We have two types of client. One type we really are amazed that they’re not employed. It completely puzzles us. They’re such great people who do everything we tell them to, and, while they do get employed pretty rapidly, we’re amazed that recruiters aren’t lined up around the block to snatch them away for a choice company. Then there are the other kind…
There — we are amazed that they ever got employed in the first place to be laid off. But we completely understand why they were chosen for layoff or termination. After all, if we, as professional career counselors, dread it whenever they appear on the appointment calendar, their bosses and employees must have dreaded working with them even more. Here are some things that the understandably unemployed do that have kept them receiving that miniscule government check each month and paying COBRA.
1). They think they know better. They’ve paid many thousands of dollars for a top-notch career coach and are completely uncoachable. We’ve had several clients like this. There are people from some companies I just won’t work with. They won’t do anything I say, anyway. They’ll be a pain in the ass, and whine about what we’re not doing for them, even if we haven’t said we’ll do it.
You don’t know better! If you’re going to work with an employment or transition coach, or any other kind of coach, it might be a good idea to do what they say. Try it their way first, and for quite a while. If, after a few months, it isn’t working, do something else. Otherwise, keep doing what the coach tells you.
2). They WHINE! Too many executives get whiney when things don’t go their way. I often want to ask them if they want some cheese with that whine. The ones I really despise are those who won’t do anything I tell them (see above) and whine that our program isn’t working. Reality — you’ve got to work before any program will. Wimpy Whiners are like the 97 pound weakling who goes to the gym and hires a trainer, but won’t show up and won’t keep appointments, then complains that weight lifting is useless. I’ve started asking Wimpy Whiners to leave my program, as all they’re doing is taking up valuable space that a useful person could use.
3). They blame, argue and are generally jerks. I had one client who was in the “C” Suite of a major Denver company who I kicked out of my practice. He was supercilious, would consistently argue with my advice, and torqued off almost everyone I gave him as a referral and almost every other client. Bye-bye. One understood why he was kicked out of the “C” Suite. I’ve had others continually question my advice, scream at me on the phone, and many other inappropriate things. These people almost certainly were hell to work for and either a kiss-ass subordinate or a difficult subordinate. Either way, they wouldn’t belong on MY team.
4). Some are dishonest. OK, this is a very small minority. However, I had a CEO level client who was a pretty consistent liar, and would try to make “deals” that were very dishonest. I have told, several times, the story of how he was dishonest with me, generating other stories of his dishonesty from others. Denver is a very small town. He is going to have a somewhat difficult time finding other work now that he is no longer at his previous position, unless he finds it with someone who just isn’t networked at all….which is possible. But, if someone is networked, they’ll hear earfuls about his lying. You’ve only got one reputation. Guard it with your life. (And, along that line, vigorous defend, as I do, any false statements about you or your business.)
5). Some are very, very cheap. I have executives who whine about paying for coffee with a networking partner. This is very short-sighted. Many executives do incredibly stupid things, like refusing to buy a lunch, refusing to buy a new suit, etc. Don’t hoard money. As Deepak Chopra points out, hoarding money will result in money not coming to you in the flow. Stay in the flow. Buy and pay for what you need and what is necessary.
6). Some are very demanding. Little tin gods only wind up being worshipped by little tin worshippers. The days of the tyrant CEO are long over. While an executive shouldn’t take any nonsense from subordinates nor vendors, every executive these days had better know how to “play politics.” If you do not know how to play politics, you will have a very hard time keeping a job. Subordinates have more power than ever these days…and might wind up as your boss someday (I have seen this happen a couple of times in the last couple of years).
Be nice to everyone. Understand that you are not God’s gift to the world and that people aren’t going to drop everything to respond to you. Be humble and be patient. While patience is not my greatest virtue, it is a virtue we all must learn in today’s world. Being humble doesn’t require you to be a doormat. It does require that you treat all others, even the custodian, with great respect, understanding that the worth of a person is not in their title, salary, the house they live in or the car they drive. These things are far too important in America, but this is changing. Perhaps someday we Americans will understand the important things….like, as Martin Luther King said, the content of a person’s character. Character cannot be measured by bank accounts or titles on doors. It must be measured by the heart.
The executives who do things like the above stay unemployed a very long time. If you don’t want to join their ranks, do the opposite. Be gentle, patient, humble, coachable, honest, full of integrity, and don’t whine or think you know better than those who are experts in getting you employed. If you do not want to remain in the unemployment line, act like those executives that are universally respected and revered, not the greedy, overbearing, obnoxious resident of the “C” Suite of this first decade of the 2000’s. That cowboy mentality is dead and cold. Cooperation and humility are the values currently coming into vogue. It is about blanking time.
Showing posts with label executive. Show all posts
Showing posts with label executive. Show all posts
Monday, September 28, 2009
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Communicate for Heaven’s Sake!
Someone I know has an inability to communicate information in response to questions. For example, I said “How much does that cost a month?” The answer was “Well, I bought it for a year.” “How much,” I asked again, “does it cost a month?” “Well,” was the answer, “maybe I bought it for six months.” Again, I asked how much it cost a month. The response this time was “$125.00” “Well,” I replied, “Is that a month, like I asked for, or is that for the year?” “For the year,” she replied, “I think.” I did refrain from homicide, though no jury would convict me.
Some people, if you ask them “Are you married,” will reply “Ice cream.” Unfortunately, we’re seeing far too much of this in executive interviewing. Job-seekers are refusing to answer simple questions with simple answers. Instead, they’re listening to coaches who tell them to answer questions obliquely. This is a major mistake. Here are some simple tips.
1). Actually listen to the question. Hear what the person is asking. This is the first and foremost requirement to intelligent answering of a question. Sometimes, in interview training, my clients are answering questions I never asked and refusing to answer clear, concise, and uncomplicated questions I ask. This habit is a very, very bad one. It is common whenever the subject of remuneration comes up. If I ask “And how much were you making at your last position,” I often get, “I like frogs a lot.” Don’t avoid this question. It is really making people angry.
2). Don’t rush ahead in your mind to answer the question. People generally hear about 10% or less of what any individual says before they start to frame an answer to it. This is why so few people actually respond to what someone else has said. SHUT UP for heaven’s sake. Close your big mouth and open both your ears, and shut off your monkey mind and actually listen to what the other person is saying before you begin to frame a response to it.
3). Engage your mind before your mouth. Think for a moment before you answer a question or make a comment. Too many people flap their jaws without connecting their brain to them first. Few people use even half of the brains God gave them, so if you use that or more you’ll appear to be one of the smartest people in the world.
4). Answer the question, not what you want to answer. Trying to get an answer to the question that was asked, especially in an interview, is one of the hardest things in the world. Don’t evade. Don’t go around the barn to answer the question. Answer the question!
I see executives stumble and mumble when they’re asked to give an example of something, especially a “team player” question. These folks give their philosophy on being a team player. They say how much they like team players. How important it is to be a team player. The thing that few of them do is give an example. I’ve seen more interviews blown with executive evasiveness than any other way.
5). Can your corporate jargon. “Well, I’ve always found it vital to proactively apply 24X7, 365 solutions to integral issues within the hierarchical structure to operationally increase one on one customer interface for the enhancement of bottom line, and even middle line or top line equations.” Huh???? Believe me, I’ve heard worse than this. Try speaking English (or Spanish or whatever) rather than Corporatese. Many people, including me, truly hate that hooey. All you’re doing is showing how ignorant you are when you speak like that. Someone with a working brain can explain, to some degree, Quantum Mechanics to a second grader, much less business. Business is not really rocket science, although some businesspeople try to make it seem so. I’m consistently amazed by the lack of common sense that some executives display. Go talk to a second grader or a horse and get some horse-sense in your brain instead of your jargon.
6). Assure understanding. After you’ve answered an interview question, make sure that the interviewer understood. Check it out. Say, “Is there anything you feel I’ve left out there that I could talk about a bit more?” Take full responsibility for any lack of understanding of the answer you’ve given.
7). If they aren’t understanding your answer, it is your responsibility, not their stupidity. If people continually have a problem understanding you, it isn’t that they’re stupid. It is that you aren’t clear. Unfortunately, you’re going to have to speak to the lowest common denominator when you’re speaking. Don’t use a $5 word when a 50 cent one will do. Don’t ramble on and on. Keep your sentences short and in clear language.
Executive interviews are not really that difficult. It is the executives that make them so.
If you want to know more about executive interviewing, call me at 720.581.4301 and I’ll be pleased to speak with you. I offer executives at the Director Level, VP Level or “C” Suite Level a free, one hour evaluation. Part of that eval can certainly be a short, diagnostic mock interview to see where you are. Don’t guess whether or not you’re a good interviewer. Know.
If you’d like to make an appointment, call my partner, Nicole, at 303.480.5484 and ask to come in for an executive eval. She’ll make an appointment for us.
I hope this helped with your executive interview. Good luck!
J.
Some people, if you ask them “Are you married,” will reply “Ice cream.” Unfortunately, we’re seeing far too much of this in executive interviewing. Job-seekers are refusing to answer simple questions with simple answers. Instead, they’re listening to coaches who tell them to answer questions obliquely. This is a major mistake. Here are some simple tips.
1). Actually listen to the question. Hear what the person is asking. This is the first and foremost requirement to intelligent answering of a question. Sometimes, in interview training, my clients are answering questions I never asked and refusing to answer clear, concise, and uncomplicated questions I ask. This habit is a very, very bad one. It is common whenever the subject of remuneration comes up. If I ask “And how much were you making at your last position,” I often get, “I like frogs a lot.” Don’t avoid this question. It is really making people angry.
2). Don’t rush ahead in your mind to answer the question. People generally hear about 10% or less of what any individual says before they start to frame an answer to it. This is why so few people actually respond to what someone else has said. SHUT UP for heaven’s sake. Close your big mouth and open both your ears, and shut off your monkey mind and actually listen to what the other person is saying before you begin to frame a response to it.
3). Engage your mind before your mouth. Think for a moment before you answer a question or make a comment. Too many people flap their jaws without connecting their brain to them first. Few people use even half of the brains God gave them, so if you use that or more you’ll appear to be one of the smartest people in the world.
4). Answer the question, not what you want to answer. Trying to get an answer to the question that was asked, especially in an interview, is one of the hardest things in the world. Don’t evade. Don’t go around the barn to answer the question. Answer the question!
I see executives stumble and mumble when they’re asked to give an example of something, especially a “team player” question. These folks give their philosophy on being a team player. They say how much they like team players. How important it is to be a team player. The thing that few of them do is give an example. I’ve seen more interviews blown with executive evasiveness than any other way.
5). Can your corporate jargon. “Well, I’ve always found it vital to proactively apply 24X7, 365 solutions to integral issues within the hierarchical structure to operationally increase one on one customer interface for the enhancement of bottom line, and even middle line or top line equations.” Huh???? Believe me, I’ve heard worse than this. Try speaking English (or Spanish or whatever) rather than Corporatese. Many people, including me, truly hate that hooey. All you’re doing is showing how ignorant you are when you speak like that. Someone with a working brain can explain, to some degree, Quantum Mechanics to a second grader, much less business. Business is not really rocket science, although some businesspeople try to make it seem so. I’m consistently amazed by the lack of common sense that some executives display. Go talk to a second grader or a horse and get some horse-sense in your brain instead of your jargon.
6). Assure understanding. After you’ve answered an interview question, make sure that the interviewer understood. Check it out. Say, “Is there anything you feel I’ve left out there that I could talk about a bit more?” Take full responsibility for any lack of understanding of the answer you’ve given.
7). If they aren’t understanding your answer, it is your responsibility, not their stupidity. If people continually have a problem understanding you, it isn’t that they’re stupid. It is that you aren’t clear. Unfortunately, you’re going to have to speak to the lowest common denominator when you’re speaking. Don’t use a $5 word when a 50 cent one will do. Don’t ramble on and on. Keep your sentences short and in clear language.
Executive interviews are not really that difficult. It is the executives that make them so.
If you want to know more about executive interviewing, call me at 720.581.4301 and I’ll be pleased to speak with you. I offer executives at the Director Level, VP Level or “C” Suite Level a free, one hour evaluation. Part of that eval can certainly be a short, diagnostic mock interview to see where you are. Don’t guess whether or not you’re a good interviewer. Know.
If you’d like to make an appointment, call my partner, Nicole, at 303.480.5484 and ask to come in for an executive eval. She’ll make an appointment for us.
I hope this helped with your executive interview. Good luck!
J.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Stop Whining and Get to Work!
While most of my clients are great, there are some that are whiney as all get out. They are not likely to find executive level employment in a hurry….if ever.
Executives can be the whiniest and least proactive people on the face of the earth. They expect everything to be done for them as soon as they ask it to be done…even if it isn’t the job of the person to whom they’re speaking. So, executives out there who are looking for a job, here is some hard-core common sense and reality for you.
1). Your priority is not anyone else’s priority anymore. You are unemployed. You don’t have a “staff” you can order around. Networking contacts certainly aren’t your staff, nor is a transition coach, nor is your wife, your husband, your kids, or employers who might be looking to hire you. Things don’t happen “snap.” They happen when they’re going to happen, so learn a new word: “patience.”
2). You can’t order people anymore. You have to ask nicely and wait for a response. Sometimes neither you nor the people trying to help you will get one. Get over it.
3). You are no longer the most important person in the world. This especially applies to you CEOs out there. Get used to it. Learn another new word: “humility.”
4). Be nice to everyone you meet and everyone who is helping you. If you aren’t, we probably won’t bend over backwards to help you.
5). Be nice to everyone whether you think they’re your “equal” or not. Get over your snobbishness and superiority complex and treat everyone like the human being they are. I know that, especially for large mega-corporation executives, this is a new and interesting concept…that people are human beings and deserve to be treated nicely. Get used to the idea. Karma is a bitch, isn’t it?
6). Realize that you were probably laid off for a good reason, and it doesn’t all have to do with the economy. Some of the reason you were chosen for layoff has to do with your behavior, attitudes, performance, or way of looking at life. Ask someone honest who knows you what you’re doing that is obnoxious and seek to change it. For example, I’m an ass and I know it. In my job, which is kicking executives in the butt to get out and do something pro-active to find themselves a job, being an ass or worse is a real advantage. But I wouldn’t try to work for Mother Theresa Ministries, either. Find out who you are and change it or use it.
