinary Leader knows this and will focus in on being the optimistic motivator. He or she will come to the office knowing that for the time being, the mood of the group will be carried and buoyed by them and their attitude. Above all else, they seek to show how the end result will be good - and with this they motivate their followers to continue on, braving the current storms, and on to their shared destiny.
6. Create Small Wins.
One of the ways to motivate is to create small wins. The Extraordinary Leader knows that in tough times his or her people think that all is lost. They wonder if they can win. So the Extraordinary Leader creates opportunities for the team to win, even if they are small. They set smaller, more achievable goals and remind and reward the team members when they hit those goals. With each small win, the leader is building the esteem and attitude of his followers, digging them out of their self-created hole of fear.
7. Keep a Sense of Humor.
Look, hardly anything in life can’t be laughed at. The Extraordinary Leader knows that even if the whole company goes down the drain, we still go home to our families and live a life of love with them. The Extraordinary Leader keeps perspective and knows that we humans act irrationally when we get scared and fail, and sometimes that is humorous. Don’t ever laugh at someone’s expense in this situation, because that will be perceived at cold and heartless, regardless of what you meant by it, but do keep the ability to laugh at yourself and the situations that present themselves. By doing this you will keep yourself and your team in an attitude that will eventually beat the tough times.
by Chris Widener
Tough and challenging times will surely come. That is a given. The question is what kind of leadership we will demonstrate during those time. Those who are weak leaders will see lasting damage done, if not see the organization fall apart completely. With Extraordinary Leaders at the helm, however, an organization can actually become stronger and thrive in spite of the tough and challenging times. That should be our goal so here are some idea on how to be an Extraordinary Leader in tough and challenging times!
1. Keep Your Eye on the Big Picture.
When things get tough, everybody’s temptation is to become acutely focused on the problem. The Extraordinary Leader, however, will keep his or her eye on the big picture. This doesn’t mean that we don’t address the problem. In fact, we have to address the problem. But what separates a leader from a follower is that the leader doesn’t get caught up in the problem. The leader sees the big picture and keeps moving toward the vision. The further they take their followers toward the vision, the further away from the problem they get.
2. Don't Get Caught in the War or the Friendly Fire.
When it gets tough even the most loyal team members can be tempted to start shooting and, unfortunately, they sometimes shoot each other! Rather than focusing on the enemy on the outside, they begin to question each other and find many faults with one another that they normally would not have seen. The Extraordinary Leader is the one who can keep from being drug into the fray. They keep their eye on the big picture and act rationally and objectively. They understand that people are heated and are saying things they don’t really mean. The people are firing because they are angry or scared. The Extraordinary Leader understands this and rises above it. This way, they take fewer arrows and they set the example for their followers.
3. Be First to Sacrifice.
When it gets tough, like when there has to be cuts in salaries etc, the leader should do just that - lead. They need to not only be the one who is rewarded the greatest when all is well, but they need to be the first to sacrifice. The Extraordinary leader says, “I know many of you are concerned with the salary cuts. I am too. In the long run we will be healthy again but for the mean time, this is necessary. Understanding this, I want you to know that I am taking a 20% pay reduction myself. I want you to know that we are in this together.” The Extraordinary Leader is the first to sacrifice and will be rewarded with the loyalty of his or her followers.
4. Remain Calm.
Panic is one of the basest of human emotions and no one is immune to it. The Extraordinary Leader, however, takes time out regularly to think the issues through so they can remain calm. They remind themselves that all is not lost and there will be another day. They remind themselves that being calm will enable them to make the best decisions - for themselves and for their followers. Panic only leads to disaster, while calm leads to victory.
5. Motivate.
In tough and challenging times, people are naturally down. They tend to be pessimistic. They can’t see how it is all going to work out. Thus, they have a hard time getting going. The Extraordinary Leader knows this and will focus in on being the optimistic motivator. He or she will come to the office knowing that for the time being, the mood of the group will be carried and buoyed by them and their attitude. Above all else, they seek to show how the end result will be good - and with this they motivate their followers to continue on, braving the current storms, and on to their shared destiny.
