“The business of business is people.”
Herb Kelleher
Retired CEO & Founder Southwest Airlines
I’ve Been Thinking . . . about something a lot of companies talk about – people.
We’ve all heard the company mantras like:
“People are our priority.”
“We can’t do it without our people.”
“People are what really matter.”
“(Add your own favorite).”
Sometimes actions are not necessarily consistent with proclamations. Herb Kelleher is right, “The business of people is people.”
One of my favorite scenes in the Academy Award-winning film As Good As It Gets, is where Carol (portrayed by actress Helen Hunt) becomes so infuriated with Melvin (portrayed by actor Jack Nicholson) that she finally gets up from the restaurant table and is ready to leave. Melvin looks at her quizzically and quite stunned. He doesn’t have a clue that he just insulted her. He asks her to sit down; she obliges and responds, “Melvin, pay me a compliment. I need one and quick. You have no idea how much what you just said hurt my feelings.”
Melvin is paralyzed. He mutters something and Carol lets him know that it’s not even close to a compliment. She demands, “Now or never!” Melvin pauses for a moment, goes into a confusing description of his ailment and then ends his disjointed comments with: “You make me want to be a better man.”
Shocked, Carol responds: “I think this is about the best compliment of my life.”
In my heart, I believe there is nothing more important than people. The way we see people. The way we interact with people. The way we lead people. And, our attitude about people’s abilities, motivation and potential. Like Melvin, people are grateful for leaders who help them grow, develop, blossom. . . become better people.
As Walt Disney said, “You can dream, create, design, and build the most wonderful place in the world . . . but it requires people to make the dream a reality.” Every day leaders have the privilege of looking for lives to change, hearts to encourage and minds to stimulate so they can make dreams a reality.
Leaders possess the incredible opportunity to touch people’s lives. Every day, in some way, we can add value to people and impact their effectiveness. It all begins with our willingness to “hemorrhage” our energies into making a difference in people’s lives. Dynamic leaders have an open mind and big heart that continually look for the absolute best in other people. Our highest honor is to instigate and nurture the growth of our people.
Peter Drucker would support this leadership tenet. He observed, “Leadership is the lifting of a man’s vision to a higher sight, the raising of a man’s performance to a higher standard, the building of a man’s personality beyond its normal limitations.”
People know when an organization values them. People know when a supervisor has their back. People know when teams are created to cooperatively achieve uncommon results. People know when a leader believes in them. People know when someone wants to help make them a better person. It is the ultimate compliment.
That is what business is all about.
“The growth and development of people is the highest calling of a leader.”
Dale Galloway
Monday, April 25, 2011
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Get It Right The First Time
“The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate.”
Oprah Winfrey
I’ve Been Thinking . . . about how many things in life I take for granted. I fear the list of precious, promising, positive, pertinent overlooked good things in my life would be embarrassing.
After being diagnosed with terminal cancer, 47-year-old Randy Pausch returned to Carnegie Mellon University, where he taught computer science, to deliver a final lecture to colleagues. The professor hoped 150 people might show up. Instead, the 400 seat lecture auditorium was filled.
Randy Pausch’s “last lecture” was delivered in September 2007. The lecture began with him standing before a screen beaming down chilling CT images of tumors in his liver, under the title. . . The Elephant in the Room. He then stunned the audience with this announcement: “I have about six months to live. I’m in really good shape, probably better shape than most of you.” He then dropped to the floor to do push-ups.
Randy opened his heart to the audience in a humorous, insightful, and emotion packed farewell that was more focused on living than on his imminent death. He told his colleagues and students, “I’m dying and I’m having fun, and I’m going to keep having fun every day I have left.”
Within weeks, his videotaped lecture was seen by millions on the Internet and later became the material for a bestselling book. Randy Pausch was a dying man who taught those who listened how to live. Hi died on July 25, 2008 but his legacy, wisdom, wonderful outlook on life and passion remain a living inspiration to us all.
Isn’t it amazing how those facing death have an unusually clear perspective on what is truly important in life?
What about us?
What’s going right in your life today? What are you thankful for? What are you celebrating? What have you done to make this day the best one you’ve had in a long time? What relationships are blessing your life? Do you enjoy your work? Your coworkers (have you told them?)
You might have to look around – search a bit to find all of your blessings. I’m convinced there will be some you’ve overlooked since we have countless things in our lives to be thankful for. Here’s a practical example from my life.
In January 2009 and few couples traveled to New York City for our first time. We had a delightful long weekend celebrating the 60th birthday of a friend while seeing the sights and enjoying the sounds of the city. We boarded a flight at LaGuardia late Sunday afternoon and returned to Omaha with only minor glitches and delays in our travel.
A few weeks later, 155 people on US Airways Flight 1549 thought they were going to die. During takeoff from LaGuardia, their plane struck geese, disabling both engines. In a powerless glide, the captain miraculously maneuvered over the densely populated areas and then announced: “Brace yourself for impact.”
Less than 90 seconds later the disabled jet made a water landing in the frigid Hudson River. Boats and ferries quickly arrived to rescue the passengers and crew. Everyone survived. People appropriately named it the “miracle on the Hudson” and praised the pilot and crew.
During an interview, one passenger simply said, “We have a second chance in life.”
I was much more thankful in retrospect for our uneventful takeoff, flight and landing just a few weeks earlier. I normally take those safe flights for granted. Not anymore. I too was given a ‘second chance’ in life . . . without the drama of a landing in the Hudson River.
Several years ago actor Bill Murray starred in a movie called Ground Hog Day. In this comedy he had to keep re-living a particular day all over again until things came out right.
