Bad Management=Bad Service

Don’t wait for customer service to get bad before you do anything about it. By then it’s too

late. The damage has been done. Now you’re into damage-control mode – which takes a lot more effort.

Monkey see, monkey do, here’s an easy activity to do (didn’t mean for that to rhyme, but I’ll take it). Go to a few local retail stores or restaurants. Spend just a few minutes in each one, just observing the employees. You’ll be able to tell what the management is like within just a couple of minutes because the employees walk the leader’s talk.

No matter how good the stores’ customer service “program” is, it won’t be successful unless the leaders walk the talk.

You can’t just focus on the everyday business stuff – products, marketing, sales. In his book, The Customer Rules, Lee Cockerell goes on to say that, “Managers have to recognize that sustained profits depend on their ability to generate consistent, ongoing, excellent service”.

 

You have to keep good service in the forefront of everyone’s mind if you want it to be consistent.

Don't Worry, Be Happy

Most people have always thought that if we work hard, we’ll be more successful, and if

we’re more successful, then we’ll be happier. Well that just may not be the case at all.

That’s where Shawn Achor comes in. In his book, The Happiness Advantage, he refers to “rigorous research in psychology and neuroscience, management studies, and the bottom lines of organizations around the globe” when he says that “happiness fuels success, not the other way around”.

Happiness is contagious, just as a bad attitude is. Try it. Walk into a room of your peers or staff with a big smile and just be basically courteous. With few exceptions, very soon everyone will have a smile.

Just as your bad attitude affects the people you work with, so will a good attitude. And as an added bonus, it could very well bring you more success.

For those of you who don’t think there’s anything to this notion of happiness then ask yourself why Shawn Achor’s TED Talk has had over 7.5 million views.

“Okay, so what if I’m happier at work? What’s in it for me?” I’m glad you asked. Your trickle down happiness is going to directly affect your staff, which in turn will result in:

• better quality of work
• better customer service
• conscious acts of kindness
• teamwork
• openness
• innovation
• cooperation
• fewer sick days
• higher motivation
• achieving potential

Should I keep going?

Abraham Lincoln once said:

“People are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.”

Walking the Legacy Talk

So many people can talk the talk.  But how many people can actually, truly, walk the

talk?  I love Mark Miller’s analogy in his new book, The Heart of Leadership.  He uses the example of an iceberg:

As you look at the iceberg, you only see about 10% of it.  The other 90% is below the waterline. The portion you see above the waterline represents leadership skills – reproducible by many.  Below represents leadership character – practiced by few.  The people who talk the talk represent the 10%.  The people who walk the talk represent that, along with, the other 90%.

I’m going to use my favorite example again . . . Disney.  Walt Disney passed away from lung cancer in 1966, before his vision of Disney World in Florida was realized. After much mourning and wondering where to go from there, his brother and business partner, Roy O. Disney, postponed his retirement to oversee construction of the resort’s first phase.

Walt had vision and plans for the company that extended for years.  And, to this day, things are still being developed from Walt’s original visualizations.  In fact, it wasn’t decided until well into the construction process to name the resort WALT Disney World, in honor of the man whose ideas and visions brought it to life . . . five years after he passed away.

A positive legacy is going to require leadership character and vision.  What do you need to do to get it going?

For more on your leadership legacy, see my entire article on Linked2Leadership.com - http://linked2leadership.com/2013/11/15/on-leadership-and-leading-a-legacy/.

Responsible In Change

Part of being a responsible leader is preparing your people for change.  With any good

organization, there should be change.  There will be change.  And your staff can probably sense it, even if you'd rather think otherwise.  So promise change . . . because it’s a promise you can keep.

In fact, you should be taking advantage of this opportunity to make some changes that you've already identified in your area of the organization.  With your preparation, you need to understand that the workforce will be primed for change, anticipating it, and therefore poised to adapt more readily than usual.

