OUCH! OK, got to go now, been nice talking to you! No, of course that was not my response, but that one simple question has given me pause over the past 36 hours to re-evaluate what has become a “four-letter word”…R-E-S-T. Here are just some of the questions that plagued me during my obligatory work [I’m not so sure cutting grass is considered “rest,” but it is a great time to think and reflect…be still if you will]:

• When did I come to believe that I had to be busy 24/7?
• Why can’t I stop and “smell the roses?”
• How does one rest?
• Will I still get all my “tasks” completed if I work less than 24/7?
• When’s the next “YA” meeting…that’s “Yes’s anonymous”…for those of us who need help in learning to say that very short word “NO” on occasion.

So, let’s go back and spend a bit of time on that penetrating question asked of me…”Is rest productive?” After some thought and tucking my tail between my legs, my answer was “of course!” If that was my belief, why is it such an emphatic answer and why couldn’t I adhere to this information I knew to be truth? Vacation, Rest, Relaxation, and Recuperation – all are synonymous words. Yet, we business owners have a hard time packing it into our overly busy schedules. I can tell you I don’t remember a “vacation” when I’ve not gone with laptop and cell phone in toe. Grant it, I’m not on them close to the amount of time that I am when not on “vacation” but they are a necessity…right? I would venture to guess that I like many of you are in the same boat… it’s not a cruise liner, but often feels like the sinking Titanic. I am the business owner; I HAVE to be in touch with my clients. I have to be available if something goes wrong. I NEED my phone, e-mail, Internet, PDA, and whatever other lies we have come to believe.

What I discovered, or re-discovered, yesterday was that I need to re-define what a vacation is to me. One of the benefits of being a business owner is that you get to make your own schedule, right? So, my goal for the rest of this year is to be a better leader of myself and my schedule. I am going to plan for intentional rest and vacation, even if it is only taking half a day off to do something for me. Maybe it’s a long weekend. Maybe I do go on a week-long traditional vacation, but I will limit my e-mail/cell phone/Internet usage to one hour per day. That is primarily to stay on top of e-mails so that I don’t come back to 200+ in my Inbox and can’t see above sea level.

Why do YOU believe rest is productive? That’s an easy one to answer. I hope you agree. Our bodies and, more importantly, our minds need some down time. I do not pretend to understand the complexities of our brain, but what I DO know is that when we give it a break – a rest if you will – it works better. We are refreshed; we are more creative; we are easier with which to get along; we handle stress better; we are healthier; and we handle emotions more safely. These are just a mere few productive outcomes of rest. I do not believe you can be as effective of a leader without rest and vacations. You owe it to those you lead, as well as to yourself!

Vacations don’t have to be an extravagant trip to some exotic part of the world; however nice that may be. A vacation may be a drive to the country; a walk in the park; a movie; a theater show; laying in the hammock; a stay at a beach; or a bottle of wine and a good book in front of a fireplace. I found a great article on Google called “Brain, heal thyself,” [Monitor on Psychology by Lea Winerman] which states, “Recent studies have suggested that the brain, so active during the day, may use the downtime of sleep to repair damage caused by our busy metabolism, replenish dwindling energy stores and even grow new neurons.” Wow…repair damage to my brain cells?

OK, I got it! I WILL learn to rest. How about you? Do you want to offer some much-needed repair to your brain and to yourself? Join me on my vacation scheduling. Here’s my plan:

1. Take one weekday off each month to do something I enjoy.
2. Attend my niece’s high school graduation in Connecticut.
3. See the Grand Canyon this summer.
4. Enjoy the holidays with family and friends.
5. Start “blogging.”

Last month, we talked about utilizing technology as a springboard for a one-on-one leadership development coaching opportunity with an employee or co-worker…how did it go? What did you learn about your employee – will you share it with me? This month, I challenge you again; I’m going to be easy on you…only one challenge:

Plan your own vacations – let’s shoot for one per quarter. We’re through the first quarter, so only three to go.

PS.  My dear Texas friend also recommended to read Hebrews 4 and learn how to “rest in God”…thanks for nothing I told him later that evening (joking, of course!)…Hebrews 4 is talking about PERMANENT rest in God…DEATH! Thanks, but I’ll wait on that one for a bit.