7). Remember, if you’re in Denver, that this is a very, very small town…and some of us know almost everyone in it. Don’t go up against someone who is “old Denver.” You’ll lose. This is a strange town. I’ve been in Denver for over 50 years. Be nice to those of us who have been around this block for a while or you won’t get employed in Denver, period. This is an “old boy’s and old girl’s town.” Those of us who have been around for a while at least know OF one another and usually will help one another. If you’d like to get employed again in Denver, hook into this network and be nice to everyone in it, or start looking at out of town jobs. And, executives, this matters more than what you’ve done for anyone’s bottom line.
8). Shut up about where you used to live and stop expecting Denver people to behave like people where you used to live. This is Denver. We have our own way of doing things. Better learn it if you want to be employed. And you’d better listen to those of us who have been here for a while. We know Denver and we know how to get things done.
9). Stop believing you know how to interview. You don’t. You don’t have a “good network,” and you’re probably not a good driver or good lover, either. Get humble and get interviewing and networking help immediately if you want to get employed again. Humility is, again, the best word for you to learn. Learn it now or pay the price.
This is very harsh. I should have been harsher. Stop whining about your unemployment, or the slowness of people getting back to you, or anything else you’re being a crybaby about and get your ass to work to find a job. Don’t expect someone else to do it for you, even if you have a transition coach. It is your job and your responsibility. If some idiot career firm has told you that they’ll do it for you, or some idiot headhunter has said that you don’t have to or shouldn’t pay for help, they’re lying to you…ignore them. Even if you’ve paid someone to help you (an excellent idea if you want to be employed anytime soon), they aren’t going to do it for you.
Get out there, stop whining and get to work. You’ll be employed a lot faster. No one wants to listen to a crybaby and, certainly, no one wants to hire one. Oh, and…..act in integrity during your job search and after.
Good job luck,
J.
Executives can be the whiniest and least proactive people on the face of the earth. They expect everything to be done for them as soon as they ask it to be done…even if it isn’t the job of the person to whom they’re speaking. So, executives out there who are looking for a job, here is some hard-core common sense and reality for you.
1). Your priority is not anyone else’s priority anymore. You are unemployed. You don’t have a “staff” you can order around. Networking contacts certainly aren’t your staff, nor is a transition coach, nor is your wife, your husband, your kids, or employers who might be looking to hire you. Things don’t happen “snap.” They happen when they’re going to happen, so learn a new word: “patience.”
2). You can’t order people anymore. You have to ask nicely and wait for a response. Sometimes neither you nor the people trying to help you will get one. Get over it.
3). You are no longer the most important person in the world. This especially applies to you CEOs out there. Get used to it. Learn another new word: “humility.”
4). Be nice to everyone you meet and everyone who is helping you. If you aren’t, we probably won’t bend over backwards to help you.
5). Be nice to everyone whether you think they’re your “equal” or not. Get over your snobbishness and superiority complex and treat everyone like the human being they are. I know that, especially for large mega-corporation executives, this is a new and interesting concept…that people are human beings and deserve to be treated nicely. Get used to the idea. Karma is a bitch, isn’t it?
6). Realize that you were probably laid off for a good reason, and it doesn’t all have to do with the economy. Some of the reason you were chosen for layoff has to do with your behavior, attitudes, performance, or way of looking at life. Ask someone honest who knows you what you’re doing that is obnoxious and seek to change it. For example, I’m an ass and I know it. In my job, which is kicking executives in the butt to get out and do something pro-active to find themselves a job, being an ass or worse is a real advantage. But I wouldn’t try to work for Mother Theresa Ministries, either. Find out who you are and change it or use it.
7). Remember, if you’re in Denver, that this is a very, very small town…and some of us know almost everyone in it. Don’t go up against someone who is “old Denver.” You’ll lose. This is a strange town. I’ve been in Denver for over 50 years. Be nice to those of us who have been around this block for a while or you won’t get employed in Denver, period. This is an “old boy’s and old girl’s town.” Those of us who have been around for a while at least know OF one another and usually will help one another. If you’d like to get employed again in Denver, hook into this network and be nice to everyone in it, or start looking at out of town jobs. And, executives, this matters more than what you’ve done for anyone’s bottom line.
8). Shut up about where you used to live and stop expecting Denver people to behave like people where you used to live. This is Denver. We have our own way of doing things. Better learn it if you want to be employed. And you’d better listen to those of us who have been here for a while. We know Denver and we know how to get things done.
9). Stop believing you know how to interview. You don’t. You don’t have a “good network,” and you’re probably not a good driver or good lover, either. Get humble and get interviewing and networking help immediately if you want to get employed again. Humility is, again, the best word for you to learn. Learn it now or pay the price.
This is very harsh. I should have been harsher. Stop whining about your unemployment, or the slowness of people getting back to you, or anything else you’re being a crybaby about and get your ass to work to find a job. Don’t expect someone else to do it for you, even if you have a transition coach. It is your job and your responsibility. If some idiot career firm has told you that they’ll do it for you, or some idiot headhunter has said that you don’t have to or shouldn’t pay for help, they’re lying to you…ignore them. Even if you’ve paid someone to help you (an excellent idea if you want to be employed anytime soon), they aren’t going to do it for you.
Get out there, stop whining and get to work. You’ll be employed a lot faster. No one wants to listen to a crybaby and, certainly, no one wants to hire one. Oh, and…..act in integrity during your job search and after.
Good job luck,
J.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Where Have We Been???
Dear Readers:
I've had some folks ask me where we've been, as it has been a couple of months since we posted on this site. Sorry 'bout that.
I have spent all of my writing time writing, editing and preparing some new books for publication over this summer. The first is In Transition: Rapidly Finding Your Next Executive Job (Even in Difficult Times), which was shipped from the publishers on Thursday, June 25th! Our next book is The Six Figure Resume Guide which will be shipped in about two weeks. By August, we'll have a book for non-executive white collar personnel called Getting Employed (Even in Difficult Times). This book gives effective strategies for non-executive personnel to find employment, including over 400 killer interview questions and how to answer them. By September, our book 1001 Killer Interview Questions and Their Answers (working title....we haven't decided on a final yet) will be out. Then, finally (at least for a little while) we're putting out a career management book the working title for which is Highly Cynical Career Management Techniques.
Some of these have DVDs to go along with them. In Transition has two associated DVDs currently in editing. The first DVD is a multiple DVD set with over 6 hours of training on finding executive employment. This will be about a 4 DVD set. We also have a 2 DVD set on answering the 4 "biggie" killer questions, with footage of actual clients answering these questions. I'll put up on my management blog sites further informaiton as it becomes available. Our wonderul internet publicist, Keith Eckhardt, is tirelessly working to get the DVDs finished and put up venues to allow people to buy these books and sets. If you'd like more information on these, please feel free to go to info@heckersdevgroup.com.
So...to make a long story endless....and to quote the Governator....we'll be baaack....very soon.
I hope you're having a great summer!
J
I've had some folks ask me where we've been, as it has been a couple of months since we posted on this site. Sorry 'bout that.
I have spent all of my writing time writing, editing and preparing some new books for publication over this summer. The first is In Transition: Rapidly Finding Your Next Executive Job (Even in Difficult Times), which was shipped from the publishers on Thursday, June 25th! Our next book is The Six Figure Resume Guide which will be shipped in about two weeks. By August, we'll have a book for non-executive white collar personnel called Getting Employed (Even in Difficult Times). This book gives effective strategies for non-executive personnel to find employment, including over 400 killer interview questions and how to answer them. By September, our book 1001 Killer Interview Questions and Their Answers (working title....we haven't decided on a final yet) will be out. Then, finally (at least for a little while) we're putting out a career management book the working title for which is Highly Cynical Career Management Techniques.
Some of these have DVDs to go along with them. In Transition has two associated DVDs currently in editing. The first DVD is a multiple DVD set with over 6 hours of training on finding executive employment. This will be about a 4 DVD set. We also have a 2 DVD set on answering the 4 "biggie" killer questions, with footage of actual clients answering these questions. I'll put up on my management blog sites further informaiton as it becomes available. Our wonderul internet publicist, Keith Eckhardt, is tirelessly working to get the DVDs finished and put up venues to allow people to buy these books and sets. If you'd like more information on these, please feel free to go to info@heckersdevgroup.com.
So...to make a long story endless....and to quote the Governator....we'll be baaack....very soon.
I hope you're having a great summer!
J
Saturday, March 7, 2009
We're Doing Something Right!
The unemployment figures Friday are, indeed, frightening. When the number of people who are unemployed and underemployed are added together, an astounding number, 15%, of Americans are unemployed. This is hitting the Executive Sector especially hard.
However, I want to give you a ray of hope. Our clients, even those who are very difficult to employ, are getting employed very rapidly. Our average for "C" Level clients is less than 7 months. The national average for "C" Level client is at 24 months and climbing. Our average for VP Level Candidates is less than 6 months. And our average for Director Level executives is slightly more than 4 months.
One of our "C" Level clients is 70 years old, and worked in non-profit...and is employed. He entered our program in November, and the date of his employment was in February. Another CFO client is trying to decide between which of his opportunities he should take. And we have similar success stories for VPs and Directors.
What we're doing right is hooking people into our extensive network of alumni and current clients to get them employed in this economy. Everyone who is being hired at the executive level is being hired through networking at a very high level. Our network is second to none, since Nicole and I are lifetime residents of Denver and the Front Range. We have even helped numerous out of town clients get jobs in the Denver and Front Range areas.
While I don't like to use this blog space for advertising what we do, we're doing many things right and our people are getting employed. We limit the number of people we take and we are not cheap, We cost between two weeks' and six weeks' salary for executives. Considering, however, how many months we cut off of the job search, can you really afford not to talk to us?
We don't take everyone who comes to us. We do not work with "linear" in-the-box, concrete thinkers, so if you're one of the hide-bound dinosaurs of Corporate America, please don't bother. But we'll be happy to speak with you and see if we can help in any way for those holistic, organic, out-of-the-box thinkers that America needs now. Our number for a free evaluation is 303.480.5484, and we welcome your call and look forward to coffee with you.
If you're tired of daytime TV, we'd love to help.
Please note, we work only with Director Level, VP Level and "C" Level (CXO Level) Clients. We are a fee-paid service, and require a portion of our fee before beginning our program. We do not work with people "pro bono," nor "on contingency," and we are not recruiters. For more information on us, go to www.heckersdevgroup.com or www.heckersdevelopmentgroup.com for the HTML site.
J.
However, I want to give you a ray of hope. Our clients, even those who are very difficult to employ, are getting employed very rapidly. Our average for "C" Level clients is less than 7 months. The national average for "C" Level client is at 24 months and climbing. Our average for VP Level Candidates is less than 6 months. And our average for Director Level executives is slightly more than 4 months.
One of our "C" Level clients is 70 years old, and worked in non-profit...and is employed. He entered our program in November, and the date of his employment was in February. Another CFO client is trying to decide between which of his opportunities he should take. And we have similar success stories for VPs and Directors.
What we're doing right is hooking people into our extensive network of alumni and current clients to get them employed in this economy. Everyone who is being hired at the executive level is being hired through networking at a very high level. Our network is second to none, since Nicole and I are lifetime residents of Denver and the Front Range. We have even helped numerous out of town clients get jobs in the Denver and Front Range areas.
While I don't like to use this blog space for advertising what we do, we're doing many things right and our people are getting employed. We limit the number of people we take and we are not cheap, We cost between two weeks' and six weeks' salary for executives. Considering, however, how many months we cut off of the job search, can you really afford not to talk to us?
We don't take everyone who comes to us. We do not work with "linear" in-the-box, concrete thinkers, so if you're one of the hide-bound dinosaurs of Corporate America, please don't bother. But we'll be happy to speak with you and see if we can help in any way for those holistic, organic, out-of-the-box thinkers that America needs now. Our number for a free evaluation is 303.480.5484, and we welcome your call and look forward to coffee with you.
If you're tired of daytime TV, we'd love to help.
Please note, we work only with Director Level, VP Level and "C" Level (CXO Level) Clients. We are a fee-paid service, and require a portion of our fee before beginning our program. We do not work with people "pro bono," nor "on contingency," and we are not recruiters. For more information on us, go to www.heckersdevgroup.com or www.heckersdevelopmentgroup.com for the HTML site.
J.
Monday, December 29, 2008
New Ways of Thinking As Executives
The last post we looked at the stupidity of “Executive Think” and how it is highly destructive to American corporations. This post will examine some new ways of thinking that executives must adopt (if they care to survive).
1). The CEO is the head of a team, not a god or hero. Americans love to put CEOs on pedestals and, recently, behind bars. There is a great old saying, “Never believe your own PR.” Too many executives have forgotten this and are acting as if they are invincible. The Justice Department and dead hand of Adam Smith are showing them differently.
It takes a team to make a company work, and the whole team does not live in the executive suite! This is something that American executives have mostly forgotten, but had better remember in a hurry. I’m completely disgusted by the spectacle of skyrocketing CEO pay while workers are being stiffed. This is immoral. I’m also completely disgusted by AIG’s executives who, after receiving our taxpayer money as a bailout, went on a retreat at an exclusive spa. These people should be fired, indicted, tried and, if found guilty, jailed.
We as executives must remember that we are the leaders of a team, not Oriental Potentates. We shouldn’t have to remind people of that, but, obviously, we do. At least you only had to kiss the feet of an Oriental Potentate. Many CEOs want you to kiss their ass!
2). Layoffs are failures, and should be treated as such. An executive team which has to lay people off should never receive bonuses or reward pay of any kind. Layoffs signify a failure and a lack of integrity on the part of the executive team and the company. The executive team who does that may deserve to be part of the layoff. They certainly do not deserve rewards. It is part of the scandal of American business that executives believe they even deserve rewards when they have failed their employees. In Japan layoffs (which rarely occur) can lead to the suicide of the executive who has to order them, because the Japanese are better people than we are who understand that they’ve let their employees, their families and society as a whole down when they deprive people of jobs. Frankly, I wish that American executives who order layoffs would think about suicide. It would be more appropriate.
3). Executives do not deserve ANY better “perks” than a factory line worker. Executives often think that they are the most important people in a company. They are not. Every person on the team is vital to the company’s mission — the custodian no less than the CEO. While different people should be paid according to their skill level, there is no real reason why executives should receive better health insurance or other benefits that rank and file employees do not receive.