As part of the management team, you're also responsible for helping to “sell” the changes.  But this doesn’t mean you just throw people a sales pitch about the positive side of the changes and how wonderful things are going to be.  There's normally both good news and bad news, and both sides of the story should be told.

So let people know what they can expect.  Give it to them straight.  They deserve to know - they're adults, they can handle it.  Plus, you couldn’t fool them for long anyway.

Value Stream Mapping

In a nutshell, value stream mapping is a lean-management method for analyzing the current state and designing a future state for the series of events that take a product or service from its beginning through to the customer.  Now I'm not typically too big on theories, statistics, mapping, etc.  But when I read Value Stream Mapping: How to Visualize Work and Align Leadership for Organizational Transformation, I had to rethink a bit as I started to compare it to storyboarding - which I DO like.

Karen Martin and Mike Osterling have taken the confusion out of value stream mapping (VSM) and show how to utilize it in an easy and effective way.  They show us that VSM can not only be used with manufacturing, but also in logistics, supply chain, service oriented industries, healthcare, software development, product development, and even administrative and office processes.  Have you ever thought of using VSM as an effective means to orient new hires?  It can also "provide a clear line of sight to the external customer from every function and work area involved in the value stream".  How can that possibly not be good?

Hey, here's a novel idea from Karen and Mike - go the Gemba.  I love that term/idea.  Gemba, as they describe it, is a Japanese word for "the real place, where the work is actually done".  A critical step in VSM is physically walking the value stream.  I believe that's where most organizations fail right off the bat.  You must be willing to walk the talk.

You don't need to be a big statistics geek to understand what Karen and Mike are talking about here.  The book is well written and easily understood which will help you to quickly understand the basics of VSM all the way through the execution steps.  The historical problem with VSM is that people just don't understand it.  Well after reading this book, that will no longer be a valid excuse.

I'm Not Accountable

Most people view accountability as something that happens to them when performance

falls off, problems arise, or results fail to come about.  The fact is, many think accountability only crops up when something goes wrong or when someone else wants to pinpoint the cause of the problem - all for the sake of pinning blame and pointing the finger.  When things are sailing along smoothly, people rarely ask, “Who's accountable for this success?”  Typically, no one starts looking around for the responsible party until something adverse happens.

If you take a look at dictionaries, most provide a definition of accountability that promotes a pretty negative view.  Webster’s defines accountability as: “subject to having to report, explain, or justify; being answerable, responsible.”  Notice how the definition begins with the words, subject to, implying little choice in the matter.  This confession and powerless definition suggests that accountability is viewed as a consequence for poor performance, something you should fear because it can only end up hurting you.

Since most people experience accountability this way, it’s no wonder they spend so much time shunning it and explaining and justifying poor results.

The Idea-Driven Organization

Finally!  Someone wrote a great book about what I’m always talking about.  Alan Robinson

and Dean Schroeder’s new book, The Idea-Driven Organization should be read by all managers, executives and business owners.

The authors start out stating that, “Most managers have difficulty believing that there is enough value in employee ideas to justify the effort of going after them”.  But, “some 80 percent of an organization’s potential for improvement lies in front-line ideas”.

Hellooooo.  Anyone who thinks otherwise is totally off-base.  The people that know the most are on the front lines – the people doing the jobs.  They see the everyday in’s and out’s – what doesn’t work or how it could work better.

I’m not bashing consultant’s (most of them anyway), but your own people have far more working knowledge.  Start there.  Great leaders make great things happen and Robinson and Schroeder show HOW to make things happen by implementing employee generated ideas.

The key is in creating an environment in which employee’s feel comfortable submitting ideas.  Not just one, but multiple ideas.  This book shows you how to take off the blinders to become open to ideas.  For one, take a look at those stuffy, idea-quelling SOP’s to see what kind of impact (positively OR negatively) they’re actually making.

There are so many great stories/examples from around the world, and thought provoking ideas to implement, that you’ll be ready to make drastic changes to your organization before you’re half way done reading.