How to Plan for Vacation at Work

1. If you’re the boss, it all starts with you. You have to make a commitment to yourself and to your employees by setting an example and the tone of the importance of vacations. The place shouldn’t fall apart without you. If it will, maybe it’s time to rethink your staffing choices. Hire people you can train and trust to give you the break you deserve, while still ensuring your business thrives when you’re away.

1. Designate a back-up. Select a colleague who will be able to answer any questions about your projects while you’re away. Brief that person on your projects and make sure you offer to do the same while your back-up goes on vacation. Give contact information to one person. Instead of telling everyone how to reach you, let one person know where you’ll be. He or she can funnel requests to determine if you really need to be bothered while away.

1. Change voicemail and e-mail greetings. Change greetings on your phone and e-mail accounts to indicate you will be out of touch. It’s bad business not to return calls, but if you let clients know you’re away and who to contact in your absence, they won’t feel ignored. And most selfishly, it’ll save you from getting scores of messages filled with requests that can be taken care of while you are away.

1. If you must check in, pledge to only do so once per day. And, if it is an absolute imperative to take work with you, choose an hour a day for solid work, then let it go for the rest of the day.

Innovation is key in a successful business. Taking the time to refresh will give you a different perspective. Make a commitment to yourself, your boss and your family to break away and recharge, returning to work with new ideas for success.

Too often today, managers – whether supervisors, directors, or even owners – see their role as the creator and enforcer of rules. “Be on time…,” they tell their employees, “or I will have to write you up.” “Be a team player.” “Show initiative.” “Call on more prospects.” “Service the existing customer.” And so on.

More time is spent on dealing with the problems caused by the behaviors of some employees, than on trying to get the best from all employees. The Gallup studies suggested that average managers spend 60 to 75% of their time trying to correct deficiencies and weaknesses, while the most successful managers spend 60 – 75% of their time mentoring and coaching the best employees to even higher performance.

How much time is spent documenting deficient behaviors – and, why are these employees still on the payroll serving as an example to others that this kind of behavior is tolerated and accepted? If you keep employees with recurring performance issues, it says to other employees that it is acceptable, no matter what you SAY about it.

I remember watching John Madden as coach of the Oakland Raiders. While other teams had thick binders of rules and penalties, Madden had only three – first, be on time; second, pay attention; third, come dressed to play. Madden guided the Raiders to a 103-32-7 record, seven AFC Western Division titles and a Super Bowl win.

Madden did not manage, he coached his players. He assumed that the players were adults. If a player could not follow his three simple rules, the player had no place on the team. Madden set high standards, repeatedly telling players “the only yardstick for success our society has is being a champion. No one remembers anything else.”

Players understood and responded, giving Madden the best winning percentage of any head coach in NFL history. He was a catalyst for growth and change for both players and the team as a whole.

Managing

Managing — based on several recent research studies — is a process rather than a title or role. It involves assigning the things to be accomplished and putting in place follow-up measurements and systems to insure results. While correcting inadequate performance is a part of the process, even more important is reinforcing and rewarding the correct performance. Repeated problems involving a particular employee must result in replacement of the employee. Repeated problems involving a part of the system or the repeated failure of employees in a single role, means the system itself requires correction.

Coaching

Beyond managing, coaching requires looking at our systems as a dynamic state. In other words, we are never satisfied with things as they are, but continually look for ways to improve the system and performance within that system. The best coaches make it a two-way process involving employees in the process of creating and implementing incremental improvements in all aspects of the business.

The best manager/coaches are always questioning why things are done this way. Are there steps we are taking just because we’ve always done it that way, even though it is no longer necessary?

Are You Manager, Coach or Enforcer?

Do you ever find yourself lamenting that “people just don’t take responsibility anymore?” If so, take a closer look at your role and you’re likely to find you are spending most of your time as an enforcer. If so, the need for change is urgent.

If you are spending most of your time in the manager role, you have a real opportunity to improve your results by incorporating the coaching role.

In any case remember, the world and our business continues to change – just as all living things change. When change stops, so does life.

I remember a board game that I played a couple of times as a child…Risk. I was not very good at it. Not only had I not mastered any of the required skills to “conquer the world,” but I doubt I even knew they existed…I was having fun! The back of the box says, “Plan carefully, make decisions quickly and move boldly.” Today, I’d like to think I have improved on the necessary skills for not only the game of Risk, but as I have learned, for life and leadership. I am up for another round of the game with the unsuspecting child of one of my friends.