6. Create Small Wins.
One of the ways to motivate is to create small wins. The Extraordinary Leader knows that in tough times his or her people think that all is lost. They wonder if they can win. So the Extraordinary Leader creates opportunities for the team to win, even if they are small. They set smaller, more achievable goals and remind and reward the team members when they hit those goals. With each small win, the leader is building the esteem and attitude of his followers, digging them out of their self-created hole of fear.
7. Keep a Sense of Humor.
Look, hardly anything in life can’t be laughed at. The Extraordinary Leader knows that even if the whole company goes down the drain, we still go home to our families and live a life of love with them. The Extraordinary Leader keeps perspective and knows that we humans act irrationally when we get scared and fail, and sometimes that is humorous. Don’t ever laugh at someone’s expense in this situation, because that will be perceived at cold and heartless, regardless of what you meant by it, but do keep the ability to laugh at yourself and the situations that present themselves. By doing this you will keep yourself and your team in an attitude that will eventually beat the tough times.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
When the Door of Opportunity Opens
Another great piece by Chris Widener. This is excellent!! Enjoy!!
Anybody can achieve anything. Do you believe that? I do.
But there is a caveat that must be made. Those who succeed are those who walk through the door of opportunity when it swings open. That we know. But what is the secret to getting through the door of opportunity?
Being outside the door when it swings open.
As the story goes, Frank Sinatra got his big break while working as a waiter. One day, as he was waiting tables, who does he see sitting in the restaurant, but one of the biggest names in the music industry. Old Blue Eyes did the unbelievable: He cleared off a table next to the gentleman and got up on it and sang! He knew he was done at the restaurant for doing so, but how many times would this door of opportunity open up? Needless to say, the rest is history.
You may remember my article about the stagehand for Kenny G who one day was in the auditorium with Kenny, just the two of them, when he started to play every song for him on the piano that was set up. Kenny didn’t even know the guy could play the piano. Guess who is now the lead keyboardist for Kenny G? You got it!
You see, you never know when the door of opportunity is going to open wide. For some, the big break comes early in life and for others later on. But for all of those who become successful, there is one key similarity: They were ready. And for every one of those who were ready, there were thousands more who weren’t.
So, the principle for us is: Be ready!
Are you ready? Here are some thoughts for you to consider.
Are your skills as sharp as they could be? Are they enough so when your shot comes you can perform?
Is your character deep enough to handle success? Let’s face it; you don’t want big success if your character won’t be able to handle it.
Are you working hard to position yourself now? The job to do while waiting for the door to open is to develop your skills and your character, so as to position yourself to get through that door before it closes.
Your door will open someday. It opens for everyone. It may only open once or it may open many times. It is different for everyone and life just isn’t fair that way. But everybody gets a shot. Will you be ready?
When that huge door of opportunity opens up, will you be able to walk boldly through it?
Do everything you can to be ready. Don’t just sit and wish and dream. Be proactive and make sure that you are the most qualified when the door opens. Make sure that you are the hardest worker. Make sure you are the closest to the door.
When it opens – Be Ready!
Shhh. Do you hear that? Hinges creaking! It is the sound of the door opening. Your door of opportunity! Are you ready?
Anybody can achieve anything. Do you believe that? I do.
But there is a caveat that must be made. Those who succeed are those who walk through the door of opportunity when it swings open. That we know. But what is the secret to getting through the door of opportunity?
Being outside the door when it swings open.
As the story goes, Frank Sinatra got his big break while working as a waiter. One day, as he was waiting tables, who does he see sitting in the restaurant, but one of the biggest names in the music industry. Old Blue Eyes did the unbelievable: He cleared off a table next to the gentleman and got up on it and sang! He knew he was done at the restaurant for doing so, but how many times would this door of opportunity open up? Needless to say, the rest is history.
You may remember my article about the stagehand for Kenny G who one day was in the auditorium with Kenny, just the two of them, when he started to play every song for him on the piano that was set up. Kenny didn’t even know the guy could play the piano. Guess who is now the lead keyboardist for Kenny G? You got it!