Your Leadership Life Map

Today, I have the pleasure of welcoming Dr. Kathryn Cramer as my guest blogger. Her recent release of Lead Positive: What Highly Effective Leaders, See, Say, and Do, was one of the easiest to read and implement leadership books I've read. I highly recommend you running out (or to your computer) and getting your own copy.

YOUR LEADERSHIP LIFE MAP: DISCOVERING YOUR MIGHTY CAUSE

What is your mighty cause?  People crave a greater sense of purpose, and being able to

link your goals to a noble and mighty cause is inspiring.

Authentic communication, what I call “saying it with soul” is about meaning what you say–and saying something meaningful. When you can speak soulfully about your values and your personal investment in the vision, your mighty cause, it builds trust and commitment. It lowers the bar for your team to get on board.

Your Leadership Life Map

It is not as difficult as you may think to discover the mighty cause underlying your vision for your organization. Using the Leadership Life Map tool from my upcoming book Lead Positive: What Highly Effective Leaders, See, Say, and Do, you can start by identifying patterns in your leadership path about what most motivates and inspires you.

For example, when I worked with my client Matthew, an operations manager, to develop his Leadership Life Map, we discovered that his deepest passion was from mentoring others, not efficient operations. Getting results was of course rewarding, but his greatest satisfaction came from watching people grow and excel.

From there, it was a short step for Matthew to identify his noble cause of employee growth and to link it to his organization’s vision of higher performance. His ability to speak soulfully about his dedication to this noble cause did more to inspire those he served than a powerpoint presentation on operational improvement goals ever could.

Download the Lead Positive Leadership Life Map tool here.

The Leadership Life Map exercise, which I have provided here as a free resource from the Lead Positive book, asks you to:

•  Map the chapters of your life as a leader
• Identify the major life-shaping forces in your leadership career
• List your most significant leadership experiences–positive and negative–and the key assets you used or noticed in others

Once it is all laid out, you can begin to identify themes and patterns regarding your leadership values, your mighty cause.

Kathryn D. Cramer, PhD, is passionate about possibilities and potential. Emmy-winner, business consultant, psychologist, and author, Dr. Cramer has written nine books, including the best-selling Change the Way You See Everything. She created and has dedicated her life to asset-based thinking (ABT), a way of looking at the world that helps leaders, influencers, and their teams make small shifts in thinking to produce extraordinary impact. Her latest book, Lead Positive: What Highly Effective Leaders See, Say & Do (Jossey-Bass, 2014), shows leaders how to increase their effectiveness through her revolutionary mindset management process, Asset-Based Thinking.

Follow Kathy on Twitter @drkathycramer and connect on Facebook.

Lead Positive

Kathy Cramer’s recent book release of Lead Positive: What Highly Effective Leaders

See, Say, and Do, had me from hello.  I don’t often spend too much time reading introductions prior to getting right into the book, but this time I found myself captivated.  Just from those first few pages I could have put the book down and been happy – but I was intrigued.

Within the first short page, she sets the tone with a quote that I’m going to find myself using (with acknowledgement of course) often, “When you Lead Positive, you offer a competing vision of the future by reframing problems into possibilities and appealing to a higher sense of purpose”.

The concepts of this book are so simple to understand and to put into play.  You’ll want to read it with a highlighter so you can go back to review and share.

Positive leaders aren’t as plentiful as one would think.  Many talk the talk but don’t quite walk the walk.  Using Kathy’s ideas will help you walk the talk.  Using asset-based thinking (I’ll leave that for you to read about), you will learn to use the Lead Positive framework of,

·         See – ‘zeroing in on what is working, strong, and possible’

·         Say – ‘speaking to the mind, heart, and spirit’

·         Do – ‘starting a positive ripple effect’.

Using the self-assessments throughout the book will help you and encourage you to better your own positive outlook and leadership ability so it can be passed on to and through others.  It’s a great playbook to use with leadership training or for refocusing your own leadership talents.