4). The life, health or happiness of an executive is no more intrinsically important than that of any other person in the company…and sometimes a great deal less. American business must change its way of thinking! Just because people have MBAs and dress in nice suits and sit in air conditioned offices, they are not intrinsically more valuable than any other person in the company. The attitudes in American business that they ARE more valuable is causing great anger among the rank and file. There are all the historical signs of a pending revolution, whether a quiet one through laws or a bloody one where executives are taken from their offices (let us hope it is the former, although the latter has occurred many times in history). People are intrinsically important, regardless of their title, salary, or the clothing they wear. We must begin to recognize the intrinsic worth of each individual.
5). Pay must be equalized. The enormous gap between what an average worker is paid and an executive is paid is just plain immoral, unethical, and bad business. This rarely exists in other countries. The fact that it exists here is a great scandal. Executives who wish to survive in the coming world will begin giving up their ridiculously high paychecks and assuring that every person in the company is paid with fairness and justice. There is no logical or business reason for executives to receive 800 times more than the average worker at a company, with additional perks and bonuses. Five or six times, yes. But 800? This is simply abuse of power by those who have it.
6). Executives must practice “walking management.” Every executive should be required to do one of the company’s dirtier jobs for at least a few days a year. I do not know if they still do so, but, in the early days, Grease Monkey made every single executive start by greasing cars, and then work his or her way through all of the company jobs. They then sent their executives back a few days a year to grease cars. Grease Monkey is a very successful company. I think part of the reason is that ethic. Everyone knows that every executive has “been there,” and might be there again for a while. Make executives (including yourself) do some dirty work alongside your employees. I always choose, for myself, the dirtiest job I’m capable of doing within the companies I’ve run over the years, and do it for several days a year.
7). Show compassion. The executive who wants to be successful will be compassionate towards customers, employees and vendors. My wife and I, if we’re not busy and one of our beloved associates is, are just fine with picking their kids up from school, taking them home and feeding them a snack. Treat employees and everyone else with great compassion, and it will pay off.
8). Destroy hierarchy and unnecessary policies. I’m sick to death of “company policies.” When something goes wrong, the reaction of most executives is to make a policy about it. STOP THAT! Deal with the individual problem, and move on.
And why do companies need hierarchy any more? I’ll tell you why. It is a “turf thing.” People like to strut around with fancy titles, big offices and inflated salaries. Fire these people and hire some folks who actually want to get something done for your company and themselves. People don’t need fancy titles, big offices, special perks or inflated salaries. Choose people who have a passion for what they’re doing, love to be part of a team where there is “floating management,” and make up their titles for fun. “Wizard of the Realm” has a nice ring to it.
In my company, and others I’ve run, the person with the most experience on the issue we’re facing is the boss, even over me. This makes sense. If an admin has more experience than me on something, she or he is the boss. The sooner we get rid of false hierarchies and run companies sensibly, the better off America will be.
9). Let employees be themselves…and find their own solutions. Rather than making employees do things the “company way,” let people do things their way. I will lay you dollars to donuts that they’ll do it cheaper, better and quicker than “your way.” Give people a chance and they’ll run with it. Now this means that your enormous ego has to take a vacation. Why should you have thought of it. None of us is as smart as all of us.
10). Have fun. Companies of the future will be companies where people love to come to work. Starkist Tuna — not a company where you’d think it would be fun to work — rather than buying into “do more with less” B.S., hired more people, slowed down the assembly line, and got rid of managers, organizing people into self-managing work teams. What happened? Absenteeism dropped to almost nothing. Ditto Worker’s Comp claims. Productivity went way up. Rather than stripping one half of a fish, the whole fish got stripped. People took responsibility for one another, covered for one another, and got rid of the deadwood themselves. Good for you, Starkist!
This stuff is not just good morality, or pie-in-the-sky, it is good business. Frankly, some of this stuff is about to be mandated by the government. CEO and executive pay has gotten out of hand, and there are increasing calls for regulation on this. “Perks” have also gotten out of hand, and are also being scrutinized heavily. The companies who will be celebrated are those who go beyond the new laws we’re about to see reining in executive abuses and greed. I hope that you and your company will be among those who take this to heart and transform your company culture. If this is already your company culture — good for you! Please let me know about you and I’ll mention you in this blog and tell your story!
If I or my colleagues can be of any assistance in transforming company culture to fit the new, post-crash realities, please call us.
To a prosperous 2000!
J.
1). The CEO is the head of a team, not a god or hero. Americans love to put CEOs on pedestals and, recently, behind bars. There is a great old saying, “Never believe your own PR.” Too many executives have forgotten this and are acting as if they are invincible. The Justice Department and dead hand of Adam Smith are showing them differently.
It takes a team to make a company work, and the whole team does not live in the executive suite! This is something that American executives have mostly forgotten, but had better remember in a hurry. I’m completely disgusted by the spectacle of skyrocketing CEO pay while workers are being stiffed. This is immoral. I’m also completely disgusted by AIG’s executives who, after receiving our taxpayer money as a bailout, went on a retreat at an exclusive spa. These people should be fired, indicted, tried and, if found guilty, jailed.
We as executives must remember that we are the leaders of a team, not Oriental Potentates. We shouldn’t have to remind people of that, but, obviously, we do. At least you only had to kiss the feet of an Oriental Potentate. Many CEOs want you to kiss their ass!
2). Layoffs are failures, and should be treated as such. An executive team which has to lay people off should never receive bonuses or reward pay of any kind. Layoffs signify a failure and a lack of integrity on the part of the executive team and the company. The executive team who does that may deserve to be part of the layoff. They certainly do not deserve rewards. It is part of the scandal of American business that executives believe they even deserve rewards when they have failed their employees. In Japan layoffs (which rarely occur) can lead to the suicide of the executive who has to order them, because the Japanese are better people than we are who understand that they’ve let their employees, their families and society as a whole down when they deprive people of jobs. Frankly, I wish that American executives who order layoffs would think about suicide. It would be more appropriate.
3). Executives do not deserve ANY better “perks” than a factory line worker. Executives often think that they are the most important people in a company. They are not. Every person on the team is vital to the company’s mission — the custodian no less than the CEO. While different people should be paid according to their skill level, there is no real reason why executives should receive better health insurance or other benefits that rank and file employees do not receive.
4). The life, health or happiness of an executive is no more intrinsically important than that of any other person in the company…and sometimes a great deal less. American business must change its way of thinking! Just because people have MBAs and dress in nice suits and sit in air conditioned offices, they are not intrinsically more valuable than any other person in the company. The attitudes in American business that they ARE more valuable is causing great anger among the rank and file. There are all the historical signs of a pending revolution, whether a quiet one through laws or a bloody one where executives are taken from their offices (let us hope it is the former, although the latter has occurred many times in history). People are intrinsically important, regardless of their title, salary, or the clothing they wear. We must begin to recognize the intrinsic worth of each individual.
5). Pay must be equalized. The enormous gap between what an average worker is paid and an executive is paid is just plain immoral, unethical, and bad business. This rarely exists in other countries. The fact that it exists here is a great scandal. Executives who wish to survive in the coming world will begin giving up their ridiculously high paychecks and assuring that every person in the company is paid with fairness and justice. There is no logical or business reason for executives to receive 800 times more than the average worker at a company, with additional perks and bonuses. Five or six times, yes. But 800? This is simply abuse of power by those who have it.
6). Executives must practice “walking management.” Every executive should be required to do one of the company’s dirtier jobs for at least a few days a year. I do not know if they still do so, but, in the early days, Grease Monkey made every single executive start by greasing cars, and then work his or her way through all of the company jobs. They then sent their executives back a few days a year to grease cars. Grease Monkey is a very successful company. I think part of the reason is that ethic. Everyone knows that every executive has “been there,” and might be there again for a while. Make executives (including yourself) do some dirty work alongside your employees. I always choose, for myself, the dirtiest job I’m capable of doing within the companies I’ve run over the years, and do it for several days a year.
7). Show compassion. The executive who wants to be successful will be compassionate towards customers, employees and vendors. My wife and I, if we’re not busy and one of our beloved associates is, are just fine with picking their kids up from school, taking them home and feeding them a snack. Treat employees and everyone else with great compassion, and it will pay off.
8). Destroy hierarchy and unnecessary policies. I’m sick to death of “company policies.” When something goes wrong, the reaction of most executives is to make a policy about it. STOP THAT! Deal with the individual problem, and move on.
And why do companies need hierarchy any more? I’ll tell you why. It is a “turf thing.” People like to strut around with fancy titles, big offices and inflated salaries. Fire these people and hire some folks who actually want to get something done for your company and themselves. People don’t need fancy titles, big offices, special perks or inflated salaries. Choose people who have a passion for what they’re doing, love to be part of a team where there is “floating management,” and make up their titles for fun. “Wizard of the Realm” has a nice ring to it.
In my company, and others I’ve run, the person with the most experience on the issue we’re facing is the boss, even over me. This makes sense. If an admin has more experience than me on something, she or he is the boss. The sooner we get rid of false hierarchies and run companies sensibly, the better off America will be.
9). Let employees be themselves…and find their own solutions. Rather than making employees do things the “company way,” let people do things their way. I will lay you dollars to donuts that they’ll do it cheaper, better and quicker than “your way.” Give people a chance and they’ll run with it. Now this means that your enormous ego has to take a vacation. Why should you have thought of it. None of us is as smart as all of us.
10). Have fun. Companies of the future will be companies where people love to come to work. Starkist Tuna — not a company where you’d think it would be fun to work — rather than buying into “do more with less” B.S., hired more people, slowed down the assembly line, and got rid of managers, organizing people into self-managing work teams. What happened? Absenteeism dropped to almost nothing. Ditto Worker’s Comp claims. Productivity went way up. Rather than stripping one half of a fish, the whole fish got stripped. People took responsibility for one another, covered for one another, and got rid of the deadwood themselves. Good for you, Starkist!
This stuff is not just good morality, or pie-in-the-sky, it is good business. Frankly, some of this stuff is about to be mandated by the government. CEO and executive pay has gotten out of hand, and there are increasing calls for regulation on this. “Perks” have also gotten out of hand, and are also being scrutinized heavily. The companies who will be celebrated are those who go beyond the new laws we’re about to see reining in executive abuses and greed. I hope that you and your company will be among those who take this to heart and transform your company culture. If this is already your company culture — good for you! Please let me know about you and I’ll mention you in this blog and tell your story!
If I or my colleagues can be of any assistance in transforming company culture to fit the new, post-crash realities, please call us.
To a prosperous 2000!
J.
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Executive Think is Deadly
“Well, then, let them eat cake.” (Reply of Marie Antoinette who asked why the people were rioting upon being told that they had no bread. This reply was widely circulated, and was one of the things that resulted in Marie losing her head. “A tisket a tasket, a head in a basket. It cannot reply to the questions you ask it.” Queen Marie wasn't being callous. She didn't understand that there was no flour to make bread or cake. She simply thought they were unhappy because they'd run out of bread and the bakers weren't making enough. From her very isolated point of view, this was a perfectly logical and proper solut9ion. )
Ford’s CEO didn’t lose his head. But Alan Mulally certainly deserved to lose his job, and why his board didn’t immediately fire this fool after his remarks is beyond me. After going by private corporate jet to Washington D.C. to ask the representatives of the taxpayers (few of whom have the luxury of brand new cars, much less corporate jets) for a bailout for their stupidity, Mulally, when asked if he would take a salary cut from $21M total compensation to $1.00, said “I think I’m OK where I am.” Again, this congenital idiot should have been fired by the board on the spot.
The problem, however, is that the board of Ford is composed of Mulally’s golfing buddies who think in the same way.
I’m reminded of the story my friend Alva told me about the local GM of Avaya a few years back. When he was meeting with employees to explain why Avaya had to cut their jobs, he was asked why he didn’t get rid of a corporate jet. Rather than responding he proceeded to correct the questioner (who was being RIFed) that it wasn’t A corporate jet, but three corporate jets and a couple of corporate helicopters. Then, this dumbass went on to detail the millions of dollars that these luxuries cost to maintain and fly each month. Again, in a sane world, this individual would have immediately lost his job if not his head.
I must say, however, that I see such idiocy frequently at the top levels. Last December I did one of our Executive Round Tables on ways to thrive in the “coming recession” (which, according to most sources, has long since arrived). I predicted the current credit crisis, and that we were going to see housing in free-fall. I was accused by one of the more conservative CEO attendees at this Round Table of being a “Liberal” (which, for this group, is the harshest condemnation possible) and of being one of the “Liberal naysayers” who just couldn’t admit that George W. Bush was the country’s greatest president and had brought us a booming economy.
To their credit, several of the other CEOs there looked aghast at this fool, and questioned what planet he was living on. But these things point up a very real problem in the ranks of upper-level executives. It is called “Executive Think.”
It is important to understand that these people aren’t necessarily evil. They just live in a world different from the remainder of the human race. When Bush 41 (George H.W.) guessed wildly wrong on the price of a half gallon of milk, he was not alone. Many of the top level executives I have known over the years really, truly don’t “get it.” They live in an insulated world where the economy is booming, housing is stable and the stock market is great. If I weren’t so happy (for their sakes) that they’re getting a wake-up call from reality, I’d feel sorry for them. In the recent crises, executives are now having their noses rubbed in realities that most of us must deal with every day. That they still don’t get it, however, is evident by the fact that, after receiving taxpayer money the congenital idiots who run AIG went away to a plush spa for a four day corporate retreat.
It is this lack of understanding that leads me to say that these people need to be fired by their boards and replaced with “C” level executives who have an understanding of the real world. And this, by the way, is 70% of “C” level executives. The vast majority of the CEOs I’ve met are very realistic and great people. But the 30% who are clueless are going to cause some very harsh regulations to come forth on all of us. This is why we, as their peers, must pull them down before they pull all of us down into the morass of stifling government regulation and interference. And, frankly, if we can’t police our own ranks, we deserve every bit of government interference we get. So we must police our own ranks.
Fortunately, these clueless “C” Level executives are dinosaurs who are well on their way to being extinct. Most executives understand that there are executive behaviors which incite rage and those which engender approval from others. And many executives understand that “the masses” are their customers. Don’t be surprised to see organized boycotts of Ford (I wouldn’t buy a lousy Ford product anyway…but still….). While elections have consequences, so do stupid remarks from top executives. Here are the things that executives in virtually all companies must do now to change public perception of top business leaders.
