“The louder he talked of his honor, the faster we counted our spoons.” (Ralph Waldo Emerson)
We live in a country which has become bereft of honor and integrity. Integrity is a concept about which I should never need to write. In times past a man or woman without integrity would be ostracized by the community. Now, we elect Presidents who consistently lie, whether it be about blue dresses or weapons of mass destruction. We see corporate head after corporate head doing the “perp walk.” And cheating others has become a way of life.
I used to operate my business on a handshake. No more. If I did so now, I’d be broke. My contract, over the years, has grown longer and longer as “loopholes” have had to be sewn up to make it more difficult to defraud me of my fee for work performed. But integrity is the foundation of being a good leader, although, given the “role models” that we have, one would never know it.
I find that, increasingly, “C” level executives are taking honor and integrity less and less seriously. Rather than honoring one’s word, it has become “what can I get away with?”. Many top-level executives do not see their word, or even contracts, as having any meaning. Virtually before the ink is dry on the contract, they’re at their attorney’s office trying to find a way to break it. Here are a few of the things that integrity means to me.
1). Do what you say you’re going to do when you say you’re going to do it. This seems elementary to me, but, apparently, is not to many people. If you cannot do what you say you’re going to do when you say you’re going to do it, negotiate so that you are doing as close to what you said you were going to do and when you said you were going to do it as possible. But only negotiate if there are such overwhelming circumstances as to make doing what you say you’re going to do when you say you’re going to do it literally impossible.
2). Carry through on your word, even if it costs you money, time or other things. No, there is not a built-in clause in every promise or contract that says, at the end of something which must be performed, “if I feel like it.” If you sign a contract or make a promise and then find out that the contract or promise is more costly than you thought, follow through on it anyway.
Of course, I’m leaving out fraud here. If the person you made the promise to or signed the contract with was making false statements to you to induce you to make a promise or sign a contract, you are not, of course, bound by your word. But let’s be sure that we are sure that the other person lied before vacating our word.
3). Leave other people’s stuff and relationships alone. I’m truly amazed at the prevalence of adultery and theft in our society. No society can long survive if the basic institutions of society are not respected.
Marriage is being eroded daily. No, not by gay marriage. Two people of the same gender making a loving commitment to one another does not erode marriage. The incredibly high rate of infidelity and divorce erode marriage. This is an integrity issue.
So is the widespread fraud that is going on in American businesses today. Halliburton, for example, has made its stockholders wealthy by stealing from American taxpayers and not providing our troops with the necessities they were contracted to provide them with. And what will happen? Well, look at the people who own large blocks of stock in Halliburton. Probably nothing will happen. They’ve gotten away with the theft of billions of dollars — billions that we, the taxpayers, have paid them. But just because they won’t be held criminally accountable, doesn’t mean it is OK or make it right.
4). Behave as if everything you did will be on the 6 PM news or CNN. I won’t do business with someone I know is cheating on their spouse. Why? Because if your own spouse can’t trust you, why should I trust you? If you can’t keep a vow, what makes me think that you’ll keep a contract, hmmm?
Integrity is a seamless garment. You either have it or you don’t. You cannot be one kind of person and another kind of businessperson. You can’t be a lousy husband, wife, father, mother, friend, etc. and be, for example, a good doctor. You may be skilled, but you aren’t good, and there is a difference. Give me a man or woman who is less skilled, but a better person over a highly skilled fraud any day.
5). Don’t defend those who are not acting in integrity. Doctors do it. Police officers do it. Men do it for other men and women for other women. There seems to be a growing code that defends those who are not acting in integrity. I see this more and more in the business world. If you cover up for or defend those who have performed an act which is deceitful, fraudulent, or otherwise dishonest, you are no better than they are. I will not do business with nor otherwise trust an individual who defends someone who has been shown to be a dishonest person because they have displayed both personal dishonesty and poor judgment.
Remember, if you defend someone who is dishonest you are “hitching” your reputation to theirs. Do you really want to do that? (Obviously, there are times when defend someone before we know the facts. I’m speaking here of continuing to defend someone when it is clear and conclusive that individual is dishonest or dishonorable.)
6). Don’t “hang” with those who do not have honor. There is an old saying “if you’d steal for me, you’d steal from me.” This is incredibly true. If someone has betrayed a friend, you will be on the chopping block sooner or later. If they’ve stolen from others, watch your wallet. I’m continually amazed at the defensive circle which forms around business or political figures who have obviously cheated, stolen, and so on. It turns my stomach to watch the wives of politicians caught in the act of infidelity standing there smiling at the press conference next to the slime they married. Be careful who you have around you because Mom was right. You will be judged by the type of friends you have.
7). Defend your honor. If you have, indeed, acted in integrity and someone else has not, and you are being tarred with their brush, quietly but firmly defend your honor. This is sometimes costly, and usually inconvenient. But do not allow anyone to tarnish your good name — and they WILL try. Go to court if necessary, but do whatever you must do to defend your name and your honor if you, indeed, have kept it intact.
This certainly does not exhaust the topic of integrity. But it is a start. Every day you must ask yourself if you have performed in such a way that others will look at your integrity and feel reassured that they, too, are in good hands. Integrity is almost like being a virgin. Once it is broken it is difficult to go back. Don’t lose your integrity virginity.
John.
Showing posts with label international. Show all posts
Showing posts with label international. Show all posts
Sunday, August 24, 2008
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.
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Thanks, and I look forward to having you as a regular reader.
John H. Heckers, MA, CPC, BCPC
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