You see, you never know when the door of opportunity is going to open wide. For some, the big break comes early in life and for others later on. But for all of those who become successful, there is one key similarity: They were ready. And for every one of those who were ready, there were thousands more who weren’t.
So, the principle for us is: Be ready!
Are you ready? Here are some thoughts for you to consider.
Are your skills as sharp as they could be? Are they enough so when your shot comes you can perform?
Is your character deep enough to handle success? Let’s face it; you don’t want big success if your character won’t be able to handle it.
Are you working hard to position yourself now? The job to do while waiting for the door to open is to develop your skills and your character, so as to position yourself to get through that door before it closes.
Your door will open someday. It opens for everyone. It may only open once or it may open many times. It is different for everyone and life just isn’t fair that way. But everybody gets a shot. Will you be ready?
When that huge door of opportunity opens up, will you be able to walk boldly through it?
Do everything you can to be ready. Don’t just sit and wish and dream. Be proactive and make sure that you are the most qualified when the door opens. Make sure that you are the hardest worker. Make sure you are the closest to the door.
When it opens – Be Ready!
Shhh. Do you hear that? Hinges creaking! It is the sound of the door opening. Your door of opportunity! Are you ready?
Monday, October 25, 2010
10 Things That Good Bosses Do
A great article by Steve Tobak. Worth looking into.
By Steve Tobak
October 22, 2010
As we discovered in 7 Signs You May Be a Bad Manager, bosses aren’t usually aware that they are bad bosses. The fact is that nobody wants to believe they’re the problem. Nevertheless, there’s a bell curve for all things involving people, which means there are few really bad bosses, few really good bosses, and most of you fall somewhere in the middle.
To me that says, for the vast majority of you, there’s lots of room for improvement.
So, if you’re not exhibiting any of the 7 Signs, that’s great, pat yourself on the back. Still, if you really want to up your management game, maybe even vault into the executive or ownership ranks someday, you’d better start doing at least a few of these 10 Things That Good Bosses Do.
Incidentally, this isn’t from some academic study. These are real attributes of real bosses, culled from decades of observation, which motivate and inspire employees to perform at their best.
1. Pay people what they’re worth, not what you can get away with. What you lose in expense you gain back several-fold in performance.
2. Take the time to share your experiences and insights. Labels like mentor and coach are overused. Let’s be specific here. Employees learn from those generous enough to share their experiences and insights. They don’t need a best friend or a shoulder to cry on.
3. Tell it to employees straight, even when it’s bad news. To me, the single most important thing any boss can do is to man up and tell it to people straight. No BS, no sugarcoating, especially when it’s bad news or corrective feedback.
4. Manage up … effectively. Good bosses keep management off employee’s backs. Most people don’t get this, but the most important aspect of that is giving management what they need to do their jobs. That’s what keeps management away.
5. Take the heat and share the praise. It takes courage to take the heat and humility to share the praise. That comes naturally to great bosses; the rest of us have to pick it up as we go.
6. Delegate responsibility, not tasks. Every boss delegates, but the crappy ones think that means dumping tasks they hate on workers, i.e. s**t roles downhill. Good bosses delegate responsibility and hold people accountable. That’s fulfilling and fosters professional growth.
7. Encourage employees to hone their natural abilities and challenge them to overcome their issues. That’s called getting people to perform at their best.
8. Build team spirit. As we learned before, great groups outperform great individuals. And great leaders build great teams.
9. Treat employees the way they deserve to be treated. You always hear people say they deserve respect and to be treated as equals. Well, some may not want to hear this, but a) respect must be earned, and b) most workers are not their boss’s equals.
10. Inspire your people. All the above motivate people, but few bosses have the ability to truly inspire their employees. How? By sharing their passion for the business. By knowing just what to say and do at just the right time to take the edge off or turn a tough situation around. Genuine anecdotes help a lot. So does a good sense of humor.