1). Reduce the obscene gap between the average employee and the executive suite. If we do not immediately reduce the ever-rising income gap between the average employee and the executive suite, both in actual paychecks and in total comp, we are gong to see the government limiting it for us. And you can bet your bootie that, if the government does it, it will be harsher than anything we’d impose on ourselves. In 1996 the average top executive earned $41 for every $1 earned by the average wage-earner. However, in 2006 the average top executive earned $410 for every $1 that was earned by the average wage earner. This ten-fold jump is very unhealthy for society and, if history is any indication, will eventually be very literally unhealthy for executives themselves. No less of a luminary than Warren Buffet has predicted food bank riots in New York City by 2010, as the city’s food banks are dry. Hello, people! Hungry people have always been known to drag the wealthy who are perceived to be corrupt out of their carriages, off their horses, and, in modern times, out of their limousines and beat them and/or kill them.
This earnings gap must end immediately A difference of 400% for average executives (the gap for the “C” Level executives of Fortune 100 firms can be thousands of times) is beyond absurd. It is, arguably, immoral. For the good of society and for the protection of capitalism and the free market, we must police ourselves to change this.
2). Excessive “perks.” But salaries are only the beginning. The enormous difference in “perks” is even more scandalous. When luxury perks, special loans, corporate jets or helicopters, etc. are added in, the gap becomes even wider.
The problem is that executives often think that they deserve these things. If the company is privately held, well, realistically the owners can take as much as they want out of it and explain or not explain to their workers. If their workers don’t like it, they can leave. But this isn’t true of a publicly traded company. Share-holders often complain about executive pay, but most companies are set up so the share-holders, who are the true owners of the company, have little or no say in what executives are paid. This is because the board is composed, again, of the executive suite’s golfing buddies, thus assuring no independent oversight of public corporations. This, also, will lead to government regulation, especially in a Democratically controlled Washington, if we don’t police ourselves.
3). Effective immunity from prosecution. Because of the corporate shield, many executives who cheat or steal from others are effectively shielded from prosecution or any other legal consequences. If prosecuted or sued, corporations often pay for the best attorneys possible to get these folks a slap on the wrist. Again, this is likely to change.
The last 8 years of the Bush Administration Justice Department which was owned and operated by large corporations is winding down. The Obama Administration Justice Department is going to be more aggressive. And they have learned since Janet Reno went after Microsoft. They learned a great deal from that case.
Corporate executives are going to be increasingly held personally responsible for dangerous or faulty products, manipulation of the markets, and many other things. Remember, the immunity of individuals in corporations is not a universal value. In fact, it is a value that very few countries hold. In China a CEO who makes a product that kills people, as well as his or her team, can be held for murder and executed. While that is unlikely to happen in America, the corporate shield is going to be dramatically weakened. That shield is a tradition, not an absolute. It can be changed with the stroke of a pen. Once again, we must police ourselves before the government does.
Executives who are going to be successful must stop acting in “executive think,” and begin to see the values of those who have recently turned around companies. The next post will deal with what is effective thinking for executives, rather than “executive-think.” As a preview, here are a few things that newly successful executives must begin to practice. We’ll elaborate next time.
1). Team spirit. Currently, successful executives are those who see themselves as a part of a team, every individual of which is valuable and necessary.
2). A flat organization. Successful organizations are increasingly “flatter.” My company is very successful — and very flat. We are certainly very small by choice. But the same principles are being applied at many successful companies world-wide.
3). Get out of the Executive Suite frequently! As a result of the above two points, successful CEOs are getting out of the executive suites and down on the shop floor, assembly line, out in the field, and so on. Employees who see the CEO eating lunch in the company cafeteria from a brown bag, where they can go and talk with him or her, are incredibly loyal.
4). Equality of perks. My colleagues who work with me have similar needs to mine so far as health insurance, dental insurance, days off, and so on. So WHY, just because my wife and I started the company, should we have tons more perks than they do? Successful organizations give everyone pretty much the same perks. Now, if we could just get the U.S. Congress and U.S. Government to follow the laws they pass, we’d be in good shape.
5). Flatness of pay. This one is sure to raise ire among businesspeople. And it is pretty radical. But, mark my words, just as surely as I predicted the credit crunch and housing crisis in 2003 in a restaurant in South Denver, this prediction of mine will come true, as well. Differences in pay between executives and workers will and must be reduced. Everyone must win, not just the people in the executive offices. And, about those executive offices, anyway….a true executive doesn’t need acreage in his or her office. I’m still a competent executive in a modest office similar to everyone else’s.
And so on. The key word here is “flat.” Companies that want to survive this economic crisis, and, at the same time, survive the sea changes that, as a result of the taxpayers owning some of America’s largest companies now, will be very flat organizations. I’ve said before that humility is the most important virtue for an executive. This has never been more true than now.
Unfortunately, I am skeptical that many of the insulated, arrogant and greedy executives in the executive suites of many of America’s companies will get their heads out of the butts and make the changes they need to make. They are stubbornly convinced of their own rightness. Instead of doing what is intelligent, they are standing on their perceived “rights” to be considered special and above the opinions and reach of society. As so many people through history have realized just before they were executed, these people are not invulnerable. Their money and influence will not protect them forever.
I actually think this is a good thing for American business. Getting rid of arrogant, posturing, narcissists in America’s companies, whether by the perp walk or being voted out by furious stockholders will improve American business immensely. It will be a difficult and challenging time for America until these fools are gone. But, in the long run, it will produce an economy that benefits a great many more people than our current, highly stratified, and corrupt system.
Be prosperous!
J.
Ford’s CEO didn’t lose his head. But Alan Mulally certainly deserved to lose his job, and why his board didn’t immediately fire this fool after his remarks is beyond me. After going by private corporate jet to Washington D.C. to ask the representatives of the taxpayers (few of whom have the luxury of brand new cars, much less corporate jets) for a bailout for their stupidity, Mulally, when asked if he would take a salary cut from $21M total compensation to $1.00, said “I think I’m OK where I am.” Again, this congenital idiot should have been fired by the board on the spot.
The problem, however, is that the board of Ford is composed of Mulally’s golfing buddies who think in the same way.
I’m reminded of the story my friend Alva told me about the local GM of Avaya a few years back. When he was meeting with employees to explain why Avaya had to cut their jobs, he was asked why he didn’t get rid of a corporate jet. Rather than responding he proceeded to correct the questioner (who was being RIFed) that it wasn’t A corporate jet, but three corporate jets and a couple of corporate helicopters. Then, this dumbass went on to detail the millions of dollars that these luxuries cost to maintain and fly each month. Again, in a sane world, this individual would have immediately lost his job if not his head.
I must say, however, that I see such idiocy frequently at the top levels. Last December I did one of our Executive Round Tables on ways to thrive in the “coming recession” (which, according to most sources, has long since arrived). I predicted the current credit crisis, and that we were going to see housing in free-fall. I was accused by one of the more conservative CEO attendees at this Round Table of being a “Liberal” (which, for this group, is the harshest condemnation possible) and of being one of the “Liberal naysayers” who just couldn’t admit that George W. Bush was the country’s greatest president and had brought us a booming economy.
To their credit, several of the other CEOs there looked aghast at this fool, and questioned what planet he was living on. But these things point up a very real problem in the ranks of upper-level executives. It is called “Executive Think.”
It is important to understand that these people aren’t necessarily evil. They just live in a world different from the remainder of the human race. When Bush 41 (George H.W.) guessed wildly wrong on the price of a half gallon of milk, he was not alone. Many of the top level executives I have known over the years really, truly don’t “get it.” They live in an insulated world where the economy is booming, housing is stable and the stock market is great. If I weren’t so happy (for their sakes) that they’re getting a wake-up call from reality, I’d feel sorry for them. In the recent crises, executives are now having their noses rubbed in realities that most of us must deal with every day. That they still don’t get it, however, is evident by the fact that, after receiving taxpayer money the congenital idiots who run AIG went away to a plush spa for a four day corporate retreat.
It is this lack of understanding that leads me to say that these people need to be fired by their boards and replaced with “C” level executives who have an understanding of the real world. And this, by the way, is 70% of “C” level executives. The vast majority of the CEOs I’ve met are very realistic and great people. But the 30% who are clueless are going to cause some very harsh regulations to come forth on all of us. This is why we, as their peers, must pull them down before they pull all of us down into the morass of stifling government regulation and interference. And, frankly, if we can’t police our own ranks, we deserve every bit of government interference we get. So we must police our own ranks.
Fortunately, these clueless “C” Level executives are dinosaurs who are well on their way to being extinct. Most executives understand that there are executive behaviors which incite rage and those which engender approval from others. And many executives understand that “the masses” are their customers. Don’t be surprised to see organized boycotts of Ford (I wouldn’t buy a lousy Ford product anyway…but still….). While elections have consequences, so do stupid remarks from top executives. Here are the things that executives in virtually all companies must do now to change public perception of top business leaders.
1). Reduce the obscene gap between the average employee and the executive suite. If we do not immediately reduce the ever-rising income gap between the average employee and the executive suite, both in actual paychecks and in total comp, we are gong to see the government limiting it for us. And you can bet your bootie that, if the government does it, it will be harsher than anything we’d impose on ourselves. In 1996 the average top executive earned $41 for every $1 earned by the average wage-earner. However, in 2006 the average top executive earned $410 for every $1 that was earned by the average wage earner. This ten-fold jump is very unhealthy for society and, if history is any indication, will eventually be very literally unhealthy for executives themselves. No less of a luminary than Warren Buffet has predicted food bank riots in New York City by 2010, as the city’s food banks are dry. Hello, people! Hungry people have always been known to drag the wealthy who are perceived to be corrupt out of their carriages, off their horses, and, in modern times, out of their limousines and beat them and/or kill them.
This earnings gap must end immediately A difference of 400% for average executives (the gap for the “C” Level executives of Fortune 100 firms can be thousands of times) is beyond absurd. It is, arguably, immoral. For the good of society and for the protection of capitalism and the free market, we must police ourselves to change this.
2). Excessive “perks.” But salaries are only the beginning. The enormous difference in “perks” is even more scandalous. When luxury perks, special loans, corporate jets or helicopters, etc. are added in, the gap becomes even wider.
The problem is that executives often think that they deserve these things. If the company is privately held, well, realistically the owners can take as much as they want out of it and explain or not explain to their workers. If their workers don’t like it, they can leave. But this isn’t true of a publicly traded company. Share-holders often complain about executive pay, but most companies are set up so the share-holders, who are the true owners of the company, have little or no say in what executives are paid. This is because the board is composed, again, of the executive suite’s golfing buddies, thus assuring no independent oversight of public corporations. This, also, will lead to government regulation, especially in a Democratically controlled Washington, if we don’t police ourselves.
3). Effective immunity from prosecution. Because of the corporate shield, many executives who cheat or steal from others are effectively shielded from prosecution or any other legal consequences. If prosecuted or sued, corporations often pay for the best attorneys possible to get these folks a slap on the wrist. Again, this is likely to change.
The last 8 years of the Bush Administration Justice Department which was owned and operated by large corporations is winding down. The Obama Administration Justice Department is going to be more aggressive. And they have learned since Janet Reno went after Microsoft. They learned a great deal from that case.
Corporate executives are going to be increasingly held personally responsible for dangerous or faulty products, manipulation of the markets, and many other things. Remember, the immunity of individuals in corporations is not a universal value. In fact, it is a value that very few countries hold. In China a CEO who makes a product that kills people, as well as his or her team, can be held for murder and executed. While that is unlikely to happen in America, the corporate shield is going to be dramatically weakened. That shield is a tradition, not an absolute. It can be changed with the stroke of a pen. Once again, we must police ourselves before the government does.
Executives who are going to be successful must stop acting in “executive think,” and begin to see the values of those who have recently turned around companies. The next post will deal with what is effective thinking for executives, rather than “executive-think.” As a preview, here are a few things that newly successful executives must begin to practice. We’ll elaborate next time.
1). Team spirit. Currently, successful executives are those who see themselves as a part of a team, every individual of which is valuable and necessary.
2). A flat organization. Successful organizations are increasingly “flatter.” My company is very successful — and very flat. We are certainly very small by choice. But the same principles are being applied at many successful companies world-wide.
3). Get out of the Executive Suite frequently! As a result of the above two points, successful CEOs are getting out of the executive suites and down on the shop floor, assembly line, out in the field, and so on. Employees who see the CEO eating lunch in the company cafeteria from a brown bag, where they can go and talk with him or her, are incredibly loyal.
4). Equality of perks. My colleagues who work with me have similar needs to mine so far as health insurance, dental insurance, days off, and so on. So WHY, just because my wife and I started the company, should we have tons more perks than they do? Successful organizations give everyone pretty much the same perks. Now, if we could just get the U.S. Congress and U.S. Government to follow the laws they pass, we’d be in good shape.
5). Flatness of pay. This one is sure to raise ire among businesspeople. And it is pretty radical. But, mark my words, just as surely as I predicted the credit crunch and housing crisis in 2003 in a restaurant in South Denver, this prediction of mine will come true, as well. Differences in pay between executives and workers will and must be reduced. Everyone must win, not just the people in the executive offices. And, about those executive offices, anyway….a true executive doesn’t need acreage in his or her office. I’m still a competent executive in a modest office similar to everyone else’s.
And so on. The key word here is “flat.” Companies that want to survive this economic crisis, and, at the same time, survive the sea changes that, as a result of the taxpayers owning some of America’s largest companies now, will be very flat organizations. I’ve said before that humility is the most important virtue for an executive. This has never been more true than now.
Unfortunately, I am skeptical that many of the insulated, arrogant and greedy executives in the executive suites of many of America’s companies will get their heads out of the butts and make the changes they need to make. They are stubbornly convinced of their own rightness. Instead of doing what is intelligent, they are standing on their perceived “rights” to be considered special and above the opinions and reach of society. As so many people through history have realized just before they were executed, these people are not invulnerable. Their money and influence will not protect them forever.
I actually think this is a good thing for American business. Getting rid of arrogant, posturing, narcissists in America’s companies, whether by the perp walk or being voted out by furious stockholders will improve American business immensely. It will be a difficult and challenging time for America until these fools are gone. But, in the long run, it will produce an economy that benefits a great many more people than our current, highly stratified, and corrupt system.
Be prosperous!
J.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Retaining Great Employees
I get fairly disgusted when a CEO says “Our people are our most important resource” and then commences with laying people off. I’ll bet that the CEO who says this doesn’t go to the IT department and throw computers out the window! The reality is that people, for many companies, are to be used to obtain what they want. And this attitude is a large part of the reason these companies are losing money and prestige.