You CAN Be Successful

It’s easy to look at famous people and assume that they must have stumbled onto

overnight success somehow. We think they were born with amazing talent that was immediately appreciated by the world. Unfortunately, this makes it easy to think that if you’re not successful by now, there’s no point in trying.

Of course, this isn’t true, even though it may seem that way. It’s always good to be reminded that even the biggest successes are almost always preceded by numerous failures, and that persistence is the key to eventually being a success.

Not everyone who's on top today got there with success after success. More often than not, those who history best remembers were faced with numerous obstacles that forced them to work harder and show more determination than others.

Most of us live with the fear of failure. We’re afraid of attempting something and failing in front of our peers or our loved ones. We’re afraid of being embarrassed so instead of creating a situation in which we could fail again, we give up and stop trying, creating a comfort zone for ourselves. A comfort zone that limits what we can become and limits what we can do in life. It’s time to break out of your comfort zone and try again.

When you have a moment, Google some of these people with the word "failures":

Walt Disney

Abraham Lincoln

Harland Sanders

J.K. Rowling

Winston Churchill

The Age of the Customer

One of my favorite quotes in Jim Blasingame’s new book, The Age of the Customer, comes from Blasingame’s Law of Business Love, which reads, “It’s okay to fall in love with what you do, but it’s not okay to fall in love with how you do it”.

This IS the age of the customer and businesses cannot rest on the “normal”, or “what’s always worked”.  You have to start looking at what the customer wants and even knowing what they want before they do.

Cases in point:

Restaurants – posting daily menus and specials online.

Tire stores – creating a customer contact system to remind them when tires need to be checked, rotated and balanced.

Wholesale suppliers – figure out how to get more customers IN the door to get closer to the end user instead of just dropping merchandise off at their door.

One of my favorite quotes in the book . . . okay, I have more than one . . . is, “Remember, face-to-face is the original social media”.  You can, and should, demonstrate values and provide added resources online.  Build a community.  But face-to-face customer networking is still a very powerful tool.  Relationship building starts immediately.  Depending on the situation or business, when it comes to relationships, it may be lasting or even just long enough for that one interaction.

Jim shows us how customer relationships have been shifting and changing and we need to start thinking of our customers as partners.  The power has shifted from the seller to the customer.  He sets us up for continued change and success well into the future.  If you think you have a handle on customer expectations, you really need to read this book to set your ideas straight.

Keep One In Your Pocket

“We developed so many talents as we went along that I lay awake at night

figuring out how to use them. That's how we become so diversified. It was natural branching out." - Walt Disney
How many times have you had a great idea in the middle of the night or while sitting relaxing at the pool, beach, or back porch and told yourself, “I’ll write it down later”. How many times has “later” never come? I wish I had a nickel (or a dollar, to account for inflation) for every time I said that but forgotten the idea 15 minutes later.

Ideas, and thoughts on how to develop them, begin streaming when we’re relaxed - when we don’t have the stresses of phone calls, meetings, and people popping into our offices. And, because we’re not prepared, we lose many ideas. We have to be equipped for these instant concepts at all times.

That takes me back to my Navy days. I ALWAYS carried around one of those little green, government-issue memorandum books in my back pocket - constantly at the ready to record my thoughts or work schedule of the day. It was a great asset (and great application for CYA).

These days, that little green book has been replaced by a smart-phone. It can record thoughts just as easily and they can be converted directly to memos or emails.

Make sure you have the available means to record your instant thoughts and the next time you can’t sleep, at least be productive and pull out that “little green book”.

Would You Rather Keep the Rules or the People?

This week I'm happy, and honored, to relinquish my blog to guest bloggers, Beverly Kaye and Sharon Jordan-Evans, the authors of the newly revised book, Love 'Em or Lose 'Em.

If innovation is so important, why is it so hard to support? Why is it so easy to say no before saying yes? Why is it easier to see if there is a precedent for what an employee wants to do?