All this adds up to an environment where people feel appreciated, recognized, challenged, and appropriately compensated. So what do you think? How do you measure up on the good boss scale?
By Steve Tobak
October 22, 2010
As we discovered in 7 Signs You May Be a Bad Manager, bosses aren’t usually aware that they are bad bosses. The fact is that nobody wants to believe they’re the problem. Nevertheless, there’s a bell curve for all things involving people, which means there are few really bad bosses, few really good bosses, and most of you fall somewhere in the middle.
To me that says, for the vast majority of you, there’s lots of room for improvement.
So, if you’re not exhibiting any of the 7 Signs, that’s great, pat yourself on the back. Still, if you really want to up your management game, maybe even vault into the executive or ownership ranks someday, you’d better start doing at least a few of these 10 Things That Good Bosses Do.
Incidentally, this isn’t from some academic study. These are real attributes of real bosses, culled from decades of observation, which motivate and inspire employees to perform at their best.
1. Pay people what they’re worth, not what you can get away with. What you lose in expense you gain back several-fold in performance.
2. Take the time to share your experiences and insights. Labels like mentor and coach are overused. Let’s be specific here. Employees learn from those generous enough to share their experiences and insights. They don’t need a best friend or a shoulder to cry on.
3. Tell it to employees straight, even when it’s bad news. To me, the single most important thing any boss can do is to man up and tell it to people straight. No BS, no sugarcoating, especially when it’s bad news or corrective feedback.
4. Manage up … effectively. Good bosses keep management off employee’s backs. Most people don’t get this, but the most important aspect of that is giving management what they need to do their jobs. That’s what keeps management away.
5. Take the heat and share the praise. It takes courage to take the heat and humility to share the praise. That comes naturally to great bosses; the rest of us have to pick it up as we go.
6. Delegate responsibility, not tasks. Every boss delegates, but the crappy ones think that means dumping tasks they hate on workers, i.e. s**t roles downhill. Good bosses delegate responsibility and hold people accountable. That’s fulfilling and fosters professional growth.
7. Encourage employees to hone their natural abilities and challenge them to overcome their issues. That’s called getting people to perform at their best.
8. Build team spirit. As we learned before, great groups outperform great individuals. And great leaders build great teams.
9. Treat employees the way they deserve to be treated. You always hear people say they deserve respect and to be treated as equals. Well, some may not want to hear this, but a) respect must be earned, and b) most workers are not their boss’s equals.
10. Inspire your people. All the above motivate people, but few bosses have the ability to truly inspire their employees. How? By sharing their passion for the business. By knowing just what to say and do at just the right time to take the edge off or turn a tough situation around. Genuine anecdotes help a lot. So does a good sense of humor.
All this adds up to an environment where people feel appreciated, recognized, challenged, and appropriately compensated. So what do you think? How do you measure up on the good boss scale?
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Five Ingredients of Personal Growth
Another great article by John C. Maxwell. Enjoy!!
As any farmer knows, the growth of a crop only happens when the right ingredients are present. To harvest plentiful fields, the farmer has to begin by planting the right seed in rich topsoil where sunlight and water can help the seed to sprout, mature, and bear fruit. If any of the ingredients (seeds, topsoil, sunlight, or water) are missing, the crop won't grow.
Growing as a leader also requires the proper ingredients. Unless the right attitudes and actions are cultivated an aspiring leader will sputter and fail rather than growing in influence. Let's look at five basic qualities essential for growth in leadership.
1) Teachability
Arrogance crowds out room for improvement. That's why humility is the starting point for personal growth. As Erwin G. Hall said, "An open mind is the beginning of self-discovery and growth. We can't learn anything new until we can admit that we don't already know everything."
Adopting a beginner's mindset helps you to be teachable. Beginners are aware that they don't know it all, and they proceed accordingly. As a general rule, they're open and humble, noticeably lacking in the rigidity that often accompanies experience and achievement. It's easy enough to have a beginner's mind when you're actually a beginner, but maintaining teachability gets trickier in the long term especially when you've already achieved some degree of success.