I’ve never been given the chance to relive a day in my life. If I had to do a day over again, I ‘m certain I wouldn’t take for granted everything I had the day before – or least I think I have enough common sense not to mess it up two days in a row – or maybe not.
Get it right the first time. We don’t get a chance to do it over again.
“It ain’t no sin to be glad you’re alive.”
Bruce Springstein
Oprah Winfrey
I’ve Been Thinking . . . about how many things in life I take for granted. I fear the list of precious, promising, positive, pertinent overlooked good things in my life would be embarrassing.
After being diagnosed with terminal cancer, 47-year-old Randy Pausch returned to Carnegie Mellon University, where he taught computer science, to deliver a final lecture to colleagues. The professor hoped 150 people might show up. Instead, the 400 seat lecture auditorium was filled.
Randy Pausch’s “last lecture” was delivered in September 2007. The lecture began with him standing before a screen beaming down chilling CT images of tumors in his liver, under the title. . . The Elephant in the Room. He then stunned the audience with this announcement: “I have about six months to live. I’m in really good shape, probably better shape than most of you.” He then dropped to the floor to do push-ups.
Randy opened his heart to the audience in a humorous, insightful, and emotion packed farewell that was more focused on living than on his imminent death. He told his colleagues and students, “I’m dying and I’m having fun, and I’m going to keep having fun every day I have left.”
Within weeks, his videotaped lecture was seen by millions on the Internet and later became the material for a bestselling book. Randy Pausch was a dying man who taught those who listened how to live. Hi died on July 25, 2008 but his legacy, wisdom, wonderful outlook on life and passion remain a living inspiration to us all.
Isn’t it amazing how those facing death have an unusually clear perspective on what is truly important in life?
What about us?
What’s going right in your life today? What are you thankful for? What are you celebrating? What have you done to make this day the best one you’ve had in a long time? What relationships are blessing your life? Do you enjoy your work? Your coworkers (have you told them?)
You might have to look around – search a bit to find all of your blessings. I’m convinced there will be some you’ve overlooked since we have countless things in our lives to be thankful for. Here’s a practical example from my life.
In January 2009 and few couples traveled to New York City for our first time. We had a delightful long weekend celebrating the 60th birthday of a friend while seeing the sights and enjoying the sounds of the city. We boarded a flight at LaGuardia late Sunday afternoon and returned to Omaha with only minor glitches and delays in our travel.
A few weeks later, 155 people on US Airways Flight 1549 thought they were going to die. During takeoff from LaGuardia, their plane struck geese, disabling both engines. In a powerless glide, the captain miraculously maneuvered over the densely populated areas and then announced: “Brace yourself for impact.”
Less than 90 seconds later the disabled jet made a water landing in the frigid Hudson River. Boats and ferries quickly arrived to rescue the passengers and crew. Everyone survived. People appropriately named it the “miracle on the Hudson” and praised the pilot and crew.
During an interview, one passenger simply said, “We have a second chance in life.”
I was much more thankful in retrospect for our uneventful takeoff, flight and landing just a few weeks earlier. I normally take those safe flights for granted. Not anymore. I too was given a ‘second chance’ in life . . . without the drama of a landing in the Hudson River.
Several years ago actor Bill Murray starred in a movie called Ground Hog Day. In this comedy he had to keep re-living a particular day all over again until things came out right.
I’ve never been given the chance to relive a day in my life. If I had to do a day over again, I ‘m certain I wouldn’t take for granted everything I had the day before – or least I think I have enough common sense not to mess it up two days in a row – or maybe not.
Get it right the first time. We don’t get a chance to do it over again.
“It ain’t no sin to be glad you’re alive.”
Bruce Springstein
Friday, April 8, 2011
Yes, I Can
A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort.
Herm Albright
I’ve Been Thinking. . . how much I enjoy working with people who have a ‘Yes, I Can’ attitude.
A man joined a monastery of Trappist monks, where, in addition to the vows of celibacy and poverty, he was required to take a vow of silence. The Monastery allowed him to speak two words a year.
At the conclusion of his first year, he was asked by his superiors what he had to say. The amateur monk responded: “Food cold!”
He was thanked for his comments and the man retreated for another year of prayer and meditation.
Two years after his arrival the aspiring monk was once again escorted to his senior monk who greeted him and asked what he would like to share this year.
The man replied: “Bed hard!”
Once again, he reentered his silent world.
By the end of the third year, the monk was familiar with the process. He made his way into the meditative quarters of his superiors who repeated the anticipated process.
“It has been three years, what is on your mind this year?”
The man adamantly responded, “I Quit!”
His superior responded, “Your decision doesn’t surprise us; after all, for the last three years you’ve done nothing but complain.”
Let it be known the world is full of people who complain, complain, complain. You probably already knew that. You know those people who only feel good when they feel bad; they only have something to say when it is negative, or are only happy when they are unhappy. They are all around us.
I prefer to emulate the attitude and spirit displayed in this story. In his book Go For The Magic, Pat Williams recounts a story told by St. Louis sportswriter Bob Broeg about baseball Hall of Fame player Stan Musial, who was known as one of the game’s most consistent players.
One day when Musial was playing for the St. Louis Cardinals, a teammate came into the clubhouse whistling. He turned to Stan and said, “I feel great. My home life is happy. I’m in a groove. I feel like I’m going to get two hits today. Ever feel like that, Stan?”
Smiling, Musial looked at him and said, “Every day!”
We all know that anyone, no matter how good the circumstances are can find a reason to have a negative attitude. And everyone, no matter how bad the circumstances are, can find a way to maintain a good attitude. It is simply a choice!