Let’s take a moment to look closely at those familiar words on the back of the Risk box…“Plan carefully, make decisions quickly and move boldly.” As I write this, these three simple steps seem apropos, as I have been challenged with them in a current project. I recently realized that I have become very comfortable in my “business owner” role. Researching, planning carefully, making the decision quickly [that’s the interesting word] and moving boldly. I have become accustomed to this process; and, therefore, my personal and professional live games of Risk move along at a fairly quick pace.

Each of these three steps is required and required to be executed in this exact order. You see, if you make decisions without planning, you may get trapped in an ambush. If you move boldly without the planning, you may jump unexpectedly into enemy territory. Making decisions quickly has been a challenge for me at times, because I spend too much time in the “plan carefully” step, and opportunity is lost. Of course, without the careful planning, you may not see the full picture or end result and wind up conquering the wrong country – YIKES, I don’t speak this language!

As a leader, it is just as important for you to be strategic in your leading, and to put adequate thought into each of these three steps. I am reminded once again of a saying, “As goes the leader, so goes the company/country.” Strategic leadership is vital in today’s fast-paced Global world. I challenge you to evaluate every decision, every move, and every choice with these words from Risk: “Plan carefully, make decisions quickly and move boldly.”

Last month, we looked at discovering your passion. I challenged you to read Bruce Wilkinson’s book “The Dream Giver” and to begin to search for yours and your employees’ passion. Send me an e-mail and let me know what you discovered about your passion!

This month, I challenge you again:

1. Lead strategically. Play the game of Risk with your child, spouse, or co-worker. How strategic IS your thinking?
2. For the next 30 days, evaluate one decision each day based on these three criteria: “Plan carefully, make decisions quickly and move boldly.”

“To build a durable, long-term business, the entrepreneur will eventually have to abandon the rules that got him/her started.” –HBR 1999

Successful entrepreneurs tend to build their business in a somewhat protected niche that allows each customer to be handled separately and each transaction to be unique. Growth puts pressure on the organization’s capacity, in almost every case, leading to an expanded workforce using the same methods to deal with a larger volume. The entrepreneur finds himself or herself working longer hours and responding to crisis after crisis.

Three studies of successful and unsuccessful entrepreneurial companies suggest that in order to survive growth, the entrepreneur must be willing to make fundamental changes and may require help in doing so.

1) It’s the process – a fairly consistent response to growth among entrepreneurial firms is to hire more people. At some stage, this is subject to the law of diminishing returns and is eventually counter-productive.

By the time the company nears 10 employees, the need for process and process reform becomes more and more critical. Defining process involves good systems-thinking and can increase productivity by an order of magnitude. The result is the ability to handle significant additional growth without increasing the workforce. This is essential to achieving the bottom-line growth required to meet cash flow demands of further growth.

In most cases, however, the entrepreneur is more oriented to ‘results now’ than the kind of analysis and systems thinking required at this stage.

2) Recruit higher priced talent – perhaps combined with encouraging early employees to move on. This may be the single, most difficult thing for the entrepreneur to face. People who were “there at the beginning” may not have the strengths needed by a larger, more complex organization. There is a tendency to stay the course with these loyal employees for long after the needs of the enterprise have outrun their abilities, and neither they nor the organization are happy with the situation.

This is a difficult area for almost all entrepreneurs and one which can lend itself to outside counsel and analysis. In the end, we do not help people by keeping them where they are ineffective. Spirits get crushed and people get hurt. Far better to face the situation squarely and give the organization and the individual a greater chance for success.

3) Become the Leader – in the beginning, an entrepreneur often does everything. He or she covers the roles of leader, manager and doer, with the biggest time commitment being the latter. When the company grows, however, their focus must shift, as first the role of manager then later to the role of leader, requiring more and more time and energy. According to Jim Fischer’s study, by stage 3 (20 to 34 employees), “the company’s vitality depends on a clear set of core values, a compelling vision/mission for the enterprise and a cultural focus that provides a strong baseline for how the company interacts.”

This stage requires that the entrepreneur effectively delegate both responsibility and authority and focus on the role of leader – that is, one who sets the vision and direction of the company. Failure to do so not only will retard growth beyond this stage, but often results in a falling back or significant survival issues for the concern.