When your employees come to you with new ideas, concepts, or rule breakers, they want to hear “You’ve got a point” or “Let’s give it a try” or “Maybe that will work.” They want you to (at least occasionally) go to bat for them – to truly advocate for the change they want.  What prevents you from doing that?

Are You Boxed In?

You have no doubt been asked (probably more than once) to think “outside the box.” How ironic that most managers feel like the box has been handed to them (often by their bosses) and that they are supposed to think and act inside it. The box typically feels fairly rigid, as if it were made up of concrete walls—the rules. But with a shift in thinking, your box can be composed of different materials, each with unique properties. Here is an example:

This box has walls made of four materials.

Concrete. This wall represents rules that are truly rigid. It cannot be broken, pushed, bent, or shattered. “You must have a medical degree to practice medicine in this hospital.”

Glass. This wall is strong and sturdy, but if you hit it just the right way with just the right instrument at the right time, it will break. It represents the rules that may seem unbreakable but actually can be broken. “A woman will never be CEO of a major corporation.”

Rubber. This wall is thick and strong, but it has some give to it if you are willing to push hard. It represents rules that might be pliable. “We all put in a 40-hour week, from eight to five, five days a week.”

Vapor. This wall is made up of our beliefs, assumptions, and perceptions about the rules. “People will never fly.”

If you examine the rules you operate by, you will find that few of them are truly concrete. They just feel that way. The most formidable aspect of the box is often the vapor wall. Your beliefs and assumptions— or the company’s—often prevent you from questioning the rules. They may also keep you from hearing your employees’ questions.

Try this:

·         - The next time your employees question you about the rules (about their jobs, the organization, or the work at hand), stop before you say, “It can’t be done.”

·        - Check to see which wall is holding you (and others?) in the box. 

·         - Unless it is truly the concrete wall, work with your employees to bend or break the rules. Test the vapor wall and the beliefs that box you in. Evaluate new ideas fairly before you discard them.

Your talented people want you to recognize their good ideas and innovative solutions, and they want you to support their questioning. You will increase the odds of engaging and keeping them if you allow them to question the rules about their jobs, the workplace, and even the business.

Beverly Kaye is the Founder of Career Systems International. Sharon Jordan-Evans is the President of the Jordan Evans Group. This blog post is based on concepts from Love ‘Em or Lose ‘Em: Getting Good People to Stay by Beverly Kaye and Sharon Jordan-Evans. This bestselling book provides twenty-six strategies to keep talented employees happy and productive. In addition to updating and revising all information for the fifth edition, the authors have included more international stories and statistics. Available January 2014 on Amazon and in bookstores everywhere!

Leading Valiantly in Healthcare

Healthcare leaders are typically a different type of breed from say, manufacturing, financial, or retail leaders.  There is more often than not, a much bigger sense of intrinsic motivation.  But even that begins to take a back seat sometimes.

If you are new to healthcare – it is never too early to start charting your course.  If you are a seasoned leader - you still have room to learn and refresh.  This is where the new book, Leading Valiantly in Healthcare: Four Steps to Sustainable Success, by Catherine Robinson-Walker is going to make a difference.

With so many – and continual - changes in healthcare regulations and technologies, it is easy these days to be caught up in the “bottom line” mode.  Robinson-Walker’s book gives you the tools and references to spark that passion and courage that is so desired by today’s staff, patients, and customers.  She pulls from her years of experiences and interviews to show you how to “adjust our leadership strategies based on new circumstances, additional information, and new learning” in order to lead with valor.

Robinson-Walker’s six leadership seductions and cycle of leadership valor combine to help you to pause and look at the various challenges you may find yourself in and to increase your self-awareness - thus making better quality decisions.  In part, leading with valor means responding to challenges thoughtfully, individually, and fully.  In leadership – especially in healthcare - there are no one-size-fits-all decisions.  It really requires an open heart and mind.