2) Sacrifice
Growth as a leader involves temporary loss. It may mean giving up familiar but limiting patterns, safe but unrewarding work, values no longer believed in, or relationships that have lost their meaning. Whatever the case, everything we gain in life comes as a result of sacrificing something else. We must give up to go up.
3) Security
To keep learning throughout life, you have to be willing, no matter what your position is, to say, "I don't know." It can be hard for executives to admit lacking knowledge because they feel as if everyone is looking to them for direction, and they don't want to let people down their people. However, followers aren't searching for perfection in their leaders. They're looking for an honest, authentic, and courageous leader who, regardless of the obstacles facing the organization, won't rest until the problem is solved.
It took me seven years to hit my stride as a communicator. During those seven years I gave some boring speeches, and I felt discouraged at times. However, I was secure enough to keep taking the stage and honing my communication skills until I could connect with an audience. Had I been insecure, then the negative evaluations of others would have sealed my fate and I never would have excelled in my career.
4) Listening
Listen, learn, and ask questions from somebody successful who has gone on before you. Borrow from their experiences so that you can avoid their mistakes and emulate their triumphs. Solicit feedback and take to heart what you're told. The criticism of friends may seem bitter in the short-term but, when heeded, it can save you from falling victim to your blind spots.
5) Application
Knowledge has a limited shelf life. Unless used immediately or carefully preserved, it spoils and becomes worthless. Put the lessons you learn into practice so that your insights mature into understanding.
As any farmer knows, the growth of a crop only happens when the right ingredients are present. To harvest plentiful fields, the farmer has to begin by planting the right seed in rich topsoil where sunlight and water can help the seed to sprout, mature, and bear fruit. If any of the ingredients (seeds, topsoil, sunlight, or water) are missing, the crop won't grow.
Growing as a leader also requires the proper ingredients. Unless the right attitudes and actions are cultivated an aspiring leader will sputter and fail rather than growing in influence. Let's look at five basic qualities essential for growth in leadership.
1) Teachability
Arrogance crowds out room for improvement. That's why humility is the starting point for personal growth. As Erwin G. Hall said, "An open mind is the beginning of self-discovery and growth. We can't learn anything new until we can admit that we don't already know everything."
Adopting a beginner's mindset helps you to be teachable. Beginners are aware that they don't know it all, and they proceed accordingly. As a general rule, they're open and humble, noticeably lacking in the rigidity that often accompanies experience and achievement. It's easy enough to have a beginner's mind when you're actually a beginner, but maintaining teachability gets trickier in the long term especially when you've already achieved some degree of success.
2) Sacrifice
Growth as a leader involves temporary loss. It may mean giving up familiar but limiting patterns, safe but unrewarding work, values no longer believed in, or relationships that have lost their meaning. Whatever the case, everything we gain in life comes as a result of sacrificing something else. We must give up to go up.
3) Security
To keep learning throughout life, you have to be willing, no matter what your position is, to say, "I don't know." It can be hard for executives to admit lacking knowledge because they feel as if everyone is looking to them for direction, and they don't want to let people down their people. However, followers aren't searching for perfection in their leaders. They're looking for an honest, authentic, and courageous leader who, regardless of the obstacles facing the organization, won't rest until the problem is solved.
It took me seven years to hit my stride as a communicator. During those seven years I gave some boring speeches, and I felt discouraged at times. However, I was secure enough to keep taking the stage and honing my communication skills until I could connect with an audience. Had I been insecure, then the negative evaluations of others would have sealed my fate and I never would have excelled in my career.
4) Listening
Listen, learn, and ask questions from somebody successful who has gone on before you. Borrow from their experiences so that you can avoid their mistakes and emulate their triumphs. Solicit feedback and take to heart what you're told. The criticism of friends may seem bitter in the short-term but, when heeded, it can save you from falling victim to your blind spots.
5) Application
Knowledge has a limited shelf life. Unless used immediately or carefully preserved, it spoils and becomes worthless. Put the lessons you learn into practice so that your insights mature into understanding.
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