Just like a living organism, a company must change as it grows – but in the case of the entrepreneurial firm, the growth and development must begin at the top with the entrepreneur, if it is to succeed.

I have been so looking forward to writing this article because as a leadership and life coach, one of my favorite clients to coach is the one who is trying to discover their passion. They’ve gotten “stuck” and want more from life. A great little Sunday afternoon read is called “The Dream Giver” by Bruce Wilkinson. It is the parable of “Ordinary” who lives in the “Land of Familiar” and one day, he takes the adventure of his lifetime to discover and pursue “his big dream.” As a coach, it is such a thrill to walk with someone on THEIR journey outside their “Land of Familiar” and watch as they begin to not only discover, but also act upon their big dream.

We all get caught up in the routine of living, and I believe it becomes more about the “routine” and less about the “living.” I certainly am guilty of that. Last night, I watched a great movie called “Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium” [starring Dustin Hoffman, 2007] and in it is one of the best quotes…Mr. Magorium says to his protégée, Mahoney, “Your life is an occasion. Rise to it.” I believe that is the challenge to us all!

I truly believe that every person has the opportunity and responsibility to rise to their occasion, but as leaders, it is far more important. First and foremost, how can we lead if we have not yet risen to our occasion? Second, as a leader, by definition, others are following us and we owe it to them – to their rising – to give them a high standard to follow. And third, it is much more difficult to help another rise to their occasion and lead by walking along side them on their journey outside their “Land of Familiar” if you’ve not “fought the bullies” yourself. I am reminded of a comical quote that is often used… “do as I say, not as I do” …sorry, Leaders, but if you have not already discovered it – that doesn’t often work. They may follow, but it is most certainly out of a sense of obligation and not respect!

With all this said, we get down to the crux of the matter…how do you Lead Passionately? By first discovering what YOU are passionate about. What is YOUR big dream? For years, I had a quote taped to the inside of my Daytimer [in case you’re too young to remember what that is, it is a paper version of your PDA] that read “find what you love to do so much that you’d do it for free…then figure out how to get paid for it.” After all these years, I don’t even remember where I read it or who said it – and Google didn’t help – but I do remember what it said and have asked it many a time to myself, friends, family, colleagues, and clients. After 40 years…I do know and I am doing it!

The process to discovery is easy, but the journey may be difficult; and at times, long. For you see, as you begin to explore what your passion is, if you’re like most, you are faced with the challenge of balancing your current employment and job with this passion. I am not at all advocating that you go in tomorrow and quit your job! But I am encouraging you to begin to put some time into the process of discovery. Once you discover your passion, it becomes easier to pursue it and pursue it even within the confines of your current job. You could simply add a couple of tasks to your job (with your boss’s knowledge and blessing, of course) that will aid in the pursuit of your passion. You may find a way to volunteer at your passion. My best friend of 25 years absolutely loves live theater and he is quite talented in it. He also has a very good-paying job. How does he “marry” these two? He works his daily job and pays the bills to live, but enjoys living by being involved in several community theater productions each year. Will he ever leave the corporate paying world to give full-time to his theater passion? We’ll have to wait to see. Is he an effective leader because he is pursuing his passion – Absolutely! Both in the corporate world, as well as in other areas of his life – he lives and leads passionately.

If you believe that people, including you, do their best at and enjoy the most of that which they are passionate about, then discovering WHAT that is, will accomplish many things:

1. Allow you to “rise to YOUR occasion.”

2. Allow you to lead passionately, since you are LIVING passionately.

3. Most assuredly, allow you to make an impact on those around you; leave your legacy.

Last month, we talked about the importance of a “leadership audit” and I challenged you to take an informal attitude assessment of yourself and your leaders…how’d you do? What kind of attitude did you discover – I would love to hear your feedback on this challenge.

This month, I challenge you again:

1. Discover YOUR passion and big dream. Read Wilkinson’s book “The Dream Giver.”
2. As you are having those more intentional face-to-face conversations with your employees, begin to challenge them to discover THEIR passion and Big Dream. Then, find a way to help incorporate that into their current job. Let’s see if their work attitude improves.
3. Do you want to discover your passion and Big Dream? Send me an e-mail and we’ll do a short book club with “The Dream Giver” at a local coffee shop. [Visit our website: www.InspiredToLead.com.]