One of my favorite authors, Chuck Swindoll, explains in his book Laugh Again that when Mother Teresa was asked the requirements for people assisting in her work with the destitute in Calcutta, she cited two things; the desire to work hard and a joyful attitude. If someone could be expected to be joyful among the dying and the poorest of the poor, then certainly we can do the same in our situation.
Several things on a team are not contagious. Talent. Experience. Willingness to practice. But we can be sure of one thing: Attitude is catching.
What does a “Yes, I Can” person look like? They. . .
* Possess an unwavering passion for what they do
* Love what they do
* Have a high energy level
* Display a “How can I make it happen?” mentality
* Never use the words – “It’s not my job.”
* Always look for a better way.
* Look for the best in every situation
* Leave every situation better than they found it
“Yes, I Can” people display a visual love for what they do which generates passion and sustains a high energy level. “Yes, I Can” people never worry about burning out. They are more concerned about rusting out.
No matter how small or large the task, “Yes I Can” people pitch in. Try it for a week. Approach every situation with a “Yes, I Can” mentality. If you don’t experience increased energy, passion and satisfaction --- you’ll make a great laboratory experiment.
Dr. William Glasser maintained, “If you want to change attitudes, start with a change in behavior. In other words, begin to act the part, as well as you can, of the person you would rather be, the person you most want to become. Gradually, the old, fearful person will fade away.” Give it a try. See if a heightened sense of expectations and behaviors result.
“Yes, you can!”
Wake up with a smile and go after life….Live it, enjoy it, taste it, smell it, feel it.
Joe Knapp
Herm Albright
I’ve Been Thinking. . . how much I enjoy working with people who have a ‘Yes, I Can’ attitude.
A man joined a monastery of Trappist monks, where, in addition to the vows of celibacy and poverty, he was required to take a vow of silence. The Monastery allowed him to speak two words a year.
At the conclusion of his first year, he was asked by his superiors what he had to say. The amateur monk responded: “Food cold!”
He was thanked for his comments and the man retreated for another year of prayer and meditation.
Two years after his arrival the aspiring monk was once again escorted to his senior monk who greeted him and asked what he would like to share this year.
The man replied: “Bed hard!”
Once again, he reentered his silent world.
By the end of the third year, the monk was familiar with the process. He made his way into the meditative quarters of his superiors who repeated the anticipated process.
“It has been three years, what is on your mind this year?”
The man adamantly responded, “I Quit!”
His superior responded, “Your decision doesn’t surprise us; after all, for the last three years you’ve done nothing but complain.”
Let it be known the world is full of people who complain, complain, complain. You probably already knew that. You know those people who only feel good when they feel bad; they only have something to say when it is negative, or are only happy when they are unhappy. They are all around us.
I prefer to emulate the attitude and spirit displayed in this story. In his book Go For The Magic, Pat Williams recounts a story told by St. Louis sportswriter Bob Broeg about baseball Hall of Fame player Stan Musial, who was known as one of the game’s most consistent players.
One day when Musial was playing for the St. Louis Cardinals, a teammate came into the clubhouse whistling. He turned to Stan and said, “I feel great. My home life is happy. I’m in a groove. I feel like I’m going to get two hits today. Ever feel like that, Stan?”
Smiling, Musial looked at him and said, “Every day!”
We all know that anyone, no matter how good the circumstances are can find a reason to have a negative attitude. And everyone, no matter how bad the circumstances are, can find a way to maintain a good attitude. It is simply a choice!
One of my favorite authors, Chuck Swindoll, explains in his book Laugh Again that when Mother Teresa was asked the requirements for people assisting in her work with the destitute in Calcutta, she cited two things; the desire to work hard and a joyful attitude. If someone could be expected to be joyful among the dying and the poorest of the poor, then certainly we can do the same in our situation.
Several things on a team are not contagious. Talent. Experience. Willingness to practice. But we can be sure of one thing: Attitude is catching.
What does a “Yes, I Can” person look like? They. . .
* Possess an unwavering passion for what they do
* Love what they do
* Have a high energy level
* Display a “How can I make it happen?” mentality
* Never use the words – “It’s not my job.”
* Always look for a better way.
* Look for the best in every situation
* Leave every situation better than they found it
“Yes, I Can” people display a visual love for what they do which generates passion and sustains a high energy level. “Yes, I Can” people never worry about burning out. They are more concerned about rusting out.
No matter how small or large the task, “Yes I Can” people pitch in. Try it for a week. Approach every situation with a “Yes, I Can” mentality. If you don’t experience increased energy, passion and satisfaction --- you’ll make a great laboratory experiment.
Dr. William Glasser maintained, “If you want to change attitudes, start with a change in behavior. In other words, begin to act the part, as well as you can, of the person you would rather be, the person you most want to become. Gradually, the old, fearful person will fade away.” Give it a try. See if a heightened sense of expectations and behaviors result.
“Yes, you can!”
Wake up with a smile and go after life….Live it, enjoy it, taste it, smell it, feel it.
Joe Knapp
Friday, April 1, 2011
What you don’t know cannot stop you from doing what you have never done.
Bill Dallas
Lessons from San Quentin
“I’ve Been Thinking. . . about the last time I had a revolutionary idea. Unfortunately, I’m still thinking. . .
The janitor at the elegant El Cortez Hotel in San Diego had a revolutionary idea. The management determined their single elevator was no longer sufficient for efficiently getting guests to their rooms or lobby. Engineers and architects were consulted to determine the best strategy for constructing another elevator.
They proposed cutting a hole in each floor from the basement to the top of the hotel. As they discussed the details of their plan, a hotel janitor overheard the conversation.
“That’s going to make quite a mess,” the janitor said to the experts. “Plaster, dust and debris will be everywhere.”