If you want to thrive during recessionary times and kick butt during boom cycles, start with your people. The time and aggravation that goes into replacing one loyal and competent employee that company policies have torqued off one too many times is enormous, not to mention the financial cost of Churn. So start with some basic principles in your business and you will find that you will be a sought-after company to work with.
1). Understand that if your employees ar unhappy, nobody is happy. This includes your customers. Employees who are treated well and are happy help you keep customers. I know this is new and interesting information to some employers out there.
2). Kill bureaucracy. The piling of rules upon rules is unnecessary. The reaction of many companies to something going wrong with ONE employee is to write a rule about it. Kick out he rules-based people at once. Handle the problem with the one employee rather than making it global.
3). Make things easy and employee oriented. There is no real reason why an employee should have to fill out 5,942,853 forms in triplicate to go to the bathroom. It is some idiot on a power trip that puts these things in place. Make it simple as possible to access benefits, take care of family emergencies, and so on. If you have a desire to control other people, you don’t belong in management at all. Go be a prison guard or something where being a control freak might actually be O.K…though I doubt it, even in that situation.
4). Pay your employees as well as you can afford to. I am absolutely disgusted by companies where the difference between the lowest paid employee and the highest paid employee is 9000%. Let that CEO make less, and the people in the trenches make more.
5). Let everyone have the same benefits. Our employees get exactly the same benefits as my wife and I, the principals, do. Exactly.
6). Put management in the trenches. Grease Monkey is a great company. Executives at Grease Monkey have to lube cars, and every other job that everyone does before they can make even one executive decision. Imagine what it would do for morale if the CEO of GM worked on an assembly line a few times a year.
7). Share the pain. If things have to be cut or reduced, make sure that management has AT least as much pain as the lowest paid worker.
8). Share the success. Companies where the employees get a slice of company profits or bonuses based on what the whole company does have employees who really understand the concept of “teamwork.” Many companies talk about “everyone is part of the team,” but what they really mean is “you’re my slaves, now go make me money.” DOGBERT’S MANAGEMENT SECRETS is the most honest management manual on the market. Buy it and do everything the opposite of what Dogbert recommends. Make your employees truly a part of the team. Share the winnings with them.
9). Don’t treat them like children. Most people are honest and want to do a great job. They just discouraged by the office politics, the power-hungry managers, low pay, and gross inequities. Companies that have remedied these things have loyal employees who will do anything for the company. Treat employees like responsible adults and they’ll usually behave that way.
10). Involve them in decision making. Companies who involve their employees in decision making have much happier, and much more reasonable, employees. No one likes to be ordered around or have something forced on them from the top. I’ve found that employees will do things to their own detriment if they’re involved in the process and see it is for the company good.
11). Give them detailed information. In the companies I’ve run, the books are completely open to every employee. When I make a job offer, I run a spreadsheet showing the prospective employee exactly what I’ll make or lose on them, and how much he or she has as total cost to the company. Companies are generally too paranoid and security conscious. While trade secrets should be kept quiet, finances should be generally available to all employees. This will eliminate lots of arguments, unless, of course, employees are getting shafted so management can enjoy undeserved benefits. The more information you give employees, the more involved they feel in decisions that effect them. Be open and above board in every piece of information possible, including what everyone is making in the company. If you’re ashamed to do this, maybe you should evaluate what you’re making a bit.
12). Be generous. Do things for employees that are generous acts of kindness. Google and other companies that do this have very productive employees who never leave.
13). Throw “do more with less” out the window. It is insanity to have employees working 80 hour weeks, or all weekend long. It is also very bad business. Well-rested employees with balanced lives are more competent and more productive than exhausted and burned out employees. Whatever idiot keeps telling companies to make their employees do more with less should be knee-capped.
14). Pay employees for giving back. Hourly employees should be paid their hourly rate for giving back to the community. Companies that have programs like this have very high employee retention, and excellent PR. Pay employees for 25 – 40 a year working for charity, their religious institution, or community service work. This doesn’t cost, it pays. And give them time during the business day to do this community work.
The above are some of the “best practices” that proactive and successful companies are taking. Companies following these best practices have great employee morale, unbelievably low Churn, and higher productivity per employee. If you are still operating in the 19th Century and treating employees like recalcitrant children, get over yourself. Time to come up to the 21st Century and succeed!
J.
If you want to thrive during recessionary times and kick butt during boom cycles, start with your people. The time and aggravation that goes into replacing one loyal and competent employee that company policies have torqued off one too many times is enormous, not to mention the financial cost of Churn. So start with some basic principles in your business and you will find that you will be a sought-after company to work with.
1). Understand that if your employees ar unhappy, nobody is happy. This includes your customers. Employees who are treated well and are happy help you keep customers. I know this is new and interesting information to some employers out there.
2). Kill bureaucracy. The piling of rules upon rules is unnecessary. The reaction of many companies to something going wrong with ONE employee is to write a rule about it. Kick out he rules-based people at once. Handle the problem with the one employee rather than making it global.
3). Make things easy and employee oriented. There is no real reason why an employee should have to fill out 5,942,853 forms in triplicate to go to the bathroom. It is some idiot on a power trip that puts these things in place. Make it simple as possible to access benefits, take care of family emergencies, and so on. If you have a desire to control other people, you don’t belong in management at all. Go be a prison guard or something where being a control freak might actually be O.K…though I doubt it, even in that situation.
4). Pay your employees as well as you can afford to. I am absolutely disgusted by companies where the difference between the lowest paid employee and the highest paid employee is 9000%. Let that CEO make less, and the people in the trenches make more.
5). Let everyone have the same benefits. Our employees get exactly the same benefits as my wife and I, the principals, do. Exactly.
6). Put management in the trenches. Grease Monkey is a great company. Executives at Grease Monkey have to lube cars, and every other job that everyone does before they can make even one executive decision. Imagine what it would do for morale if the CEO of GM worked on an assembly line a few times a year.
7). Share the pain. If things have to be cut or reduced, make sure that management has AT least as much pain as the lowest paid worker.
8). Share the success. Companies where the employees get a slice of company profits or bonuses based on what the whole company does have employees who really understand the concept of “teamwork.” Many companies talk about “everyone is part of the team,” but what they really mean is “you’re my slaves, now go make me money.” DOGBERT’S MANAGEMENT SECRETS is the most honest management manual on the market. Buy it and do everything the opposite of what Dogbert recommends. Make your employees truly a part of the team. Share the winnings with them.
9). Don’t treat them like children. Most people are honest and want to do a great job. They just discouraged by the office politics, the power-hungry managers, low pay, and gross inequities. Companies that have remedied these things have loyal employees who will do anything for the company. Treat employees like responsible adults and they’ll usually behave that way.
10). Involve them in decision making. Companies who involve their employees in decision making have much happier, and much more reasonable, employees. No one likes to be ordered around or have something forced on them from the top. I’ve found that employees will do things to their own detriment if they’re involved in the process and see it is for the company good.
11). Give them detailed information. In the companies I’ve run, the books are completely open to every employee. When I make a job offer, I run a spreadsheet showing the prospective employee exactly what I’ll make or lose on them, and how much he or she has as total cost to the company. Companies are generally too paranoid and security conscious. While trade secrets should be kept quiet, finances should be generally available to all employees. This will eliminate lots of arguments, unless, of course, employees are getting shafted so management can enjoy undeserved benefits. The more information you give employees, the more involved they feel in decisions that effect them. Be open and above board in every piece of information possible, including what everyone is making in the company. If you’re ashamed to do this, maybe you should evaluate what you’re making a bit.
12). Be generous. Do things for employees that are generous acts of kindness. Google and other companies that do this have very productive employees who never leave.
13). Throw “do more with less” out the window. It is insanity to have employees working 80 hour weeks, or all weekend long. It is also very bad business. Well-rested employees with balanced lives are more competent and more productive than exhausted and burned out employees. Whatever idiot keeps telling companies to make their employees do more with less should be knee-capped.
14). Pay employees for giving back. Hourly employees should be paid their hourly rate for giving back to the community. Companies that have programs like this have very high employee retention, and excellent PR. Pay employees for 25 – 40 a year working for charity, their religious institution, or community service work. This doesn’t cost, it pays. And give them time during the business day to do this community work.
The above are some of the “best practices” that proactive and successful companies are taking. Companies following these best practices have great employee morale, unbelievably low Churn, and higher productivity per employee. If you are still operating in the 19th Century and treating employees like recalcitrant children, get over yourself. Time to come up to the 21st Century and succeed!
J.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Getting Out of This Mess!
Fellow executives, America is in the mess She is in because we, as leaders, have failed Her, our communities, our companies and our families. We must change that starting today.
We are the world's business leader. We will continue to lead the world only by taking a good hard look at ourselves. And, yes, it is we who have the money, the authority, the leadership and the power that must look hardest at ourselves because, ladies and gentlemen, we have failed.
We've forgotten American Values! America is in the mess we are in because we in leadership have failed Her. We have failed to put integrity above profit, ethics above winning, and looking ourselves in the mirror above our paychecks. We have failed to lead our employees, our communities and our families by hope and integrity. We have failed to show that a free market and private capitalism can exist with the highest of moral and ethical values, concern for all of our fellow people, and justice for each of our employees.
CEOs have taken multi-million dollar bonuses while laying off hundreds or thousands. This is not right. They have taken “golden parachutes” for leading their companies into disaster, and this is not right. They have blathered on about principles when they have none, and have issued bland denials with one hand while their other was in the corporate cookie jar.
Things must change! We who have leadership have let down our companies, our communities, our families, our nation and our belief systems. But this can all change. And it MUST change, starting today.
We who have power and leadership must be at the forefront of demanding that businesses operate with impeccable integrity, flawless ethics, and real concern for all stakeholders. We who have power and leadership must be at the forefront of demanding that leaders who fail share the pain of their stakeholders.
Lay-offs are a failure! If employees are laid off, this is a failure of leadership. The one who does it should only not get a bonus, but should take a major salary cut. This man or woman has failed hundreds or thousands of employees. They haven’t led well enough, sold well enough, or managed well enough. They’re letting moms, dads, sons, daughters, husbands and wives go, many of whom will go bankrupt and many of whom will lose their homes. This is a failure on their part and they must take some pain for it. That they get a bonus is a sign of the moral bankruptcy of American capitalism and it must change.
We must stop being executives and start being leaders. If our boards won’t go along…quit. Few if any of you will bankrupt or lose your home, unlike the people who are laid off. Most of you have made prudent investments and have managed your money well. Don’t sell your integrity for a few hundred thousand dollars…it shouldn’t be for sale. If enough of us refuse to play the crooked game that has been played in the last few years, consumers, boards, and other executives will listen. You’ll be profiled as a hero on CNN, as well as looked on as a unique animal — a business leader with integrity.
Lead with impeccable integirty and unquenchable hope! Start leading by hope and integrity today. Make a commitment to your employees as the fine people at Gambro did not long ago that they would all share the pain, if there is any pain. Make a commitment to your families that you will lead from the high road and be the mother or father, husband or wife, that they can hold their heads up about. Make a commitment to your communities that you will not let them down. And make a commitment to your country that you will demonstrate the good old Yankee values of hard work, impeccable integrity, equality of opportunity, and excellence of product. If you do less, you do not deserve your job, your salary or even a shred of respect.
There is a new day coming. I’m a “voice in the wilderness” now about this. But I’m not a lone voice. There are others. Soon we’ll be in the majority, because American business is too good to be as bad as it has been recently, and Americans as a people are too honest to allow the travesties of the last few years to continue.
There is a new time coming — one of hope and integrity and excellence. Those of you who are of the recent school that you “take no prisoners” and do anything to win had better quit now while you’re able. Because those of us who have compassion, believe in justice and equality, and insist on integrity, ethics and hope are close on your heels, and we WILL overtake you and return our great nation and its businesses to the high road.
By the way, some of my friends advised me not to write like this, as I’d probably lose business. But my integrity isn’t for sale, either. I only want to coach and help executives in transition who have integrity and honor, anyway. It’s worked for me for 28 years…I suppose it will work now.
May God bless the United States of America…and everywhere else.
J.
We are the world's business leader. We will continue to lead the world only by taking a good hard look at ourselves. And, yes, it is we who have the money, the authority, the leadership and the power that must look hardest at ourselves because, ladies and gentlemen, we have failed.
We've forgotten American Values! America is in the mess we are in because we in leadership have failed Her. We have failed to put integrity above profit, ethics above winning, and looking ourselves in the mirror above our paychecks. We have failed to lead our employees, our communities and our families by hope and integrity. We have failed to show that a free market and private capitalism can exist with the highest of moral and ethical values, concern for all of our fellow people, and justice for each of our employees.
CEOs have taken multi-million dollar bonuses while laying off hundreds or thousands. This is not right. They have taken “golden parachutes” for leading their companies into disaster, and this is not right. They have blathered on about principles when they have none, and have issued bland denials with one hand while their other was in the corporate cookie jar.
Things must change! We who have leadership have let down our companies, our communities, our families, our nation and our belief systems. But this can all change. And it MUST change, starting today.
We who have power and leadership must be at the forefront of demanding that businesses operate with impeccable integrity, flawless ethics, and real concern for all stakeholders. We who have power and leadership must be at the forefront of demanding that leaders who fail share the pain of their stakeholders.
Lay-offs are a failure! If employees are laid off, this is a failure of leadership. The one who does it should only not get a bonus, but should take a major salary cut. This man or woman has failed hundreds or thousands of employees. They haven’t led well enough, sold well enough, or managed well enough. They’re letting moms, dads, sons, daughters, husbands and wives go, many of whom will go bankrupt and many of whom will lose their homes. This is a failure on their part and they must take some pain for it. That they get a bonus is a sign of the moral bankruptcy of American capitalism and it must change.
We must stop being executives and start being leaders. If our boards won’t go along…quit. Few if any of you will bankrupt or lose your home, unlike the people who are laid off. Most of you have made prudent investments and have managed your money well. Don’t sell your integrity for a few hundred thousand dollars…it shouldn’t be for sale. If enough of us refuse to play the crooked game that has been played in the last few years, consumers, boards, and other executives will listen. You’ll be profiled as a hero on CNN, as well as looked on as a unique animal — a business leader with integrity.