“I don’t know which we need; I only know we need help…”

“It’s frustrating trying to figure out who we should be working with…”

“I don’t think any of these will solve the whole problem…”

“Doesn’t anyone do what we need?”

Ever uttered any of the above or one of a thousand variants expressing the frustration of trying to figure out what kind of help is needed for your business? Talk to a business coach and it sounds like whatever your problem, that’s the solution. Talk to a business trainer and it’s all about training. Talk to a consultant and you’ll find out that’s all you need.

Just to make it even a little more involved, there are also CEO Round Tables, Forum Groups and Business Improvement Groups which will offer to deal with your problems.

For many, the subtleties and distinctions between these various business services are lost. (And we haven’t even looked at how many varieties of coaches there are.) What we know is that our business has either problems or opportunities (two sides of the same coin) which would provide real benefits if we could just find the right help “for us.”

So this article is a brief attempt to explore the process of analysis which can help us make such a decision. It is a process developed for use by corporate Performance Coaches – that is – people whose role was performance improvement whether via coaching, consulting, or training – supplied either by inside personnel or outside resources.

This process involves four steps:

1) Identify the “desired state.”

Very simply, this is a matter of what you want things to look like down the road – the company, the market, sales, profits, etc. It is a Vision, Mission, and Main Thing expressed operationally rather than theoretically.

2) What is the “current state?”

For each element of the desired state, what is the situation today? If a particular sales level is in the desired state, what are sales today and what is the trend. If a particular level of customer loyalty or retention is desired, what level do you have today?

3) What is the “current performance?”

That is, how are the people who must do the work performing? There are a variety of ways to measure this, but one of the best is to analyze the work environment using a set of questions such at those identified by the Gallup organization in their survey of the American Workforce. [You can find these in the book: “First Break All The Rules”, by Buckingham and Coffman – available on Amazon or at your local bookstore.]

4) Finally, what is the level of “required performance” needed at the desired state?

This is probably one of the toughest, yet most essential steps. There is little point investing time and money to attain a level of performance that doesn’t yield what we are looking for. And that is where most businesses get off track.

If you’ve ever heard a business executive complain that training or coaching “doesn’t relate to the reality of MY business” – that’s what is missing – the identification of the level of performance required to reach the goal.

Once the four measures are available, we simply must determine what will move the current performance to the required performance level. Can we train people to operate at the higher level – usually this requires that the training be customized to our business rather than “off the shelf” – and that is what makes it effective. If it’s not a training issue, is it holding people to standards of performance – which is probably a coaching issue – or is it a matter of getting a consultant who can help us through a process change?

It sounds simple, which is not to say easy. Yet in years of working with these issues, I’ve never found anything better to identify how we must approach performance improvem

The election is over for another four years. The economy is still in a state of flux. The end of another year is fast approaching. You met all your goals and stuck to all your New Year’s Resolutions from January 1, 2008 [or maybe not quite.] With all this uncertainty, is it possible to guarantee effective leadership?

I say yes – with the proper planning. During December, many people are taking the necessary steps to ensure their taxes and financials are in order for year-end. They are planning and auditing. Might I encourage you to take similar steps in your corporate or personal leadership audit? Evaluate the state of your leaders and their leadership.

As we continue into the 21^st Century, many things have changed – technology being at the top of the list, but also how individuals become leaders within their company. In the 19^th century, they progressed up the promotion ladder. It was simply their next step. As we entered the 20^th century, we looked for those individuals who seemed to possess the most competence in their role. As their competence increased, so did their status and positional level. Now, in the 21^st century, those who are promoted and leading are the ones who can produce solid results.

That being the criteria, what are the steps we can take at year-end to place our companies and our leaders in the best possible position to succeed and produce results? At the very foundation is the willingness to develop those around you. There are several helpful tools in this development process, such as:

· Determine the end. Like anything else, you must create a roadmap – not only for your company or your department, but for you personally as a leader.

· Clearly express your Strategic and Business Plans to all company team members. How can I as a team member steer my “car” in the right direction if I do not know where we are headed?

· Review your company’s Vision and Mission and take appropriate action to ensure the company “lives” the vision and mission. Then utilize the Vision and Mission as the bridge to all other aspects of your company including resources, work processes, goals, decisions, and action steps.

