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.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
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.
Monday, October 6, 2008
Making It Through The “Financial Crisis”
Sorry for the hiatus --- my wife and I have been moving from one side of town to the other. We had sold a loft we owned and lived in about 3 years ago. This was at the advice of our “C” Level clients and a banker friend. We, therefore, didn’t wind up losing tens of thousands of dollars on it, as we would have if we waited any. Developers have been building literally hundreds of new lofts in the Denver LoDo area, many of which are standing empty.
We then, again with the advice of some very money-wise people, moved into a cracker-box (and rented three storage sheds for our “stuff”) to wait out the housing crisis, which, three years ago, everyone assumed would be over in a year or so. Right. Well, to make a long story endless, when it was clear that the housing crisis wasn’t resolving anytime soon, we decided not to camp out any longer in the cracker box, and got a house that we could actually put our furniture, hundreds of books and other treasures in. And therein lies a column…
No one can predict what is going to happen in a financial crisis. I am very against “Wall Street Welfare.” We are, at least for the time being, capitalists, or, to be more accurate due to decades of encroaching government regulation and meddling, socialistic capitalists. Capitalism means that there will be winners and losers. It also means that, while there are winners and losers, no one has to be a permanent loser.
The alternative, except in a utopia, is either that everyone but the government winds up in mediocre circumstances (Socialism) or that everyone but the government is kept in poverty (Communism) or that everyone but the government and the favored corporations is kept in loss or mediocrity (Fascism…look at the actual definition of Fascism, not how it is currently used by demagogues trying to get your vote…and see why there can never be such a thing as “Islamo-fascism.). Now, call me idealistic, but I am a laissez-faire Capitalist (as well as a Libertarian, but that is a whole other Oprah). Let the free market be free and let it decide. Let there be winners and losers, and let that be determined, not by government collusion or regulation, but by hard work, serendipity and wisdom in investing. Unfortunately, my opinion is in the minority in this country of ours — which became great by the majority of those with influence being of the same opinion I am now…both as a pure Capitalist and a Libertarian.
Back to this current “financial crisis” and executive employment, however.
One thing that you never read much about unless you dig is the fact that many more people became wealthy during the “Great Depression” than lost everything. Unfortunately, my grandfather, who was an attorney and heavily invested in stocks, wasn’t one of them, or I’d be sipping Mojitos under a Caribbean sun right now instead of writing to you. But the fact is that economic conditions do not determine whether or not you’re going to be wealthy. Many other factors do.
One of those factors is making wise choices. For example, our company is actually dong quite well right now. We produced the same amount of revenue by the end of the third quarter as we produced all of 2007. And we expect another record year in 2009. The reason is simple. We have set up our company so that it does well in a boom, in mediocrity or in a recession. We’ve deliberately stayed small enough so that we can swap out “modes” in which we’re working in about a month. And I am a “news junkie” and “policy wonk,” so I have a pretty good idea what’s going on in our country and how it is likely to effect our business, at least in the short-term.
But no one can predict the long-term with any degree of accuracy. Hence, our housing odyssey.
Executives need to remember this and make a personal employment plan similar to the way we run our company. Choosing a company to run wisely is, of course, the best way to assure that your position is safe. If you are currently a CEO or COO, or have influence with these folks, it is a little late, but there is still time to ask what you can do that is counter-recessionary. Virtually any company can make money in a recession, or even a depression. While the time to plan this is during a boom, just like it is best to start networking while you’re employed, it is better to start late than never.
Our clients do quite well in a recession (and, regardless of government figures, there have been several over the last 25 years). They also do well in a boom. There is no great secret here — just good planning and a recognition that economic conditions need not be frightening if you are prepared to prosper from them.
If you are unemployed now, you are probably a little terrified. Relax. There is no reason to be. If you are well-networked, know where the unadvertised (or even as-yet-not-open) jobs are, and can get someone to introduce you to their fellow board members or executives, you will be employed again rapidly. If you are not well-networked, look at a well-connected Executive Transition Coach who can introduce you to the people you need to meet. If you’re in the Front Range/Denver, Colorado area, I’m happy to meet with you and give you some direction. If you are not, ask around to your friends and golfing partners and find a coach who is well-connected, successful, and experienced in dealing with top executives. Even the best coach will run less than a couple of weeks salary for top executives, and is the best investment in your career you can make — so long as you recognize that there are plenty of scams in this business and choose carefully.
All in all, however, don’t “buy into” the panic and fear that the media is generating. This is how they sell newspapers and news shows. Everything is always a crisis. There is always “breaking news” about some disaster somewhere. The media loves the crisis “flavor of the week.”