This book will help you to become a more confident and courageous leader, fostering integrity, self-control, and character.  If you are motivated to sharpen your skills and open to trying new approaches (stepping out of your comfort zone), this book is the guide that you will want to read, practice, and learn from.  It just may make the difference that you have been looking for.

Why I Like My Mechanic Better Than My Doctor

Some doctors need to take a page from the customer service manual of my mechanic.  Why, you ask?  When 
was the last time you didn't have to pay for a follow up visit to your doctor?  Original appointment, follow up - just to see how you're doing, appointment to discuss your test results or to check on your medication size (I know - it's all driven by insurance companies - just go with me a minute).  Paying - even with a co-pay - for all of those appointments adds up very quickly.  No wonder people don't like going to the doctor.  Personally, I believe that "follow-ups" should be included with the original appointment.

Any business, medical or otherwise, could learn from my mechanic (Choice Automotive Repair).  His business is based on customer service.  There are a million mechanics around.  But he realizes that it's customer service that brings people back.  He tells me and shows me everything - and he doesn't mark up parts like others do.  I found him through word of mouth when I left my previous mechanic because of lousy customer service.

Recently, when I had to have my transmission replaced, he did what he could to get the price down and still have a quality warrantied product.  The first transmission didn't shift quite right and he made the company build an entirely new one.  I've had a couple minor issues since then with the transmission (covered) - plus some other minor things - and have not had to pay a thing.  He knows that it's not only the big things, but also the "little things" that will keep customers happy and coming back.  Just a smile and hello does not make great customer service.

In businesses where there's a lot of competition and you do the same thing, the only thing that may set you apart is customer service.

Now, to be fair, yes I've liked doctors in the passed, but have never actively recommended one.  Do you think I recommend my mechanic?  Absolutely.  All the time.  I may sound like I'm picking on doctors, but I'm really not, they just serve as a good example.  Actually, every type of business, whether medical, mechanical, service, or retail, needs to look at the whole picture, evaluate the regulations, and ask, "What is going to keep our customers coming back and talking - positively - about us?"  "What exactly is my customer getting, or not getting, for their payment?"   

To Tell Em Or Not

Customers react to bad service in many different ways.  The two main ways are to either talk to a supervisor or just leave without telling anyone.  Which would you rather have happen at your organization?

If an upset customer leaves without telling anyone, you're probably not going to see that person again . . . and they're going to a few of their friends who are then going to tell a few of theirs.  You'll never know what the issue was and you'll never know that it needs to be fixed.

If an upset customer stops to talk with you, sure it's taking time away from your own agenda and you have to have personal contact, but realize that they're taking a personal interest and time to let you know that you have a problem.  The only way to fix the issue is to know about it, right.

If you don't have readily available means to let customer contact you, you're missing out - big time - plus you're ticking them off even more.  If people want to complain, they're going to search and find a way.  But, on the other hand, what about the people who want to say nice things or share ideas that could make other customers' visits better?  They may take a quick look on the Internet for a contact, but if they don't find it quickly enough, you're not going to hear from them.

This is all a part of your organizations Brand.

A means of personal contact, phone numbers, and emails - ensure that they're readily available at the "point of sale", your website, and brochures.  Good customer service sells.

Hacking Leadership - Book Review

“The best way to approach personal and professional development is to

always stay in the learning zone.”  This is one of my favorite quotes from MikeMyatt’s new book, Hacking Leadership: the 11 Gaps Every Business Needs to Close and The Secrets to Closing Them Quickly.

As the title eludes, Mike talks us through the 11 gaps in leadership that you need to close – hack – in order for you to succeed and to bring your organization to the forefront of its field.

Continuous learning, or specifically a lack of, has been a leadership pet peeve of mine for years.  Mikes book actually exposes many more.  For instance, the Purpose Gap – the need for passion and following in the footsteps of past great leaders.  The Culture Gap – courage to create a culture of leadership, checking the arrogance, and not playing the diversity card.  The Talent Gap –developing trust and loyalty and effectively reducing turnover.