Lead with impeccable integirty and unquenchable hope! Start leading by hope and integrity today. Make a commitment to your employees as the fine people at Gambro did not long ago that they would all share the pain, if there is any pain. Make a commitment to your families that you will lead from the high road and be the mother or father, husband or wife, that they can hold their heads up about. Make a commitment to your communities that you will not let them down. And make a commitment to your country that you will demonstrate the good old Yankee values of hard work, impeccable integrity, equality of opportunity, and excellence of product. If you do less, you do not deserve your job, your salary or even a shred of respect.
There is a new day coming. I’m a “voice in the wilderness” now about this. But I’m not a lone voice. There are others. Soon we’ll be in the majority, because American business is too good to be as bad as it has been recently, and Americans as a people are too honest to allow the travesties of the last few years to continue.
There is a new time coming — one of hope and integrity and excellence. Those of you who are of the recent school that you “take no prisoners” and do anything to win had better quit now while you’re able. Because those of us who have compassion, believe in justice and equality, and insist on integrity, ethics and hope are close on your heels, and we WILL overtake you and return our great nation and its businesses to the high road.
By the way, some of my friends advised me not to write like this, as I’d probably lose business. But my integrity isn’t for sale, either. I only want to coach and help executives in transition who have integrity and honor, anyway. It’s worked for me for 28 years…I suppose it will work now.
May God bless the United States of America…and everywhere else.
J.
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Leadership in Uncertain Times
Even the staunchest optimist would have to admit that we are in some difficult times. It is up to those of us in leadership positions to bring our companies and our nation through these times to prosperity and abundance again. There are a few tings that we can do to assure that we are leading effectively and toward prosperity.
1). Lead, don’t follow. Remember that it is your job to lead your company forward, not to follow the corrupt politicians and greedy traders on Wall Street. Let your employees know that, while things are, indeed, rough out there, your company intends to win in these difficult times.
2). Don’t be greedy. The spectacle of CEOs taking multi-million dollar payouts when their companies are failing is not only disgusting, it is very dangerous, not to mention immoral. It is dangerous for several reasons. First, it invites greater government intervention in corporate decisions. Second, it incites fury. While the time in America is not here where CEOs are pulled from limos and killed in the streets, this has happened at many other periods of history throughout the world. And some of the most dangerous words in the English language are: “It can’t happen here.” Third, it takes needed capital from the company.
You must show leadership by sharing the pain of all stakeholders with them. If your employees and stockholders or members of your firm are suffering, you shouldn’t be taking major bonuses. Use your head.
3). Don’t be stupid. Keep in mind that every single decision you make is a public relations and employee relations decision. If you’re one of the “C” Level executives who has been foolish enough to surround yourself with “yes” people and butt-kissers, get a clue and fire them! It is time that leaders realized that they are nothing without their employees. It is also time to realize that employees may stick with an uncaring and arrogant executive in the tough times because jobs are scarce. But executives also need to realize that their best employees always have other options and that, even for their mediocre employees, there will come a time when changing jobs is much easier. Good employee relationships now will help assure that you make it through these times, and continue to prosper when the tough times are over.
The same holds true of customers, only more so. Customers will not stick with a company in tough times unless that company has built solid customer relationships. And don’t think that doing things like taking a big bonus when you’re laying people off isn’t both known and taken into account by the public when making decisions about which stock to invest in, which product to buy, and which companies they favor.
4). Get out of La-La Land. I see far too many “C” Level executives living in a world of their own. We had one of our Executive Round Tables about 8 months ago where I and a couple of our clients predicted the mess we’re in now. One of our “C” Level executives was furious. He spouted the party line that everything was solid and it was simply “Liberal propaganda” that things were getting close to a dangerous point. Well, I’m not a Liberal, although I don’t have the unreasoned hatred for Liberals that so many seem to have. Neither were the other people predicting this mess. But the reaction of reactionaries tends to be to discount any truth or facts that don’t fit with their world-view. Their mind is made up. Who needs facts?
A leader is intelligent and farsighted enough to recognize when things are going downhill and takes effective action, not burying his head in the sand. The CEO who got upset with us has landed at a company as its CEO now. I sincerely hope for the sake of his stockholders that he has taken his head out of the sand (or certain parts of his anatomy) and is operating on reality instead of ideology. Save ideology for arguments over adult beverages. Practice pragmatism and reality in running your company.
5). Practice prosperity thought and behaviors. One of the more foolish things that executives can do in tight times is to panic and act like the sky is falling. Reality: America and American companies have weathered tough times before and they will this time. Keep in mind that a good deal of the panic out there is manufactured by the political candidates and the media. It gets candidates elected and sells product for the media.
Instead of buying into the hype, as a leader you need to both keep calm and convey calm to your employees, your customers, the public at large and the markets. Wall Street is a place where emotion rules. The stock price of a company has little to do with its actual prospects but, rather, with a perception as seen by highly emotional traders. This has very little place in your boardroom. See the whole picture. Operate with logic and calm. And believe in the future of your company and the free market system as a whole. Walk and talk prosperity and abundance and they will be yours. Don’t commit fraud, of course, or lie to people, but put on the best honest face possible and believe that you will come through any troubles.
6). Fight government interference. Finally, we are in a position to have a great deal of influence on how far the government gets to stick its very large nose into our businesses and lives. Keep them out of it as far as possible! Don’t support government intervention.
In a free market system government intervention is deadly. It makes losers out of winners and winners out of losers. We know best how to run business, the government doesn’t. And, look, none of the candidates running for the top offices, and very few of the Congressional candidates have ever actually run a highly successful business. Contrary to propaganda, government and business are two highly different entities. While the government and businesses have been getting in bed with one another a great deal recently, this is a loss for everyone. For the people, it curtails our civil rights and freedoms. For businesses it curtails our rights to run our businesses the way we believe will generate the best cash flow. Businesspeople who support government intervention would do well to remember the old adage about government and business. Getting in bed with the government is like getting in bed with a hippopotamus. It is very warm and comfy until the hippo roles over.
Now go out and lead!
J.
1). Lead, don’t follow. Remember that it is your job to lead your company forward, not to follow the corrupt politicians and greedy traders on Wall Street. Let your employees know that, while things are, indeed, rough out there, your company intends to win in these difficult times.
2). Don’t be greedy. The spectacle of CEOs taking multi-million dollar payouts when their companies are failing is not only disgusting, it is very dangerous, not to mention immoral. It is dangerous for several reasons. First, it invites greater government intervention in corporate decisions. Second, it incites fury. While the time in America is not here where CEOs are pulled from limos and killed in the streets, this has happened at many other periods of history throughout the world. And some of the most dangerous words in the English language are: “It can’t happen here.” Third, it takes needed capital from the company.
You must show leadership by sharing the pain of all stakeholders with them. If your employees and stockholders or members of your firm are suffering, you shouldn’t be taking major bonuses. Use your head.
3). Don’t be stupid. Keep in mind that every single decision you make is a public relations and employee relations decision. If you’re one of the “C” Level executives who has been foolish enough to surround yourself with “yes” people and butt-kissers, get a clue and fire them! It is time that leaders realized that they are nothing without their employees. It is also time to realize that employees may stick with an uncaring and arrogant executive in the tough times because jobs are scarce. But executives also need to realize that their best employees always have other options and that, even for their mediocre employees, there will come a time when changing jobs is much easier. Good employee relationships now will help assure that you make it through these times, and continue to prosper when the tough times are over.
The same holds true of customers, only more so. Customers will not stick with a company in tough times unless that company has built solid customer relationships. And don’t think that doing things like taking a big bonus when you’re laying people off isn’t both known and taken into account by the public when making decisions about which stock to invest in, which product to buy, and which companies they favor.
4). Get out of La-La Land. I see far too many “C” Level executives living in a world of their own. We had one of our Executive Round Tables about 8 months ago where I and a couple of our clients predicted the mess we’re in now. One of our “C” Level executives was furious. He spouted the party line that everything was solid and it was simply “Liberal propaganda” that things were getting close to a dangerous point. Well, I’m not a Liberal, although I don’t have the unreasoned hatred for Liberals that so many seem to have. Neither were the other people predicting this mess. But the reaction of reactionaries tends to be to discount any truth or facts that don’t fit with their world-view. Their mind is made up. Who needs facts?
A leader is intelligent and farsighted enough to recognize when things are going downhill and takes effective action, not burying his head in the sand. The CEO who got upset with us has landed at a company as its CEO now. I sincerely hope for the sake of his stockholders that he has taken his head out of the sand (or certain parts of his anatomy) and is operating on reality instead of ideology. Save ideology for arguments over adult beverages. Practice pragmatism and reality in running your company.
5). Practice prosperity thought and behaviors. One of the more foolish things that executives can do in tight times is to panic and act like the sky is falling. Reality: America and American companies have weathered tough times before and they will this time. Keep in mind that a good deal of the panic out there is manufactured by the political candidates and the media. It gets candidates elected and sells product for the media.
Instead of buying into the hype, as a leader you need to both keep calm and convey calm to your employees, your customers, the public at large and the markets. Wall Street is a place where emotion rules. The stock price of a company has little to do with its actual prospects but, rather, with a perception as seen by highly emotional traders. This has very little place in your boardroom. See the whole picture. Operate with logic and calm. And believe in the future of your company and the free market system as a whole. Walk and talk prosperity and abundance and they will be yours. Don’t commit fraud, of course, or lie to people, but put on the best honest face possible and believe that you will come through any troubles.
6). Fight government interference. Finally, we are in a position to have a great deal of influence on how far the government gets to stick its very large nose into our businesses and lives. Keep them out of it as far as possible! Don’t support government intervention.
In a free market system government intervention is deadly. It makes losers out of winners and winners out of losers. We know best how to run business, the government doesn’t. And, look, none of the candidates running for the top offices, and very few of the Congressional candidates have ever actually run a highly successful business. Contrary to propaganda, government and business are two highly different entities. While the government and businesses have been getting in bed with one another a great deal recently, this is a loss for everyone. For the people, it curtails our civil rights and freedoms. For businesses it curtails our rights to run our businesses the way we believe will generate the best cash flow. Businesspeople who support government intervention would do well to remember the old adage about government and business. Getting in bed with the government is like getting in bed with a hippopotamus. It is very warm and comfy until the hippo roles over.
Now go out and lead!
J.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Evaluating Your Staff
It is close to that dreaded time of the year again. No, not the holidays, although their impact on productivity is enough to make any of us a bit Scrooge-like. Rather, it is close to time for first of the year evaluations of your staff. While your company probably has a form that lower-level supervisors can use, evaluating executive staff is a whole different breed of cat. Here are some tips to help make it less painful
1). Keep it as objective as possible. Rather than speaking in generalities, speak in facts and evidence of success or failure. Quantify the wins and the losses of your executive staff as much as possible. As Harold Geneen (Chairman and CEO of ITT in its halcyon days) used to say, “The slavery of the numbers will make you free.” Use them here, too.
2). Have specific examples, demonstrations and evidence on hand. Make sure that you take the time to prepare for an evaluation of a staff member.
3). If you can get away with it, skip so called 360 evaluations. They’re useless and lead to less effective executives. Often executives who are being evaluated on the absurd 360 forms, just like teachers who are facing student evaluations, will make decisions that will make them popular with everyone so they won’t get a poor eval. This means that companies with these monstrosities wind up with less effective executives. While you don’t want a complete jerk in an executive position, you do want a leader who may have to make very unpopular decisions for the good of the company. Let the individual’s superior evaluate him or her, not their staff or peers. 360 evals are nothing but a tool for character assassination, political power plays, and staff grudges. Skip ‘em if you can. If you can’t, begin lobbying for their abolition for the good of the company. (Call me for more on this if you’d like.)
4). Reward long-range thinking even more than short-term success. American companies have a fatal flaw which has led, in part, to the current crisis on Wall Street. American companies are “quarter” oriented. In other words, American companies look at what is produced in a quarter or a year, not in a five year plan.
But five year plans are essential for true, prudent and responsible corporate growth. Long-range strategic thinkers, however, often get stabbed in the back by their CEOs or Boards (not to mention the [unprintable expletive] media!) for not producing $X amount of revenue in a particular quarter. Sometimes, however, as any chess player will know, you must take a few strategic “hits” to gain long-term success. Asian companies think in terms of 2, 5 or even 10 year plans and reward executives who have foresight and strategic planning expertise. They are much smarter than American companies. This is why Asian companies who compete head-to-head against American companies kick our butt time and again. And now, in addition to the excellence of Japanese products, we’re going to have Chinese and Vietnamese products to compete against. Yes, China is having some regulatory problems. But the executives involved in these often get the death penalty. This is not a bad idea for American companies to adopt, at least so far as ending an executive’s career, if not his life.
Take a clue from the people who have had an unbroken 5,000 year plus civilization and business world, and reward strategic, long-term thinking even more than short-term revenue success.
5). Evaluate the ethics and values of your staff, not just their performance. Unless you want to be another Enron, make it clear that “success at any cost” is not tolerated. Put together a strong, but reasonable code of ethics, and demand that it be followed completely. Punish those who do not follow it, especially at the top, with immediate termination. A beheading is always good for morale and productivity.
6). Observe interaction with peers and subordinates. Rather than a 360, get out of your office and observe. Evaluate on real interaction, not on reported interaction. Learn to be a bit sneaky and unobtrusive, so you can quietly observe from anywhere. And get out on the floor rather than hiding in your office. If you aren’t observing the personal interactions of your employees, you’re setting yourself up for trouble down the line. Don’t be a snob. Hobnob with everyone from the custodian to your second in command with equal respect.
7). Evaluate on attitude as much as on performance. It should be clear that each member of your executive is truly on the team, and not a loner pretending to be on the team.
8). Make it a two way conversation. Too many evaluations are one-way conversations. At the executive level it should be a two-way conversation. Put your ego aside and ask for honest and blunt feedback about what you and the company should be doing differently. If you actually get an executive with enough guts to tell you the truth, don’t punish him or her, promote him or her, or, if you can’t promote this person, keep him or her by your side. Someone who will tell you the truth is a rare commodity in American business these days.
9). Don’t B.S. your staff. Don’t tell them one thing and reward another. At the executive level your staff deserves and needs to know what you’re really thinking and what your real goals are, not some press release mumbo-jumbo. If you’re dishing out mumbo-jumbo because you’re concerned about a team member betraying you, fire him or her and replace that individual with someone you can trust. If you can’t fire him or her because he or she is friend or relative of a board member, it is time to call me and let’s get you outta there!