Getting through this “financial crisis” is not difficult. It just requires a bit of paying attention, managing attitudes and making wise decisions. As always, please feel free to give me a call if I can be of any help.
To a prosperous year,
J.
We then, again with the advice of some very money-wise people, moved into a cracker-box (and rented three storage sheds for our “stuff”) to wait out the housing crisis, which, three years ago, everyone assumed would be over in a year or so. Right. Well, to make a long story endless, when it was clear that the housing crisis wasn’t resolving anytime soon, we decided not to camp out any longer in the cracker box, and got a house that we could actually put our furniture, hundreds of books and other treasures in. And therein lies a column…
No one can predict what is going to happen in a financial crisis. I am very against “Wall Street Welfare.” We are, at least for the time being, capitalists, or, to be more accurate due to decades of encroaching government regulation and meddling, socialistic capitalists. Capitalism means that there will be winners and losers. It also means that, while there are winners and losers, no one has to be a permanent loser.
The alternative, except in a utopia, is either that everyone but the government winds up in mediocre circumstances (Socialism) or that everyone but the government is kept in poverty (Communism) or that everyone but the government and the favored corporations is kept in loss or mediocrity (Fascism…look at the actual definition of Fascism, not how it is currently used by demagogues trying to get your vote…and see why there can never be such a thing as “Islamo-fascism.). Now, call me idealistic, but I am a laissez-faire Capitalist (as well as a Libertarian, but that is a whole other Oprah). Let the free market be free and let it decide. Let there be winners and losers, and let that be determined, not by government collusion or regulation, but by hard work, serendipity and wisdom in investing. Unfortunately, my opinion is in the minority in this country of ours — which became great by the majority of those with influence being of the same opinion I am now…both as a pure Capitalist and a Libertarian.
Back to this current “financial crisis” and executive employment, however.
One thing that you never read much about unless you dig is the fact that many more people became wealthy during the “Great Depression” than lost everything. Unfortunately, my grandfather, who was an attorney and heavily invested in stocks, wasn’t one of them, or I’d be sipping Mojitos under a Caribbean sun right now instead of writing to you. But the fact is that economic conditions do not determine whether or not you’re going to be wealthy. Many other factors do.
One of those factors is making wise choices. For example, our company is actually dong quite well right now. We produced the same amount of revenue by the end of the third quarter as we produced all of 2007. And we expect another record year in 2009. The reason is simple. We have set up our company so that it does well in a boom, in mediocrity or in a recession. We’ve deliberately stayed small enough so that we can swap out “modes” in which we’re working in about a month. And I am a “news junkie” and “policy wonk,” so I have a pretty good idea what’s going on in our country and how it is likely to effect our business, at least in the short-term.
But no one can predict the long-term with any degree of accuracy. Hence, our housing odyssey.
Executives need to remember this and make a personal employment plan similar to the way we run our company. Choosing a company to run wisely is, of course, the best way to assure that your position is safe. If you are currently a CEO or COO, or have influence with these folks, it is a little late, but there is still time to ask what you can do that is counter-recessionary. Virtually any company can make money in a recession, or even a depression. While the time to plan this is during a boom, just like it is best to start networking while you’re employed, it is better to start late than never.
Our clients do quite well in a recession (and, regardless of government figures, there have been several over the last 25 years). They also do well in a boom. There is no great secret here — just good planning and a recognition that economic conditions need not be frightening if you are prepared to prosper from them.
If you are unemployed now, you are probably a little terrified. Relax. There is no reason to be. If you are well-networked, know where the unadvertised (or even as-yet-not-open) jobs are, and can get someone to introduce you to their fellow board members or executives, you will be employed again rapidly. If you are not well-networked, look at a well-connected Executive Transition Coach who can introduce you to the people you need to meet. If you’re in the Front Range/Denver, Colorado area, I’m happy to meet with you and give you some direction. If you are not, ask around to your friends and golfing partners and find a coach who is well-connected, successful, and experienced in dealing with top executives. Even the best coach will run less than a couple of weeks salary for top executives, and is the best investment in your career you can make — so long as you recognize that there are plenty of scams in this business and choose carefully.
All in all, however, don’t “buy into” the panic and fear that the media is generating. This is how they sell newspapers and news shows. Everything is always a crisis. There is always “breaking news” about some disaster somewhere. The media loves the crisis “flavor of the week.”
Getting through this “financial crisis” is not difficult. It just requires a bit of paying attention, managing attitudes and making wise decisions. As always, please feel free to give me a call if I can be of any help.
To a prosperous year,
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 24, 2008
Integrity
“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.
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.
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.
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