All 11 gaps in leadership challenge you to stop and take a serious look at yourself.  It’s practical, insightful, and pretty simple if you take it seriously, as you should.  You’re going to want to have a highlighter and a notepad handy as you read because you’ll find numerous concepts that you’ll want to develop yourself, and share with other leaders.

If you’re in any leadership position – or aspiring to be in one – Mike Myatt’s book is a great place to start your advancement.

Mike Myatt is a leadership advisor to Fortune 500 CEOs and their Boards of Directors. Widely regarded as America’s Top CEO Coach, recognized by Thinkers50 as one of the preeminent leadership thinkers globally, he is the author of Leadership Matters…The CEO Survival Manual, a Forbes leadership columnist, and is the Chief Executive Officer at N2growth. His new book, Hacking Leadership (Wiley) is in bookstores everywhere.

The Company Doesn't Owe You

A little bit of soapbox today.  Be thankful for your job.

Things that have happened this year and people that I hear and have heard talking, has again gotten my mind wondering where people get some of their thoughts from.

For instance, is there ANY company that OWES you a job?  I can't think of one.  But on the other hand YOU owe your company your best work . . . whether you like the job or not.

Unless you own the company, you're expendable.  When it comes to bad economies or budget cuts, for whatever reason, you may be dispensable. Lets face it, these are just the facts of life.

In his book, It's Called Work for a Reason, Larry Winget explains that, "Many people have become so dependent on their company, on society, and on others that they think they are owed a living.  They think the company is there to serve them instead of the truth, which is that they are there to serve the company".

Whether you're a manager, supervisor, or the guy that started in the mailroom yesterday, don't get caught up in these "entitlement" thoughts.  So what can you do?  Do your best, stand out, and take personal responsibility.  These are the things that are going to make you a success, whether it's at your current job or your next.

You're not owed a job . . . so make your leaders WANT to keep you.

Military Leadership

In honor of those who have served in our United States Military and who I have served

with, I'm going to take this post opportunity to share some military leadership quotes:

The day Soldiers stop bringing you their problems is the day you have stopped leading them. They have either lost confidence that you can help them or concluded that you do not care. Either case is a failure of leadership.

General Colin Powell

Leadership: The art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it.

General Dwight D. Eisenhower

The art of leadership is saying no, not saying yes. It is very easy to say yes.

Prime Minister Tony Blair

Leadership and learning are indespensible to each other.

President John F. Kennedy

Leadership is a potent combination of strategy and character. But if you must be without one, be without the strategy.

General Norman Schwarzkopf

Men make history, and not the other way around. In periods where there is no leadership, society stands still. Progress occurs when courageous, skillful leaders seize the opportunity to change things for the better.

President Harry S. Truman

Promises, Promises

Trust, honesty, integrity . . . a promise is a promise.

For those "leaders" who don't have those three things, promises will never mean a thing to employee's.  You've probably heard of "the boy who cried wolf"?  The more lies he told, the more no one believed him, until it was too late.  Same thing with leaders.  If you're not honest and carry through with your promises to your employee's, you're just blowing smoke.  It's an easy way to lose respect . . . but it's hard to get it back.

I try not to get into politics, but this timely and is just a great example (and no I'm not going to debate it).  I saw a graph today on how many people have lost their current insurance due to the Affordable Care Act - millions.  This was after the country was told, by the President, that if people were happy with their insurance they could keep it.  As I began writing this blog post I got a CNN tweet headlined, "Obama apologizes for some people losing health coverage despite his promise".  What do you think that apology means to those millions of people?  Nothing. Nothing but lost trust.

It doesn't matter who you are or where you land on the totem pole - bottom or top - a promise is a promise.  And people - employees - WILL remember when you break those promises.  It's kind of like the silent customer.  If you give bad service, they may not say anything to you.  But they will tell others who you won't see and not return themselves.

A promise IS a promise.  Make it so.