10). Set realistic goals that can be reached with a reasonable amount of effort. Those who set unattainable goals to keep their executives in check are simply fools. Set goals that stretch the weak areas and play to the strong areas of each executive. Then check back periodically. Remember that one of your vital jobs as a CXO is to coach and mentor your staff. If you’re on a “power trip” or find helping your staff to be threatening, please do us all a favor and quit and go be a Tibetan monk or something useful, because you’re a very bad CXO. Good top level executives help their staff reach corporate and personal goals — not play head games with them.
Remembering these ten essential keys to senior staff evaluation will produce a staff with trust and respect for you, and, as well, increased productivity.
One final thing. Please ignore the gloom and doom sayers on Wall Street and our government. If this particular government didn’t discover crisis after crisis we might not keep putting these folks in power. The “Wall Street Crisis,” we will find, is a bit like “Weapons of Mass Destruction.” Choose to opt out of the recession and go out and be prosperous. Think and behave in ways that generate prosperity instead of fear. Remember that three times as many people got wealthy in the Great Depression as lost everything. I choose not to participate in this recession, and I hope you’ll join me.
If you want to speak further about these concepts, please feel free to email me at jheckers@heckersdevgroup.com or call me at 720.581.4301. If I’m not in please leave a message and I’ll get back to you ASAP. Please note that you are a reader of my CEO Skills Corner column.
Now go make lots of money!
J.
1). Keep it as objective as possible. Rather than speaking in generalities, speak in facts and evidence of success or failure. Quantify the wins and the losses of your executive staff as much as possible. As Harold Geneen (Chairman and CEO of ITT in its halcyon days) used to say, “The slavery of the numbers will make you free.” Use them here, too.
2). Have specific examples, demonstrations and evidence on hand. Make sure that you take the time to prepare for an evaluation of a staff member.
3). If you can get away with it, skip so called 360 evaluations. They’re useless and lead to less effective executives. Often executives who are being evaluated on the absurd 360 forms, just like teachers who are facing student evaluations, will make decisions that will make them popular with everyone so they won’t get a poor eval. This means that companies with these monstrosities wind up with less effective executives. While you don’t want a complete jerk in an executive position, you do want a leader who may have to make very unpopular decisions for the good of the company. Let the individual’s superior evaluate him or her, not their staff or peers. 360 evals are nothing but a tool for character assassination, political power plays, and staff grudges. Skip ‘em if you can. If you can’t, begin lobbying for their abolition for the good of the company. (Call me for more on this if you’d like.)
4). Reward long-range thinking even more than short-term success. American companies have a fatal flaw which has led, in part, to the current crisis on Wall Street. American companies are “quarter” oriented. In other words, American companies look at what is produced in a quarter or a year, not in a five year plan.
But five year plans are essential for true, prudent and responsible corporate growth. Long-range strategic thinkers, however, often get stabbed in the back by their CEOs or Boards (not to mention the [unprintable expletive] media!) for not producing $X amount of revenue in a particular quarter. Sometimes, however, as any chess player will know, you must take a few strategic “hits” to gain long-term success. Asian companies think in terms of 2, 5 or even 10 year plans and reward executives who have foresight and strategic planning expertise. They are much smarter than American companies. This is why Asian companies who compete head-to-head against American companies kick our butt time and again. And now, in addition to the excellence of Japanese products, we’re going to have Chinese and Vietnamese products to compete against. Yes, China is having some regulatory problems. But the executives involved in these often get the death penalty. This is not a bad idea for American companies to adopt, at least so far as ending an executive’s career, if not his life.
Take a clue from the people who have had an unbroken 5,000 year plus civilization and business world, and reward strategic, long-term thinking even more than short-term revenue success.
5). Evaluate the ethics and values of your staff, not just their performance. Unless you want to be another Enron, make it clear that “success at any cost” is not tolerated. Put together a strong, but reasonable code of ethics, and demand that it be followed completely. Punish those who do not follow it, especially at the top, with immediate termination. A beheading is always good for morale and productivity.
6). Observe interaction with peers and subordinates. Rather than a 360, get out of your office and observe. Evaluate on real interaction, not on reported interaction. Learn to be a bit sneaky and unobtrusive, so you can quietly observe from anywhere. And get out on the floor rather than hiding in your office. If you aren’t observing the personal interactions of your employees, you’re setting yourself up for trouble down the line. Don’t be a snob. Hobnob with everyone from the custodian to your second in command with equal respect.
7). Evaluate on attitude as much as on performance. It should be clear that each member of your executive is truly on the team, and not a loner pretending to be on the team.
8). Make it a two way conversation. Too many evaluations are one-way conversations. At the executive level it should be a two-way conversation. Put your ego aside and ask for honest and blunt feedback about what you and the company should be doing differently. If you actually get an executive with enough guts to tell you the truth, don’t punish him or her, promote him or her, or, if you can’t promote this person, keep him or her by your side. Someone who will tell you the truth is a rare commodity in American business these days.
9). Don’t B.S. your staff. Don’t tell them one thing and reward another. At the executive level your staff deserves and needs to know what you’re really thinking and what your real goals are, not some press release mumbo-jumbo. If you’re dishing out mumbo-jumbo because you’re concerned about a team member betraying you, fire him or her and replace that individual with someone you can trust. If you can’t fire him or her because he or she is friend or relative of a board member, it is time to call me and let’s get you outta there!
10). Set realistic goals that can be reached with a reasonable amount of effort. Those who set unattainable goals to keep their executives in check are simply fools. Set goals that stretch the weak areas and play to the strong areas of each executive. Then check back periodically. Remember that one of your vital jobs as a CXO is to coach and mentor your staff. If you’re on a “power trip” or find helping your staff to be threatening, please do us all a favor and quit and go be a Tibetan monk or something useful, because you’re a very bad CXO. Good top level executives help their staff reach corporate and personal goals — not play head games with them.
Remembering these ten essential keys to senior staff evaluation will produce a staff with trust and respect for you, and, as well, increased productivity.
One final thing. Please ignore the gloom and doom sayers on Wall Street and our government. If this particular government didn’t discover crisis after crisis we might not keep putting these folks in power. The “Wall Street Crisis,” we will find, is a bit like “Weapons of Mass Destruction.” Choose to opt out of the recession and go out and be prosperous. Think and behave in ways that generate prosperity instead of fear. Remember that three times as many people got wealthy in the Great Depression as lost everything. I choose not to participate in this recession, and I hope you’ll join me.
If you want to speak further about these concepts, please feel free to email me at jheckers@heckersdevgroup.com or call me at 720.581.4301. If I’m not in please leave a message and I’ll get back to you ASAP. Please note that you are a reader of my CEO Skills Corner column.
Now go make lots of money!
J.
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Your Ego is Your Worst Enemy!
Over the years that I’ve been helping people with their careers I’ve seen a couple of types of executives. There are those who are spectacular successes and those who are successes. Give me the one who is merely a success any day, because, sooner or later, the “spectacular success” is going to crash and burn. If you’re a stockholder or board member of a company run by a spectacular success, better hope that he or she doesn’t take your company along with him or her when the fall comes.
I don’t think I need to give a list of the CXOs whose egos have resulted in the fall of once-high-flying companies like Enron, etc. Here are some things to take a hard look at if you’re a board member, a stockholder, or a “C” level executive to keep your company from winding up in the "Hall of Shame."
1). Why is the person who is CXO in that chair? This is a very hard question that boards should ask. Many people are bamboozled by “C” level charisma. Take it from my 25+ years of experience, charismatic CXOs are very dangerous. The best individual to run a company is not charismatic, but a little on the boring side.
Too many boards have been taken down the primrose path by a man or woman with “star power.” Unfortunately, men and women with “star power” have gigantic egos. They like to be in the limelight, and this can, and probably will, mean losses for your company.
The best CXO is one that is taking care of business, not polishing an image. The gladhander who knows everyone is almost certainly going to eventually be a poor CXO. The reason is simple — these people are narcissists. They will do whatever is necessary to get their “strokes” and attention. Give me the quiet, competent type any day to the “celebrity CEO.”
2). Is this person being paid too much? The answer is almost certainly “yes.” American companies have gotten into a very bad habit of paying “C” level executives based on hype as opposed to performance. I’m amazed when a “C” level executive is paid a huge bonus when the company has lost money. While I’m firmly against government regulation of this practice (or any other business practice) it is bad business and the “payday” will come sooner or later.
Pay “C” level executives for performance and revenue, not smoke and mirrors.
3). Whose interests is this person looking after — yours and the company’s or his or her own interests? Good CXOs see that they succeed when the company succeeds, and believe in a “team success” approach. Egotistical (poor) ones think that what is good for them is good for the company. A good CXO is like a good naval ship officer — the company comes first.
Watch your management team carefully and see whether or not the company is coming first. If not, it is time to chop some heads and put in some folks who will fulfill their duty to the stockholders, employees and customers of the company instead of polishing their own image or enriching their own bank accounts at the expense of the company. (Don’t get me wrong — I have nothing against large CXO salaries or money! I just think that it should be obtained the old fashioned way — by earning it.)
4). Is the CXO surrounded by “yes wo/men?” No one can make good decisions when they’re being told how wonderful they are at everything. A good CXO has advisors that will tell him/her the truth. As an executive coach, I often have to deliver an ego blow to help the executive. I can do this because I don’t work for the executive. Yes, I have had executives whose egos were too big to take this. They eventually failed, usually sooner than later. If your executives are surrounded by toadies, they’re not looking out after your interests. If you’re a board member or major stockholder, insist that your management team have coaches, advisors, or some way of getting independent, third party advice. Of course, assure that the coaching team is going to keep your business secrets secret. A good non-disclosure form with teeth helps. Your corporate counsel can, I’m sure, give you an example.
5). Is your CXO constantly seeking the limelight? While it is good to get publicity for the company, the media is notoriously fickle. They’ll love you one day and fry you the next. The CXO should be handling the company or division, and the PR Department should be handling the media (or carefully coaching the executives on how to do so). Keep your corporate officers away from the media as much as possible, leaving media relations to professionals at it.
6). What is the lifestyle of the CXO. You want a CXO that has a solid and tranquil domestic life with a partner that loves him or her, grown or well-behaved kids, and no nasty habits. You don't want your CXO in “People Magazine.”
Executives with mistresses, flashy lifestyles, playboy (or playgirl) habits, addictions or strange behaviors are not what you want! You want the attention to be on the company, not the lifestyles of the corporate officers.
Too many times American businesses have lost sight of the goal, which should be to make money for stockholders, provide customers with a quality, reliable product or service, employees with stable and enjoyable employment, and future generations with a company as a legacy.
The “perp walks” of the early 2000’s should have been a wake-up call to American business to police its own house. Instead, all it got us was SarbOx (a terrible law that does nothing except cost us money and time), and a black eye in the mind of the American public.
Good CXOs keep their eye on the ball and don’t get distracted by their egos. If you want to be a movie star, go to Hollywood. If you want to run a company, run a company. It’s that simple.
Here's to your prosperity,
J.
I don’t think I need to give a list of the CXOs whose egos have resulted in the fall of once-high-flying companies like Enron, etc. Here are some things to take a hard look at if you’re a board member, a stockholder, or a “C” level executive to keep your company from winding up in the "Hall of Shame."
1). Why is the person who is CXO in that chair? This is a very hard question that boards should ask. Many people are bamboozled by “C” level charisma. Take it from my 25+ years of experience, charismatic CXOs are very dangerous. The best individual to run a company is not charismatic, but a little on the boring side.
Too many boards have been taken down the primrose path by a man or woman with “star power.” Unfortunately, men and women with “star power” have gigantic egos. They like to be in the limelight, and this can, and probably will, mean losses for your company.
The best CXO is one that is taking care of business, not polishing an image. The gladhander who knows everyone is almost certainly going to eventually be a poor CXO. The reason is simple — these people are narcissists. They will do whatever is necessary to get their “strokes” and attention. Give me the quiet, competent type any day to the “celebrity CEO.”
2). Is this person being paid too much? The answer is almost certainly “yes.” American companies have gotten into a very bad habit of paying “C” level executives based on hype as opposed to performance. I’m amazed when a “C” level executive is paid a huge bonus when the company has lost money. While I’m firmly against government regulation of this practice (or any other business practice) it is bad business and the “payday” will come sooner or later.
Pay “C” level executives for performance and revenue, not smoke and mirrors.
3). Whose interests is this person looking after — yours and the company’s or his or her own interests? Good CXOs see that they succeed when the company succeeds, and believe in a “team success” approach. Egotistical (poor) ones think that what is good for them is good for the company. A good CXO is like a good naval ship officer — the company comes first.
Watch your management team carefully and see whether or not the company is coming first. If not, it is time to chop some heads and put in some folks who will fulfill their duty to the stockholders, employees and customers of the company instead of polishing their own image or enriching their own bank accounts at the expense of the company. (Don’t get me wrong — I have nothing against large CXO salaries or money! I just think that it should be obtained the old fashioned way — by earning it.)
4). Is the CXO surrounded by “yes wo/men?” No one can make good decisions when they’re being told how wonderful they are at everything. A good CXO has advisors that will tell him/her the truth. As an executive coach, I often have to deliver an ego blow to help the executive. I can do this because I don’t work for the executive. Yes, I have had executives whose egos were too big to take this. They eventually failed, usually sooner than later. If your executives are surrounded by toadies, they’re not looking out after your interests. If you’re a board member or major stockholder, insist that your management team have coaches, advisors, or some way of getting independent, third party advice. Of course, assure that the coaching team is going to keep your business secrets secret. A good non-disclosure form with teeth helps. Your corporate counsel can, I’m sure, give you an example.
5). Is your CXO constantly seeking the limelight? While it is good to get publicity for the company, the media is notoriously fickle. They’ll love you one day and fry you the next. The CXO should be handling the company or division, and the PR Department should be handling the media (or carefully coaching the executives on how to do so). Keep your corporate officers away from the media as much as possible, leaving media relations to professionals at it.
6). What is the lifestyle of the CXO. You want a CXO that has a solid and tranquil domestic life with a partner that loves him or her, grown or well-behaved kids, and no nasty habits. You don't want your CXO in “People Magazine.”
Executives with mistresses, flashy lifestyles, playboy (or playgirl) habits, addictions or strange behaviors are not what you want! You want the attention to be on the company, not the lifestyles of the corporate officers.
Too many times American businesses have lost sight of the goal, which should be to make money for stockholders, provide customers with a quality, reliable product or service, employees with stable and enjoyable employment, and future generations with a company as a legacy.