One of the engineers assured him it would work out fine because they were planning to close the hotel while the work was being completed.
“That’s going to cost the hotel a healthy amount of money,” the janitor responded, “and there will be a lot of people out of jobs until the project is completed.”
“Do you have a better idea?” one architect asked.
Leaning on his mop, the janitor pondered the architect’s challenge and then suggested, “Well, why don’t you build the elevator on the outside of the hotel.”
Looking at each other in amazement, the architects and engineers responded: “That’s never been done before. . .let’s do it.”
Hence the El Cortez became the originator of a popular architectural procedure. That’s revolutionary thinking! That janitor was willing to “stir up” the normal thinking and challenge the experts to look at the situation from an unconventional point of view.
I love it! In fact we should build a phrase into everyone’s job description.
When asked: “What do you do here?”
People could respond: “I ‘stir up’ the status quo.”
Organizations would benefit from a Coordinator of Stirring Things Up. . . challenging, stirring, experimenting, and modifying every blindly accepted way of doing things.
Actually every person inside an organization is perfectly positioned to stir something up. It’s not about the position.
In reality, our ultimate choice is to stir things up or be stirred. Be the stirrer or the stirred.
Warning Label “Never allow the stirred to return to its original state.” Make sure it is better. Even if what you do is good – make good better and better and keep stirring.
The world’s expectations are ever increasing. We’ve grown accustomed to speed, accuracy, even pretty. Seek a new level of quality – magnificent, remarkable, splendid . . . ah yes, even world class.
People don’t pay a premium for average. Mediocrity is so. . . mediocre. Yet, so few companies have committed to offering the remarkable.
Blow the top off! Stir it up. Don’t just dare to dream about excellence. Instigate. Initiate. Invent. Become the programmer. Fix the broken and more importantly, reinvent the mediocre.
Take a simple task you perform over and over every day. You could do it in your sleep. Has it become mundane? Are the results normally the same? Does it require little or no imagination on your part – not to mention initiative?
Stir it up!
Too many people suffer from initiativitis – an aversion to taking initiative. Fear. Lack of time. Comfortable. Not enough pay. Not my job. Have a hangnail. All are excuses leading to initiativitis.
Whatever the excuses – flush it!
Become the initiator of initiatives that initiates innovative initiatives on your team.
I took a typing class as a junior in high school. Some of you have never seen one of these – we typed on a manual typewriter. When I achieved “50” words per minute with no more than three errors on our weekly typing test, I got to use the electric typewriter once a week. In college I had my very own portable electric typewriter. Then, someone invented the word processor, the computer keyboard and now I can do it all on my phone if I so desire.
The typewriter is officially antiquated, defunct, extinct.
Ev and Twitter had no clue how successful they could be by stirring things up. People didn’t get it at first. How do you make money twitting people? And then it happened, word spread and Twitter became the fastest growing communication’s tool in history. They broke the mold. . .
Thank goodness for initiators, innovators, stirrers.
What part of your job could you make extinct because you are willing to stir up the status quo? Don’t wait for a job description, rule, process or permission -- initiators write their own.
I love the sign that hung in Thomas Edison’s lab that read: “There ain’t no rules around here. We’re trying to accomplish something.”
What about failures or criticism or skepticism? What if I flounder or make mistakes? I will personally guarantee you every one of those things will happen if you stir up the status quo. So what!
If you have the chance to create a map that leads your team to new levels of excellence – a world class treasure, wouldn’t it be worth a little nuisance? Posture yourself to stir it up knowing there is no fail-safe recipe. Resist the internal dialogue that allows you to rationalize all the reasons why you shouldn’t take the risk to stir it up. Argue with that logic.
Thank goodness Jack Vetter was willing to challenge the odds when he decided to stir up the long term care profession with his commitment to quality. We continue that quest today as we strive to become a world class company who provides unequalled senior care.
Do we make mistakes? Many. Criticism? You bet. Skeptics? Oh my –plenty. Misunderstood? Without a doubt. Worth it? Absolutely.
Think about how many things, experiences, and processes have been standardized in our lives. That’s not all bad – except when we’ve been brainwashed to believe they have to stay that way or never be evaluated. Creativity and her sister innovation dies with unchallenged routines.
Constantly challenge assumptions, comfort and complacency.
Start asking – What about? What if? Could there be?
Then, start tinkering, doing, experimenting -- take action. Get ready for some surprising, exciting adventures and unexpected results.
All of this “stir it up” stuff hinges on relentlessly avoiding the ever so popular ‘let’s get comfortable and coast’ mentality. Instead, set out to do something audacious, revolutionary, even ridiculous . . . one small, tiny step at a time.
If you don’t make things happen, then things will happen to you.
Robert Collier
The Secret of the Ages
Bill Dallas
Lessons from San Quentin
“I’ve Been Thinking. . . about the last time I had a revolutionary idea. Unfortunately, I’m still thinking. . .
The janitor at the elegant El Cortez Hotel in San Diego had a revolutionary idea. The management determined their single elevator was no longer sufficient for efficiently getting guests to their rooms or lobby. Engineers and architects were consulted to determine the best strategy for constructing another elevator.
They proposed cutting a hole in each floor from the basement to the top of the hotel. As they discussed the details of their plan, a hotel janitor overheard the conversation.
“That’s going to make quite a mess,” the janitor said to the experts. “Plaster, dust and debris will be everywhere.”
One of the engineers assured him it would work out fine because they were planning to close the hotel while the work was being completed.
“That’s going to cost the hotel a healthy amount of money,” the janitor responded, “and there will be a lot of people out of jobs until the project is completed.”
“Do you have a better idea?” one architect asked.