· Finally, assess the overarching attitude within your organization and you personally. How does the attitude rate? If you find it swings more to the negative side than positive, it is time to make an “attitude adjustment.”

I remember vividly the wording written on the back of Bernard Trager’s name plaque that sat on his desk…“Tell me all the reasons we CAN do that!” Wow! Now that is definitely a statement that is not heard very frequently. But, perhaps this attitude is why in the last 31 years Mr. Trager and his team have grown Republic Bank to over $3.1 billion in assets and 45 banking centers in four states.

Attitude. Although formed by age 5, it can be changed to become the fuel of your growth both personally, professionally, and corporately. Changing to a positive attitude will indeed affect your goal setting and goal achieving which will produce results. And after all, results are what drive us individually and as leaders within departments, corporations, communities, and nations.

So, as you are preparing and reviewing your financial books for year-end reporting and auditing, I would encourage you to also spend some time in a leadership audit.

Last month, we talked about the important role leaders play in being the living representation of their company’s brand, and I challenged you to refresh yourself on your company’s Mission Statement, Vision, and Marketing Plan. To find three actionable goals to implement into your personal leadership role to more closely tie your company’s brand with your leadership – I would love to hear your feedback on this challenge. This month, I challenge you again:

1. Take some time to do an informal attitude assessment of yourself, your team, and your company.
2. Evaluate how your company’s mission and vision are impacting all other aspects within your company.
3. Take a quick quiz to assess whether your company’s leadership may be failing. [For a quick temperature check, visit our website: www.InspiredToLead.com]

Source: Fail Safe Leadership by Linda Martin & Dr. David Mutchler

Over the past twenty years, companies, and particularly American companies, have emphasized growing productivity as the means to greater profitability and growth. Yet, in most cases, the growth in productivity has been the result of staff reductions and putting greater stress on the remaining workforce to achieve the same results as a larger workforce had achieved in the past.

Obviously, such a strategy has limitations in that it is not creating anything, is not innovative, and produces diminishing returns over time. In fact, pushed too far, the strategy backfires with the best and most productive employees leaving for greener pastures and less stress.

Innovation and Creativity

The Wall Street Journal indicated in March, 2002: “The next great improvement in productivity will not come from reducing the workforce but increasing the creativity and innovation of the employees and managers…”

The same article found, however, that the very reductions of workforce which had accompanied the previous increases in productivity, actually reduced creativity and innovation, as time was filled with just getting done what had to be done. No one from the top of the organization down had time to think and work “on” the business, because everyone was too busy working “in” the business.

Productivity in the Organization

In their study of the American workforce, the Gallup Organization found that most companies only obtain 30% of the potential productivity of their workforce. Among the most important reasons identified is the lack of time to work “on” the business, to innovate, to think about how to do the work better. In addition, most workers did not know how their work (or what in their work) contributed to the goals of the organization.

In a major study of the workforce, the Harris Polling Group found:

1. Only 15% of workers could identify the most important goals and top priorities of their organizations.
2. Even when the goals were identified, only 19% felt passionate about those goals or that they had a significant commitment to or involvement with them.
3. Workers reported that they only spent an average of 49% of their time on goals and activities that they identified as “important.”
4. Finally, 51% reported that they did not understand how they could or did contribute to the achievement of the organization’s goals.

Imagine a football team in which only 1 of 11 knew where the goal was, he was not too keen on it and didn’t see how he could make a difference.

What can we do?

This is the crisis facing us in trying to become more productive and profitable. The solution comes at two levels:

Ø First, we must develop the methods and skills to cascade goals down the organization and build commitment up the organization to “put all the wood behind the arrow.”

Ø Second, we need to develop every manager’s ability to coach and to inspire at every level the passion, commitment, and understanding of the importance of each employee’s contribution to the achievement of the organization’s most important objectives.

Ø Finally, we must grow our people to allow our organizations to grow. It is an old adage, but a true one, that the chain is only as strong as its weakest link.

The solution to this “crisis of productivity” is going to take more than a simple canned workshop. It cannot be fixed in a day. In fact, what is really required is that we commit our organizations to learning as a long-term strategy. This learning strategy will include carefully selected workshops and training programs. Even more important, however, is the creation of a culture of continuous learning and improvement that requires customized solutions and interventions.

