The North Bay Business Journal, a publication of the New York Times, is a weekly business newspaper which covers the North Bay area of San Francisco – from the Golden Gate bridge north, including the Wine Country of Sonoma and Napa counties.
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Article published -November 16 2009
“You do not lead by hitting people over the head – that’s assault, not leadership.”
– Dwight D. Eisenhower”
He threw a lead crystal ashtray at his son’s head?” I asked. “Thank God he missed.”
“He threw his secretary’s typewriter through a second story window – it wasn’t open – into a parking lot full of cars below?”
These are just a few of the stories I heard after I joined the firm.
In short order, I recognized that the company’s cultural ancestors probably included a toga-clad, sweat-drenched galleon driver pounding out a cadence of “ramming speed” with a wooden mallet. Their cost-containment strategy was medieval. The company showed no obeisance whatsoever to any concept of structure or chain-of-command organization. The chairman slurped a workaholic tonic that abused everyone in sight, brooked little disagreement and intimidated employees, customers and vendors with equal disdain.
His miserly ways were never more visible than the occasion on which he lost his patience hearing about the infamous typewriter (remember those?) that wouldn’t stay fixed.
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What would happen if we gave each of our employees up to $2,000 to invest in a customer’s experience on any particular occasion … not an annual stipend … but for any given situation?
Most of us are aware of the extraordinary attention to service that is the hallmark of luxury hotels … but few of us probably understand the extraordinary cultural commitment to training and service that is the bedrock of the incomparable Ritz Carlton chain.
In an insightful interview with the Ritz Carlton CEO, Simon Cooper, many of these powerful programs are discussed. The Ritz Carlton grants every staff member a stipend of up to $2,000 to satisfy any single guest … not per year but per occasion … without any approval or conditions. Imagine empowering our employees in that manner … and showing them our immense trust in their ability to make sound decisions while validating our unwavering commitment to our customers? BTW, in the Ritz Carlton arrangement, there is no implication that there is a problem … just a desire to create an overwhelming customer experience.
Another tactic that the Ritz Carlton uses may seem familiar to many as the “daily huddle”,
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I have mentioned on many occasions the Corner Office series in the Sunday NY Times which features an interview by Adam Bryant with a prominent CEO. The questions are consistent but invariably reveal an important reminder of key elements of leadership.
In a recent interview with Jim Rogers, CEO of Duke Energy, Rogers explained how important it is to be on the front lines, to employ the MBWA concept that keeps you in touch with what’s REALLY going on. He also emphasizes a point made repeatedly in Sword Tips … that a strong leadership team is an invaluable cornerstone of successful leadership. In an unusual reference, Rogers mentions it in the context of time management … that he can’t get done what’s on his plate unless he has built a trusted team, clearly shared the company strategy with them and demonstrates his trust in their ability to succeed.
A final reminder is a bugaboo for most business leaders …
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Finding ways to get things done more simply is an elusive target for most of us. Forbes magazine recently carried an article in which Ron Ahskenas, a managing partner at Robert H. Schaffer & Associates, a Stamford, Ct. management consulting firm, talked about three key ways to get more done by “SIMPLIFYING” your business.
While implementing common processes throughout the organization is more challenging for larger organizations, it should be easier to accomplish for smaller ones. Reducing product variation is a simple theme but one that masks great opportunities for many firms which have unhesitatingly expanded their product selections so as not to “miss” a customer, without recognizing the tremendous costs they’ve incurred.
Finally, taking the customer’s perspective – truly understanding what it’s like to walk in their shoes – is critical to sustaining deep customer relationships.
Most of the time when we sit down to work, even in our favorite chair, we have a stack of papers or files, maybe a list of some kind, andproceed to “work” as we’ve always defined it … plow through the stack and “get ‘er done”.
But if you try it with a blank sheet of paper, as I didagain this morning, and just sit back and noodle on the issues that are clogging your brain waves and keeping you up at night. … with no preconceived notions about them because your paper is blank so far … you’ll be amazed at how your mind starts to do it’s favorite thing … add some intellectual firepower to solving problems.
Our brain is not really that good at filing, sorting, recording and remembering what we need at the precise moment we need it.
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Patrick Lencioni has got it right in his guest column in Business Week recently: There’s no substitute for taking an active interest in the lives of your employees. The MBWO – “managment by walking around” theory has always been popular in these pages as a simple, no-cost tool to stay in touch with employees … not to check up on them but to engage them in spontaneous dialogue, encourage their excellence, find out what’s getting in the way of their success, champion their ideas and causes.
You can help them find job fulfillment and dramatically increase their engagement in the company’s performance. Read this article, take it to heart and begin practicing it NOW!
I mentioned here before about the regular Sunday NY Times feature called the Corner Office, which summarizes conversations with various CEO’s about leadership, lessons learned, interviewing techniques, etc. Here are 4 key lessons:
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Welcome to Exkalibur. I’m Lary Kirchenbauer, President of Exkalibur Advisors, Inc. Please take advantage of our resources to help you build your business ... and let me know what more we can do to serve you.
Read my latest column from the NY Times affiliate, the North Bay Business Journal.
Lary began advising our company when we were going through some difficult challenges, and now, two years later, we are in a completely different and significantly better place. His advice was specific, direct, and not always what we wanted to hear, and that was invaluable. Lary has been quick to cut through to the heart of an issue. His coaching, prodding, and tough questioning helped us to make changes that truly and measurably have helped both our top and bottom lines.
Paul Levitan, CEO Galaxy Desserts, Inc.