Leaning on his mop, the janitor pondered the architect’s challenge and then suggested, “Well, why don’t you build the elevator on the outside of the hotel.”
Looking at each other in amazement, the architects and engineers responded: “That’s never been done before. . .let’s do it.”
Hence the El Cortez became the originator of a popular architectural procedure. That’s revolutionary thinking! That janitor was willing to “stir up” the normal thinking and challenge the experts to look at the situation from an unconventional point of view.
I love it! In fact we should build a phrase into everyone’s job description.
When asked: “What do you do here?”
People could respond: “I ‘stir up’ the status quo.”
Organizations would benefit from a Coordinator of Stirring Things Up. . . challenging, stirring, experimenting, and modifying every blindly accepted way of doing things.
Actually every person inside an organization is perfectly positioned to stir something up. It’s not about the position.
In reality, our ultimate choice is to stir things up or be stirred. Be the stirrer or the stirred.
Warning Label “Never allow the stirred to return to its original state.” Make sure it is better. Even if what you do is good – make good better and better and keep stirring.
The world’s expectations are ever increasing. We’ve grown accustomed to speed, accuracy, even pretty. Seek a new level of quality – magnificent, remarkable, splendid . . . ah yes, even world class.
People don’t pay a premium for average. Mediocrity is so. . . mediocre. Yet, so few companies have committed to offering the remarkable.
Blow the top off! Stir it up. Don’t just dare to dream about excellence. Instigate. Initiate. Invent. Become the programmer. Fix the broken and more importantly, reinvent the mediocre.
Take a simple task you perform over and over every day. You could do it in your sleep. Has it become mundane? Are the results normally the same? Does it require little or no imagination on your part – not to mention initiative?
Stir it up!
Too many people suffer from initiativitis – an aversion to taking initiative. Fear. Lack of time. Comfortable. Not enough pay. Not my job. Have a hangnail. All are excuses leading to initiativitis.
Whatever the excuses – flush it!
Become the initiator of initiatives that initiates innovative initiatives on your team.
I took a typing class as a junior in high school. Some of you have never seen one of these – we typed on a manual typewriter. When I achieved “50” words per minute with no more than three errors on our weekly typing test, I got to use the electric typewriter once a week. In college I had my very own portable electric typewriter. Then, someone invented the word processor, the computer keyboard and now I can do it all on my phone if I so desire.
The typewriter is officially antiquated, defunct, extinct.
Ev and Twitter had no clue how successful they could be by stirring things up. People didn’t get it at first. How do you make money twitting people? And then it happened, word spread and Twitter became the fastest growing communication’s tool in history. They broke the mold. . .
Thank goodness for initiators, innovators, stirrers.
What part of your job could you make extinct because you are willing to stir up the status quo? Don’t wait for a job description, rule, process or permission -- initiators write their own.
I love the sign that hung in Thomas Edison’s lab that read: “There ain’t no rules around here. We’re trying to accomplish something.”
What about failures or criticism or skepticism? What if I flounder or make mistakes? I will personally guarantee you every one of those things will happen if you stir up the status quo. So what!
If you have the chance to create a map that leads your team to new levels of excellence – a world class treasure, wouldn’t it be worth a little nuisance? Posture yourself to stir it up knowing there is no fail-safe recipe. Resist the internal dialogue that allows you to rationalize all the reasons why you shouldn’t take the risk to stir it up. Argue with that logic.
Thank goodness Jack Vetter was willing to challenge the odds when he decided to stir up the long term care profession with his commitment to quality. We continue that quest today as we strive to become a world class company who provides unequalled senior care.
Do we make mistakes? Many. Criticism? You bet. Skeptics? Oh my –plenty. Misunderstood? Without a doubt. Worth it? Absolutely.
Think about how many things, experiences, and processes have been standardized in our lives. That’s not all bad – except when we’ve been brainwashed to believe they have to stay that way or never be evaluated. Creativity and her sister innovation dies with unchallenged routines.
Constantly challenge assumptions, comfort and complacency.
Start asking – What about? What if? Could there be?
Then, start tinkering, doing, experimenting -- take action. Get ready for some surprising, exciting adventures and unexpected results.
All of this “stir it up” stuff hinges on relentlessly avoiding the ever so popular ‘let’s get comfortable and coast’ mentality. Instead, set out to do something audacious, revolutionary, even ridiculous . . . one small, tiny step at a time.
If you don’t make things happen, then things will happen to you.
Robert Collier
The Secret of the Ages
Monday, March 14, 2011
Catch a Vision of What Could Be
“Good business leaders create vision, articulate the vision, passionately own the vision, and relentlessly drive it to completion.”
Jack Welch
I’ve Been Thinking . . . about what a picture of a World Class Company looks like. If a picture is worth a thousand words, achieving a clear vision of World Class might be priceless.
The movie Dead Poets Society is the story of a professor, John Keating, played by Robin Williams, who teaches at a conservative prep school for boys. In his unorthodox teaching style, Keating teaches the boys far more than his assigned English curriculum.
Keating’s outrageous examples and teaching style inspires these young men to change their lives. In one particular uncustomary classroom scene, Keating stands on a desk to demonstrate the importance of having a “higher view” of the world – a view far different than the one they cultivate sitting in chairs in a traditional classroom or relying on their conventional thinking. Keating enables the boys to see the big picture of life.
If I wasn’t concerned about workplace injuries, I might suggest a similar exercise. Most people could benefit from seeing their world from a big picture view and discovering the seemingly hidden possibilities that tend to be just out of sight.
