Leadership – Page 55 – www.exkalibur.com

Remember the song, Mr. In-Between?

Usually, when we remember this song, we think of someone “straddling the fence”, trying to be all things to all people, teetering on the edge of indecision and inaction … or someone who always takes the “middle of the road” and commits to nothing.

Are you Mr. Inside or Mr. Outside?

Gill Corkendale writes in the HBR blog that leaders tend to be either Mr. Inside or Mr. Outside when they really need to focus on being Mr. In-Between, creating an essential “balance” among their varied responsibilities.
It’s true that we all drift toward our comfort zone, doing what we enjoy and are good at, often ignoring the more tedious, even painful tasks that remain critical to our success.

This Checklist will help you Assess Your Role

She offers a simple checklist to help you evaluate where you are on this continuum. (more…)

Vol. 54: The road to cost control

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.
This page provides the Print-Friendly Version of the article, as published.
Any related materials or articles referenced in the column, or otherwise applicable, will also be referenced below:
The electronic version of the article, as published, may be found here.

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Article published -November 30 2009

Is fear or kindness the road to cost control? You decide

“Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value.”

– Albert Einstein

Last time I presented the dichotomy of two opposing cultures and posed the question: If measured by financial performance, how can dramatically different organizations be equally successful? In this continuing series, we’ll explore some of the combinations and permutations of sound business principles and cultural patterns that often collide within an organization’s walls.
In many ways, it doesn’t seem fair that both charitable and churlish cultures can thrive. It’s easy to embrace the benevolent culture created by Sid Rich (we’ll call it Company South, “S” for Sid) as profiled in my last column.
That company deserves to be successful. Wouldn’t it be great if that was the company I worked for? Contrarily, when you look across the aisle at the rough and tumble world of Company North (“N” for Nasty), highlighted by temper tantrums, public floggings and a petulant devotion to spending a dime on anything, we’re either glad we’re not working there … or wishing we didn’t.
Some powerful lessons are evident as we compare and contrast these companies, their styles and culture, although some lessons are not very inviting. (more…)

Small business still swimming upstream

Like big bears hovering over the waterline picking off salmon swimming upstream, the economy is not much of a friend to small business. As you probably realize, small businesses generated 65% of the job growth between 1993 and 2008, and represent about half of the private-sector employment in the U.S., according to the Small Business Administration. “Smaller firms, with fewer than 20 employees, account for 25% of all jobs, but they generated 40% of the [job] growth in the last expansion in 2001,” says Joseph Brusuelas, a director and senior economist at Moody’s Economy.com.

Nouriel Roubini, the NYU economist, writes in a column published in BusinessWeek that the small business economy, is still mired in an “deep and persistent recession”. In fact, a Goldman Sachs analyst recently explained that small business sentiment is out of line with other measures of the economy, like GDP.

What’s the answer? A recent meeting of chief executives concluded that efforts need to center on getting more credit to small and mid-market businesses. The CEOs argued that the main impediment to a faster economic recovery was the high level of unemployment and called for ensuring that credit was available to jump-start hiring, with an emphasis on smaller businesses. I seriously doubt that’s the holdup and am inclined to agree more with the NFIB Chief Economist. (more…)

Get after health care costs NOW!

My last newspaper column, Can Small Companies lead in consumer-directed health care?, focused on certain health care ideas and the success that companies like Whole Foods have had focusing on individual responsibility for some of these basic costs.According to a new report, over $700 million is wasted each year in…

Original + Unique = Risk = Some failure

By now, you know that the Sunday NY Times Corner Office series is oft-quoted here to highlight varying aspects of leadership that flow from Adam Bryant’s conversations with notable CEOs and business leaders.
This week he interviewed Jeffrey Katzenberg, CEO of Dreamworks Animation SKG.
Perhaps Katzenberg inhabits an industry that is prone to more risk than others … but I doubt it. I agree with his equation, too, because if you’re not original and unique … and if you don’t make failure acceptable, no one will take the risks that ensure that your value proposition is fresh and creative. He believes that showing your employees that they’re expected to take risks is the single most important quality of an organization.
Katzenberg also stresses that the most important aspect of leadership is earning respect … not getting respect. (more…)

Leading by Listening? What a concept!

... and, of course, who better to embody this powerful attribute than an orchestra conductor?Imagine listening like a conductor, appreciating every note and intonation ... recognizing that the bass section is too loud or the percussion section is interrupting the melody.We can use these principles to improve our own listening…

Give your employees $2,000 to spend!

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”, (more…)

Strategy is what you choose NOT to do!

By now, you know that the Sunday NY Times Corner Office series is oft-quoted here to highlight varying aspects of leadership that flow from Adam Bryant’s conversations with notable CEOs and business leaders.
This week he interviewed Drew Gilpin Faust, the first female President of Harvard University. Communication is a critical factor in her leadership style, and I can concur with the extraordinary importance this has in a university setting, having spent 6 months consulting with UCLA. The university community is a diverse governance conundrum with many cooks and few bottle washers, so communication is vital across all of the constituencies and leadership platforms. It’s no less important in your organization but the style required in a university setting sets a high standard for what’s required from all business leaders.
She also emphasizes the value of MBWA … the leadership tactic of “Management by Walking Around” mentioned often here. She also emphasizes (more…)

Alignment is the essence of management

... or so says Fred Smith, Chairman and Founder of Federal Express. By any other name, there is no substitute for making sure that everyone on your team is "aligned" ... with the goals of the organization, its vision and mission, its values .... One way to discover a lack…