On the horizon:

The bright spot in this picture is the development over the past 10 years of the understanding of this learning culture and our ability to create and sustain it. It is a process which will become even more important as the next generation begins to dominate the workforce. Their focus is often on how a position helps them develop for their future and how their work really contributes beyond the bottom line.

Take a careful look at your company. Is it ready to grow?

As a leader, what role do you play in the marketing and branding of your company? Let us ensure we are on the same page by first understanding what constitutes branding. According to Martin Roll, CEO of Venture Republic, an international branding strategist, “Branding in the classic sense is all about creating unique identities and positions for products and services, hence distinguishing the offerings from competitors.” Regardless whether your company sells a product or service, each company does indeed have a marketing plan [written or not] in place to differentiate themselves from the competition; and so, the question remains: as a leader, what role do you play in the marketing and branding of your company?

If you are the owner of that company, you will no doubt recognize and are quick to answer, “Absolutely, I DO indeed play a role, and I am the embodiment of that brand!” However, if we look at business leaders, the larger percentage is not the owner. Last month, we evaluated the decision of incorporating leadership development into an employee’s benefit package.

This month, Kentuckiana Business Forum is concentrating on branding and marketing. So it begs the question – What role do you, a leader, play in that marketing and branding? Your role of leadership within your company must include your effect on the marketing of your company. Every time you are placed in a position of opportunity to lead your employees, does your leadership qualities and appearance exude the brand of your company? How does your leadership mirror the mission and vision of the company? The brand of a company doesn’t only include the logo or tag line, but more importantly, the values, climate, and culture. Client service, ethics, and priorities are at the foundation of your company as well as how you lead inside and outside your company’s walls. Does your leadership add to or subtract from your company’s brand?

As you are outside the walls, serving in the community or meeting other business men and women at various business functions, is your leadership promoting your company’s brand? Are you a living example of your company’s vision, value, and mission?

In preparing for an upcoming workshop on creating your personal mission statement, I was researching Fortune 500 company’s mission statements. Let’s look at two cases in particular:

1. Enron – their mission statement was “Respect, Integrity, Communication and Excellence.” Jeff Skilling was the CEO of Enron who in 2006 was convicted of multiple felony charges relating to Enron’s financial collapse and is currently incarcerated. As the leader of Enron, Skilling was the primary individual who was responsible for the path of the company, the one individual who was setting the example to the thousands of employees of Enron. Do you believe that Skilling exemplified the mission statement and brand of Enron? Let’s contrast this example with -
2. Johnson & Johnson – mission statement: they don’t have one per se, but a one-page “credo” that hangs on their walls to guide the fulfillment of their responsibilities to their customers, employees, community, and stakeholders. I won’t take the space to list the entire credo, but it includes words such as “responsibility, high quality, accurately, fair, respect, dignity, protecting, research, and competent.” Let’s evaluate this credo/mission statement with the unfortunate situation that occurred in Chicago in fall of 1982 in which 7 deaths were tied to Tylenol. The American public was in a scare and Johnson & Johnson’s leaders Jim Burke, CEO and Larry Foster, public relations chief made a decision that cost Johnson & Johnson in excess of $100M to pull every Tylenol product from the shelf, numbering some 31 million bottles. This then led to a decision and re-packaging of a triple-sealed package. Do you believe Burke and Foster exemplified the credo which has hung for over 60 years and still hangs in the offices of Johnson & Johnson?

So, I ask you again…as a leader within your company – regardless of your level of leadership – do you play a role in the branding and marketing of your company? Or, I remind you, you DO indeed play a role in your company’s branding; the true question which is begged to be asked is whether your role is supporting or defeating your company’s brand.

Last month, we talked about incorporating leadership development into your employee’s benefit package, and I challenged you to research the incorporation into your employees’ benefits. How did the costs add up? – I would love to hear your feedback on this challenge. This month, I challenge you again:

1. Refresh your memory of your company’s mission statement, vision, and marketing plan.
2. Compare these with your personal leadership role at your company. How are you stacking up?
3. Find three actionable goals to implement into your personal leadership role in order to more closely tie your company’s brand to your leadership, internally and externally. [For a free goals report to help you implement these goals, visit our web site: www.InspiredToLead.com]