Our world is in dire need of leaders who inspire people to “elevate their view” of the world and the possibilities that exist. At times, leaders are called on to envision and express that desired future to invigorate and guide team members to a new level of performance. George Bernard Shaw declared, “Most people look at things the way they are and say, ‘Why?’ I look at things the way they could be and say, ‘Why not?” The elevated view enjoyed by people with vision prepares the way for people to see and attain what “could be.”
Leaders are the creators and custodians of the future. Leaders must move beyond the present into a compelling future and provide the inspiration and direction for others to follow along. The world is hungry for visionary leaders who understand what their values are and have a clear picture of what the future could be. World Class leaders continually set forth the compelling vision to remind everyone of the inspirational journey the organization has embarked upon. Without this mindset, a clear picture of the path to World Class isn’t probable.
One of my greatest challenges is to think beyond what is and help those around me to do the same. We need to teach people “how” to think, not “what” to think. My vision for our company is to become a World Class organization that just happens to provide World Class service and care for the elderly. Now the trick is to learn “how” to think World Class and then determine a compelling, non-traditional path for getting there.
Creating the right vision will close the gap between what is occurring now and what we aspire to be in the future. It’s not about specific outcomes but a passion to maximize organizational potential. Our job is to rally those around us to a better future. Here are few questions that might energize a higher view picture of your future:
What would the ideal department look like 3-5 years from now?
What innovative things would you like to attempt that could substantially change the quality of what you do?
What is your dream that currently seems impossible of what the organization could become?
Is there a vision for the future that team members can buy into and believe in?
Is there a vivid image of the future that promotes excitement throughout the organization?
Aristotle said, “The soul never thinks without a picture.” What’s your picture of World Class?
The gap that exists between “what is” and what “could be” is what fuels organizations to new levels of effectiveness and efficiency.
“The future belongs to those who see the possibilities before they become obvious.”
John Sculley
Jack Welch
I’ve Been Thinking . . . about what a picture of a World Class Company looks like. If a picture is worth a thousand words, achieving a clear vision of World Class might be priceless.
The movie Dead Poets Society is the story of a professor, John Keating, played by Robin Williams, who teaches at a conservative prep school for boys. In his unorthodox teaching style, Keating teaches the boys far more than his assigned English curriculum.
Keating’s outrageous examples and teaching style inspires these young men to change their lives. In one particular uncustomary classroom scene, Keating stands on a desk to demonstrate the importance of having a “higher view” of the world – a view far different than the one they cultivate sitting in chairs in a traditional classroom or relying on their conventional thinking. Keating enables the boys to see the big picture of life.
If I wasn’t concerned about workplace injuries, I might suggest a similar exercise. Most people could benefit from seeing their world from a big picture view and discovering the seemingly hidden possibilities that tend to be just out of sight.
Our world is in dire need of leaders who inspire people to “elevate their view” of the world and the possibilities that exist. At times, leaders are called on to envision and express that desired future to invigorate and guide team members to a new level of performance. George Bernard Shaw declared, “Most people look at things the way they are and say, ‘Why?’ I look at things the way they could be and say, ‘Why not?” The elevated view enjoyed by people with vision prepares the way for people to see and attain what “could be.”
Leaders are the creators and custodians of the future. Leaders must move beyond the present into a compelling future and provide the inspiration and direction for others to follow along. The world is hungry for visionary leaders who understand what their values are and have a clear picture of what the future could be. World Class leaders continually set forth the compelling vision to remind everyone of the inspirational journey the organization has embarked upon. Without this mindset, a clear picture of the path to World Class isn’t probable.
One of my greatest challenges is to think beyond what is and help those around me to do the same. We need to teach people “how” to think, not “what” to think. My vision for our company is to become a World Class organization that just happens to provide World Class service and care for the elderly. Now the trick is to learn “how” to think World Class and then determine a compelling, non-traditional path for getting there.
Creating the right vision will close the gap between what is occurring now and what we aspire to be in the future. It’s not about specific outcomes but a passion to maximize organizational potential. Our job is to rally those around us to a better future. Here are few questions that might energize a higher view picture of your future:
What would the ideal department look like 3-5 years from now?
What innovative things would you like to attempt that could substantially change the quality of what you do?
What is your dream that currently seems impossible of what the organization could become?
Is there a vision for the future that team members can buy into and believe in?
Is there a vivid image of the future that promotes excitement throughout the organization?
Aristotle said, “The soul never thinks without a picture.” What’s your picture of World Class?
The gap that exists between “what is” and what “could be” is what fuels organizations to new levels of effectiveness and efficiency.
“The future belongs to those who see the possibilities before they become obvious.”
John Sculley
Monday, February 21, 2011
Becoming a Picker-Upper-Person
“Best friendships are good for business. Companies are coming to discover that, yet are at a loss at what to do about it.”
USA Today
I’ve Been Thinking . . . a lot about relationships recently -- seems to be a common label on my mental file folders.
Several years ago, a Harvard business school professor wrote an open letter to the nation’s graduates. He told them that in one sense they needed to forget what they had learned in their academic training. He indicated that schools tend to put too much emphasis on the belief that success is dependent on passing tests and is based on individual performance rather than on ground effort and collaboration, the professor pointed out that in the workplace high performance depends largely on learning to succeed through what he called a “Web of Relationships”.
The secret to personal success extends far beyond individual accomplishments to the inevitable need for interdependence with those around us. “It’s All About Relationships!” I frequently use that phrase in meetings, one-to-one conversations, social situations and yes, even airplanes. The older I get the stronger my bias that life enrichment, and job success are tied directly to relationship development. Brian Tracy believes, “85% of our job, happiness in life comes from our interaction with others.”
Who are Picker-Upper People? They possess a number of enviable qualities. Consider the following characteristics that positively impact people’s lives. Maybe there is one or two you could work on refining in your life.