The “perp walks” of the early 2000’s should have been a wake-up call to American business to police its own house. Instead, all it got us was SarbOx (a terrible law that does nothing except cost us money and time), and a black eye in the mind of the American public.
Good CXOs keep their eye on the ball and don’t get distracted by their egos. If you want to be a movie star, go to Hollywood. If you want to run a company, run a company. It’s that simple.
Here's to your prosperity,
J.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
The Top Ten “C” Level Errors
If you’ve made it to the top you have probably developed a great many skills and talents. However, in my 28 years of dealing with top executives I’ve noticed a few common errors that people at the top make time and again. Here they are, with a couple of tips on avoiding them.
10) Not taking time for your own growth. So many of my clients get caught up in the running of their businesses that they don’t take time to look at the “spiritual” and emotional sides of life. You can’t be a shallow person and a good CEO…or any kind of executive. The kind of person one is winds up being the kind of executive he or she is. Remember this and take the time to be the kind of person you’d be proud to work for.
9). Losing sight of your goals. American businesses are way too short-term oriented. We are far too focused on monthly and quarterly numbers and nowhere near enough focused on the goals of the company for the long term. While your Board and Stakeholders are demanding those numbers stay up (and you must do so), don’t forget your long-term goals. If you forget the long term, the short-term will soon be in trouble.
8). Making “money” decisions. Too many “C” Level executives make decisions solely based on the “bottom line.” Big mistake. While money must be one of the many factors in any decision, it should rarely be the sole determining factor. Look at things like community values, company values, personal values, employee and customer satisfaction and so on as well. Usually if you’re satisfying the customers and have good employee morale, some of the dollar issues take care of themselves.
7). Isolating yourself. Don’t restrict your friend and contact list to others in your same country club or who have “C” in their title. This is incredibly isolating and incredibly stupid, as well. Your friends and networking list should consist of people at many walks of life and with many titles (or no title at all). And don’t stop attending networking functions and professional associations and mingling with everyone. It is vital to your career.
6). Living an ostentatious life. There is an old saying that goes “Live simply so others may simply live.” Those of us who make large sums of money have a responsibility to the community and to others. There is nothing wrong with having a nice house, good cars, etc., but only a very shallow person lives his or her to obtain these things. They should be “perks” along the way of a life well lived.
Besides which, an ostentatious lifestyle takes lots of energy to maintain — energy you could be using for other things. Live a nice life, but a simple one. Have nice things, but don’t burden yourself with tons of “stuff.” Make the driver to be successful an internal one rather than being driven by mere acquisition.
5). Losing touch with your staff and employees. Don’t barricade yourself in your office. You should know a bit about each employee, including the custodian and be able to chat with each and every one of them. Learn the “Farley File” system (more on this in a later post) and use it. People will go to the wall for a CEO who asks how their kids are doing and really listens and cares. People are loyal to people, not to corporations. Make your people fanatic about you by caring deeply (honestly) about them, and showing it often.
4). Losing touch with your customers. Clement Stone, the mentor of Napoleon Hill and founder of one of the largest life insurance companies in the world answered his own phone and had his door open. What a great man! He never wanted to lose touch with those who “paid his salary.” Neither do you.
3). Surrounding yourself with “yes” people. Surround yourself with people who will tell you that your fly’s open if it is. Also have a “consigliere” like the Godfather did — a trusted outside “third party” advisor who isn’t afraid to tell you things like they are. A skilled executive coach who is used to dealing with “C” Level executives can be worth his or her weight in gold. You can’t make good decisions if you are always being told that you’re right.
2). Trusting the wrong people. Don’t keep a snake in your t-shirt or bra. They bite. A sycophant will turn on you sooner or later. Someone who steals for you will steal from you. Someone who lies for you will lie to you. Remember this.
And the top number one error “C” Level executives make is:
Pride. Humility is absolutely essential to success as a “C” Level executive. Remember where you came from, who you are, and that you get dressed just like everyone else in the morning, even if it is in better clothes. Remember that you’re running a business, not a Universe, and that you do not walk on water, heal occasional lepers or levitate on alternate Saturdays. You are just a plain old person who was born naked and who turn to dust in the ground. Your title and money and authority are, in the grand scheme of things, meaningless. Ask any CEO who has lost a beloved spouse or child if they wouldn’t trade all of their money and titles for one more day with that person and put some things into perspective.
This blog will have a new article about once a week or so. Please feel free to subscribe if you enjoyed this article. I intend to give some very blunt and hard-hitting advice on this weekly blog. If you find this sort of advice offensive, I will really push your buttons and you probably shouldn’t read this. But if you want to cut through the happy horsepucky you usually read from Executive Coaches, you will probably like this blog.
Feel free to give me a call at any time to chat about an article or ask a question. I also am pleased to sit down with you for coffee if you live in the Metro Denver area, or are in town for a few days, or by phone or Skype if you are outside of Denver.
All the best,
J.
10) Not taking time for your own growth. So many of my clients get caught up in the running of their businesses that they don’t take time to look at the “spiritual” and emotional sides of life. You can’t be a shallow person and a good CEO…or any kind of executive. The kind of person one is winds up being the kind of executive he or she is. Remember this and take the time to be the kind of person you’d be proud to work for.
9). Losing sight of your goals. American businesses are way too short-term oriented. We are far too focused on monthly and quarterly numbers and nowhere near enough focused on the goals of the company for the long term. While your Board and Stakeholders are demanding those numbers stay up (and you must do so), don’t forget your long-term goals. If you forget the long term, the short-term will soon be in trouble.
8). Making “money” decisions. Too many “C” Level executives make decisions solely based on the “bottom line.” Big mistake. While money must be one of the many factors in any decision, it should rarely be the sole determining factor. Look at things like community values, company values, personal values, employee and customer satisfaction and so on as well. Usually if you’re satisfying the customers and have good employee morale, some of the dollar issues take care of themselves.
7). Isolating yourself. Don’t restrict your friend and contact list to others in your same country club or who have “C” in their title. This is incredibly isolating and incredibly stupid, as well. Your friends and networking list should consist of people at many walks of life and with many titles (or no title at all). And don’t stop attending networking functions and professional associations and mingling with everyone. It is vital to your career.
6). Living an ostentatious life. There is an old saying that goes “Live simply so others may simply live.” Those of us who make large sums of money have a responsibility to the community and to others. There is nothing wrong with having a nice house, good cars, etc., but only a very shallow person lives his or her to obtain these things. They should be “perks” along the way of a life well lived.
Besides which, an ostentatious lifestyle takes lots of energy to maintain — energy you could be using for other things. Live a nice life, but a simple one. Have nice things, but don’t burden yourself with tons of “stuff.” Make the driver to be successful an internal one rather than being driven by mere acquisition.
5). Losing touch with your staff and employees. Don’t barricade yourself in your office. You should know a bit about each employee, including the custodian and be able to chat with each and every one of them. Learn the “Farley File” system (more on this in a later post) and use it. People will go to the wall for a CEO who asks how their kids are doing and really listens and cares. People are loyal to people, not to corporations. Make your people fanatic about you by caring deeply (honestly) about them, and showing it often.
4). Losing touch with your customers. Clement Stone, the mentor of Napoleon Hill and founder of one of the largest life insurance companies in the world answered his own phone and had his door open. What a great man! He never wanted to lose touch with those who “paid his salary.” Neither do you.
3). Surrounding yourself with “yes” people. Surround yourself with people who will tell you that your fly’s open if it is. Also have a “consigliere” like the Godfather did — a trusted outside “third party” advisor who isn’t afraid to tell you things like they are. A skilled executive coach who is used to dealing with “C” Level executives can be worth his or her weight in gold. You can’t make good decisions if you are always being told that you’re right.
2). Trusting the wrong people. Don’t keep a snake in your t-shirt or bra. They bite. A sycophant will turn on you sooner or later. Someone who steals for you will steal from you. Someone who lies for you will lie to you. Remember this.
And the top number one error “C” Level executives make is:
Pride. Humility is absolutely essential to success as a “C” Level executive. Remember where you came from, who you are, and that you get dressed just like everyone else in the morning, even if it is in better clothes. Remember that you’re running a business, not a Universe, and that you do not walk on water, heal occasional lepers or levitate on alternate Saturdays. You are just a plain old person who was born naked and who turn to dust in the ground. Your title and money and authority are, in the grand scheme of things, meaningless. Ask any CEO who has lost a beloved spouse or child if they wouldn’t trade all of their money and titles for one more day with that person and put some things into perspective.
This blog will have a new article about once a week or so. Please feel free to subscribe if you enjoyed this article. I intend to give some very blunt and hard-hitting advice on this weekly blog. If you find this sort of advice offensive, I will really push your buttons and you probably shouldn’t read this. But if you want to cut through the happy horsepucky you usually read from Executive Coaches, you will probably like this blog.
Feel free to give me a call at any time to chat about an article or ask a question. I also am pleased to sit down with you for coffee if you live in the Metro Denver area, or are in town for a few days, or by phone or Skype if you are outside of Denver.
All the best,
J.
Friday, July 11, 2008
Welcome!
Welcome to the CEO Skills Corner. This new blog will exclusively address the skills and concerns of "C" Level executives in corporate America.
This blog will receive new articles at least weekly on a variety of topics. Of course, I always welcome your questions and comments, and will do my best to address them either personally or in an article. If you're asking a question, it is likely that many of your colleagues have a similar concern.
Who am I and why should you spend the time reading my articles? For the first post, here is my bio.
John Heckers, MA, CPC, BCPC is President of Heckers Development Group, LTD, an executive coaching and consulting firm based in Cherry Creek, Colorado, specializing in high level Executive Coaching, Corporate Training, Executive Transition Consulting and Strategic Corporate Coaching. John has consulted to both Fortune 500 and smaller companies, and has trained and coached executives from AT&T, New Horizons Computer Learning Centers, Microsoft Corporation, IBM, Maxtor/Seagate, The Prudential, United Airlines, Children’s Hospital, Concentra Health Systems, Merck-Medco, Hewlett/Packard, Citibank of New York, Corporate Express, Stryker Corporation, Qwest, First Data Resources, FEMA, The United States Armed Forces, and many other organizations. John has over 28 years of experience in helping and counseling executives, professional counseling, executive transition (career) counseling and professional training.
John Heckers is published both nationally and internationally as a business columnist, is featured as an employment blogger for ColoradoBiz Magazine Today on-line, on the Jobing.com website (Jobing.com is a national job board and employment advisory website), has served as an employment expert on the Diversity Website Latpro and served as the internationally syndicated employment columnist for The Denver Business Journal and the national and international online bizjournals.com for over 6 years. His articles have been syndicated in business journals across the United States and Canada, and has also had his articles republished in business periodicals in Europe and Asia, translated into five languages. He has had frequent appearances on numerous television news programs and radio talk shows as an employment expert, including Denver’s KCNC, WB2, and KHOW radio, among others.
John Heckers graduated with his Baccalaureate degree in Psychology and Philosophy from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 1977, did graduate studies at the University of Toronto, Trinity College, in 1978 and 1979, and graduated from Denver’s Iliff School of Theology with distinction with his Master of Arts degree in 1989.
He is past president of the Colorado Association of Psychotherapists, served on the boards of directors of the Jefferson Center for Mental Health, the Rocky Mountain Information Management Association, and the International Attention and Behavioral Institute. In 1995, Heckers was appointed by Governor Roy Romer to the Colorado State Mental Health Grievance Board, where he served for three years. He also has served as a Senior Research Fellow for the Magellan Center, a non-partisan and not-for-profit think tank in Colorado devoted to employment issues.
So, there you have it. You may expect a new post on this blog in the next couple of days. If you’d like to know whenever we update, don’t forget to subscribe via the link on the sidebar.
Thanks, and I look forward to having you as a regular reader.
John H. Heckers, MA, CPC, BCPC
This blog will receive new articles at least weekly on a variety of topics. Of course, I always welcome your questions and comments, and will do my best to address them either personally or in an article. If you're asking a question, it is likely that many of your colleagues have a similar concern.
Who am I and why should you spend the time reading my articles? For the first post, here is my bio.
John Heckers, MA, CPC, BCPC is President of Heckers Development Group, LTD, an executive coaching and consulting firm based in Cherry Creek, Colorado, specializing in high level Executive Coaching, Corporate Training, Executive Transition Consulting and Strategic Corporate Coaching. John has consulted to both Fortune 500 and smaller companies, and has trained and coached executives from AT&T, New Horizons Computer Learning Centers, Microsoft Corporation, IBM, Maxtor/Seagate, The Prudential, United Airlines, Children’s Hospital, Concentra Health Systems, Merck-Medco, Hewlett/Packard, Citibank of New York, Corporate Express, Stryker Corporation, Qwest, First Data Resources, FEMA, The United States Armed Forces, and many other organizations. John has over 28 years of experience in helping and counseling executives, professional counseling, executive transition (career) counseling and professional training.
John Heckers is published both nationally and internationally as a business columnist, is featured as an employment blogger for ColoradoBiz Magazine Today on-line, on the Jobing.com website (Jobing.com is a national job board and employment advisory website), has served as an employment expert on the Diversity Website Latpro and served as the internationally syndicated employment columnist for The Denver Business Journal and the national and international online bizjournals.com for over 6 years. His articles have been syndicated in business journals across the United States and Canada, and has also had his articles republished in business periodicals in Europe and Asia, translated into five languages. He has had frequent appearances on numerous television news programs and radio talk shows as an employment expert, including Denver’s KCNC, WB2, and KHOW radio, among others.
John Heckers graduated with his Baccalaureate degree in Psychology and Philosophy from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 1977, did graduate studies at the University of Toronto, Trinity College, in 1978 and 1979, and graduated from Denver’s Iliff School of Theology with distinction with his Master of Arts degree in 1989.
He is past president of the Colorado Association of Psychotherapists, served on the boards of directors of the Jefferson Center for Mental Health, the Rocky Mountain Information Management Association, and the International Attention and Behavioral Institute. In 1995, Heckers was appointed by Governor Roy Romer to the Colorado State Mental Health Grievance Board, where he served for three years. He also has served as a Senior Research Fellow for the Magellan Center, a non-partisan and not-for-profit think tank in Colorado devoted to employment issues.
So, there you have it. You may expect a new post on this blog in the next couple of days. If you’d like to know whenever we update, don’t forget to subscribe via the link on the sidebar.
Thanks, and I look forward to having you as a regular reader.
John H. Heckers, MA, CPC, BCPC
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