* Accept people unconditionally. Accept people for who they are; not what they could be if only they listened to you.
* Seek to understand life from the other person’s perspective. Get inside their world.
* Listen with sincerity and an open mind. Learn from others. Show genuine interest in other people’s lives. Talk less. Leave your ego at the door.
* Respect what is important or valued by others. Respect other’s opinions.
* Be enjoyable to be around. Kind. Gracious. Polite. Tactful. Don’t get uptight by little things that bother you. Make it possible for people to say, “I like myself better when I’m with you.”
* Refrain from criticism. Overlook people’s faults. Overlook minor or petty differences.
* Cherish conflict – momentarily. Quickly and sincerely attempt to resolve any conflict. Learn from the experience.
* Freely provide recognition and appreciation. Encourage and support people. Go to great lengths to make people feel appreciated.
* Get excited about other people’s success. Congratulate them. Share in their exuberance. Be their best cheerleader and promoter.
Here’s a relationship jump start. For the next ‘30’ days, treat everyone you come in contact with as the most important person in your life. Place every greeting, phone call, interaction and goodbye with a heightened level of respect.
Everyone you encounter wants to be important to someone, to be loved, respected and considered special. It could very well be you were placed in their life at this moment in time to add value and significance. What a great opportunity!
There is a side benefit to this approach. People who make treating others as the most important people in their life often find that others begin treating them the same way. It’s funny how life tends to give us back what we give. One thing is for sure, those you touch will not remain as they are – and I doubt you will either.
“How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving, and tolerant of the weak and strong. Because someday in your life you will have been all of these.”
George Washington Carver
Monday, February 7, 2011
Doing the Little Things
“If you think you are too small to be effective, you have never been in bed with a mosquito.”
Betty Reese
I’ve Been Thinking. . . about the little things that separate excellence from mediocrity, the best from average and World Class from run of the mill. I understand there are a multitude of factors that set people and organizations apart from each other. Just for now, let’s think about the little things.
Every once in awhile my evening television channel surfing lands me on the Discovery Channel show Dirty Jobs. In one episode host Mike Rowe was talking to an industrial painter whose work he was trying to duplicate. “There’s really no glory in what you do,” he said. “No,” the painter agreed, “but it’s a job that needs to be done.”
You see, that man paints the inside of the Mackinac Bridge towers in Northern Michigan. His unnoticed job is done to ensure that the steel of the magnificent suspended structure won’t rust from the inside out, compromising the integrity of the bridge. Most of the 12,000 people who cross the Straits of Mackinac each day aren’t even aware that they are depending on workers like this painter to faithfully do their jobs well.
This painter understood the impact of George Washington Carver’s comments several years ago, “When you do the common things in life in an uncommon way, you will command the attention of the world.”
My children lived near the bridge in Minneapolis that collapsed into the Mississippi River in August of 2007. Thirteen people were killed in the unfortunate incident. It made me wonder if the “unnoticed bridge painter” had done his job on this bridge.
A wise unknown (or at least I don’t know who it was) person once said: “Never leave a nail sticking up where you found it.” Imagine the irritation that can be caused by hoping someone else will remove the nail or assuming nobody will step on it or just hoping it doesn’t cause “too much” pain. It’s such a little thing – right?
What do the windows in your entryway look like? What is the first impression of someone walking into your building? What is the first impression of your team’s (and your) personal appearance? Do others see us spending an extra few minutes to help a coworker with a ‘little’ task that will make a dramatic difference? How about the on hold music? Does it set you apart?
These little things are HUGE. . . and the list goes on and on and on and on. Are you doing the little things that make a huge difference?
I recently stayed in a hotel that charged what I consider to be ‘a lot’ for a room. I must admit I expected top of the line service for the money I was paying. Settling in to the room, I noticed we had a shampoo and two conditioners but no body lotion. I stopped at the front desk before we went out for the night and asked if we could get some lotion in our room. “Certainly” the desk clerk responded.
Returning to the room later that night, I found a shampoo, no body lotions and three conditioners (not necessary for a nearly bald man). I made the same request the next day with unsuccessful results. Each day I would ‘steal’ lotion from the maid’s cart so we could have some in our room.
“My goodness, it’s only a little lotion,” you say. I know but it’s the little things that impact people, especially when the expectations are high.
How many of you have ever been bitten my a lion? How about a bear? What about a mosquito or fly?
See, it’s the little things that get you!
We are committed to treating every person we come in contact with as the most important person in our life. Sometimes we’re really good. Other times, we fall short. The difference between success and not being so good is ‘doing the little things.’
I recently received an email from one of our quality partners that reinforced our passion to treating people special. Here is a portion of the message:
“I travel quite a bit and often I find myself in four different communities in the country each week. Being "on the road" for over two years now, I can honestly say I never experienced the hospitality, organization, and overall enthusiasm from any company as I have at Vetter. I joked at the fall conference when I said I knew your mission/vision statement by heart because you stressed it so much. The truth is I know and understand those words because you clearly live and breathe them, it’s not just lip service.
Cameo, as well as Mikeal the first training, and Aaron during the conference, were so prepared with EVERY LITTLE detail, I am still speechless. They make my job effortless. When I say DETAIL, I am referring to my favorite candy, my name tag, a Spartan coffee mug/helmet (go greeeeeen!), hanging my coat, making sure I know where I'm going, and the most important part of all: preparing staff for what's to come with iN2L! I could literally go on all day. I can't tell you how much that "little" stuff matters.
If your goal was for VHS staff to be whistling the same tune inside and out, mission accomplished. It is hard to feel at home when you are traveling all but a couple weekends a month, but I genuinely feel "at home" when I walk in your doors. I thank you for the opportunity to present and train, and know that I will fight other trainers for the opportunity to come back to VHS any day.
Carla Sieczkowski
International Training Director
It's Never 2 Late
Now, that’s doing the little things that exceed expectations.
How many times a day does the unnoticed, silent or at least rather quiet things you do impact those around you? What are the little things that can become big things on the path to World Class?
Never underestimate the value of what you consider to be the insignificant part of your job. In fact, identify a few of those right now and pledge to do them better than ever before because someone is going to be impacted. I appreciate the advice of Charles M. Sheldon when it comes to excelling at the little things. He said: “Always seek to excel yourself. Put yourself in competition with yourself each day. Each morning look back upon your work of yesterday and then try to beat it.”
“If you are going to achieve excellence in big things, you develop the habit in little matters. Excellence is not an exception, it is a prevailing attitude.”
Colin Powell
Betty Reese
I’ve Been Thinking. . . about the little things that separate excellence from mediocrity, the best from average and World Class from run of the mill. I understand there are a multitude of factors that set people and organizations apart from each other. Just for now, let’s think about the little things.
Every once in awhile my evening television channel surfing lands me on the Discovery Channel show Dirty Jobs. In one episode host Mike Rowe was talking to an industrial painter whose work he was trying to duplicate. “There’s really no glory in what you do,” he said. “No,” the painter agreed, “but it’s a job that needs to be done.”
You see, that man paints the inside of the Mackinac Bridge towers in Northern Michigan. His unnoticed job is done to ensure that the steel of the magnificent suspended structure won’t rust from the inside out, compromising the integrity of the bridge. Most of the 12,000 people who cross the Straits of Mackinac each day aren’t even aware that they are depending on workers like this painter to faithfully do their jobs well.
This painter understood the impact of George Washington Carver’s comments several years ago, “When you do the common things in life in an uncommon way, you will command the attention of the world.”
My children lived near the bridge in Minneapolis that collapsed into the Mississippi River in August of 2007. Thirteen people were killed in the unfortunate incident. It made me wonder if the “unnoticed bridge painter” had done his job on this bridge.
A wise unknown (or at least I don’t know who it was) person once said: “Never leave a nail sticking up where you found it.” Imagine the irritation that can be caused by hoping someone else will remove the nail or assuming nobody will step on it or just hoping it doesn’t cause “too much” pain. It’s such a little thing – right?
What do the windows in your entryway look like? What is the first impression of someone walking into your building? What is the first impression of your team’s (and your) personal appearance? Do others see us spending an extra few minutes to help a coworker with a ‘little’ task that will make a dramatic difference? How about the on hold music? Does it set you apart?
These little things are HUGE. . . and the list goes on and on and on and on. Are you doing the little things that make a huge difference?
I recently stayed in a hotel that charged what I consider to be ‘a lot’ for a room. I must admit I expected top of the line service for the money I was paying. Settling in to the room, I noticed we had a shampoo and two conditioners but no body lotion. I stopped at the front desk before we went out for the night and asked if we could get some lotion in our room. “Certainly” the desk clerk responded.
Returning to the room later that night, I found a shampoo, no body lotions and three conditioners (not necessary for a nearly bald man). I made the same request the next day with unsuccessful results. Each day I would ‘steal’ lotion from the maid’s cart so we could have some in our room.
“My goodness, it’s only a little lotion,” you say. I know but it’s the little things that impact people, especially when the expectations are high.
How many of you have ever been bitten my a lion? How about a bear? What about a mosquito or fly?
See, it’s the little things that get you!
We are committed to treating every person we come in contact with as the most important person in our life. Sometimes we’re really good. Other times, we fall short. The difference between success and not being so good is ‘doing the little things.’
I recently received an email from one of our quality partners that reinforced our passion to treating people special. Here is a portion of the message:
“I travel quite a bit and often I find myself in four different communities in the country each week. Being "on the road" for over two years now, I can honestly say I never experienced the hospitality, organization, and overall enthusiasm from any company as I have at Vetter. I joked at the fall conference when I said I knew your mission/vision statement by heart because you stressed it so much. The truth is I know and understand those words because you clearly live and breathe them, it’s not just lip service.
Cameo, as well as Mikeal the first training, and Aaron during the conference, were so prepared with EVERY LITTLE detail, I am still speechless. They make my job effortless. When I say DETAIL, I am referring to my favorite candy, my name tag, a Spartan coffee mug/helmet (go greeeeeen!), hanging my coat, making sure I know where I'm going, and the most important part of all: preparing staff for what's to come with iN2L! I could literally go on all day. I can't tell you how much that "little" stuff matters.
If your goal was for VHS staff to be whistling the same tune inside and out, mission accomplished. It is hard to feel at home when you are traveling all but a couple weekends a month, but I genuinely feel "at home" when I walk in your doors. I thank you for the opportunity to present and train, and know that I will fight other trainers for the opportunity to come back to VHS any day.
Carla Sieczkowski
International Training Director
It's Never 2 Late
Now, that’s doing the little things that exceed expectations.
How many times a day does the unnoticed, silent or at least rather quiet things you do impact those around you? What are the little things that can become big things on the path to World Class?
Never underestimate the value of what you consider to be the insignificant part of your job. In fact, identify a few of those right now and pledge to do them better than ever before because someone is going to be impacted. I appreciate the advice of Charles M. Sheldon when it comes to excelling at the little things. He said: “Always seek to excel yourself. Put yourself in competition with yourself each day. Each morning look back upon your work of yesterday and then try to beat it.”
“If you are going to achieve excellence in big things, you develop the habit in little matters. Excellence is not an exception, it is a prevailing attitude.”
Colin Powell
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