For Whom The Bell Tolls!

The recent civil wars in the Mideast as well as the earthquake and tsunami in Japan have affected not only their immediate geographies but the entire world. These events have caused me to think just how interconnected we are, not just electronically but also financially and emotionally. For instance, the Civil War in Libya has cost many lives as well as purportedly affected the cost of oil here in the United States. The earthquake in Japan caused a tsunami that not only caused the loss of a large number of lives in Japan but also physically and economically affected many countries around the Pacific Rim including the United States.

There are many Americans and people of other nationalities around the world attempting to communicate with the Mideast and Japan to find out the status of their loved ones that were vacationing, visiting on business or otherwise living in those places. There are many Americans of Japanese and Mideastern descent living here in the United States who are concerned about their loved ones back home. Yes, there are many ethnicities and nationalities affected by these events. However, if you take a step back and look at this a little more globally you will see that overall it is the human race that is affected.

These events and thoughts bring to mind the words of John Donne and Meditation 17 from “Devotions upon Emergent Occasions”. They read: "No man is an island, entire of it self; every man is a piece of the Continent, a part of the main; if a clod be washed away by the Sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a Promontory were, as well as if a Manor of thy friends or of thine own were; any mans death diminishes me, because I am involved in Mankind; And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; It tolls for thee...."

It does not take a catastrophic event to have a worldwide effect because like it or not we are involved in mankind. Something as simple as how we treat our friends, family, coworkers and the strangers around us can leave an indelible impression that may lead them to do great things that not only affect their communities but may have a beneficial effect upon the entire world. Conversely, how we are treated by our friends, family, coworkers and strangers around us can leave an indelible mark on us that may change the course of our entire day as well as our lives. It is never too late to be nice to someone.

Servant Leadership

About one week ago I was talking with my friend Jesse (who is a West Point graduate and now semi-retired after a very successful business career). We spoke about the lack of effective leadership in this country, more specifically about the lack of true servant leaders. A servant leader is one who helps the members of his/her team to reach their full potential and therefore perform at their best for the organization. This concept of servant leadership was developed by Robert K. Greenleaf in his book titled “Servant Leadership”.

A servant leader is not a “me first” leader. Let me see if I can illustrate this point. As a Naval Aviator in the United States Marine Corps I always made sure that the people who reported directly to me ate before I did. My rationale was that these were the people that worked on the aircraft that I flew and as much as possible I wanted them to have the best of everything including the best cuts and pieces of meat. Many times my men wanted me to go to the head of the line but I always refused and followed them through the line and then I ate what was left.

My payback was the fact that many times when I was scheduled for a flight I would notice that “my guys” would spend extra time pre-flighting the aircraft and making sure that every system was operating to the best of its ability. This not only helped keep me safe but also affected the operational readiness of my squadron, which increased the operational readiness of the entire Marine Corps.

You see I learned early in my military career that if I worked hard for my men then my men would work hard for me. Additionally when we were deployed I would spend time with my men to determine how their family members were doing back home. When necessary I would point them towards proper resources in order to resolve concerns and issues.

My point is that we need more servant leaders in our businesses, organizations and homes. A servant leader is made and not born. I do not believe that this theory of leadership is taught enough in our organizations and schools. I do however believe that the reason it is not taught more often is that not enough people know about it or have experienced its benefits. We can build strong organizations and countries by putting the needs of others before your own. Just take a look at what a man named Jesus Christ accomplished using this model of leadership.

The Winds of Change Are Blowing!

When I first began my computer repair business in the early 1980s, we were one of only four computer repair companies listed in the entire Houston area Yellow Pages. A few years later I noticed that there was an entire page of computer repair companies listed in the same Yellow Page book. The result of this increased competition caused me to look for additional ways to bring added value to my clients while at the same time maintaining a fair profit margin.

As the years continued the number of computer repair businesses in the Houston area Yellow Pages increased from one page to approximately 8 to 10 full pages of advertisements. I did not like this change but I knew that I could not ignore it. The American writer James Baldwin once said: “Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.”

As I look back over the years I realize that this change caused me to continuously reinvent my company. What began as a company that serviced only IBM and Compaq personal computers evolved into an organization that provided systems integration services for NASA (Johnson space Center) and many other Fortune 100 companies. We became stronger and better as a result of how we dealt with this change.

My point is we must recognize that the winds of change are constantly blowing in our businesses, our countries and our lives. We can deal with change in a number of ways. One way we can deal with change is by simply ignoring it. In this way we can be compared to an ostrich that sticks his head in the ground and becomes completely unaware of what is going on around him.

Another way in which we can deal with change is by fearing it. This fear (False Evidence Appearing Real) will cause us to build walls around our businesses, our countries and our lives while looking for ways to destroy this change.

Another way we can deal with change is by embracing it. Embracing change requires that we look it dead in the eye while evaluating its components and possible effects on our businesses, our countries and our lives. Once we understand the components of change then we can develop a plan to help us deal with it effectively.

As leaders, we just have to look at what’s taking place in our businesses, our country, our lives and even our world in order to recognize that “The Winds of Change Are Blowing”. How are you dealing with it?

"Would of, Could of, Should of"

Have you ever had a good idea that’s been on your mind for quite some time? You believe that this idea could improve a process at work or improve an area of your life or the lives of others. You have researched this idea and have given it considerable thought yet something is holding you back. Maybe you are concerned with what others might think or maybe you are afraid that you may get stuck in the midst of the process and fail.

Let me share with you a quotation from Dr. Maxwell Maltz, the author of a book titled “Psycho Cybernetics”. Dr. Maltz says: "Often the difference between a successful man and a failure is not one's better abilities or ideas, but the courage that one has to bet on his ideas, to take a calculated risk and to act.”

In my opinion, some of the worst thoughts a person can have while performing a periodic review of their life are the thoughts of: “Would of, Could of, and Should of”. Let me explain. What if we only thought about our earlier idea but never implemented it? At some point in our life we might look back and say: “1. I wonder what would of happened if I had implemented that idea, 2. That idea really could of saved me lots of problems. 3. It was a good idea, I should of continued on and done it anyway.”

You see, if we had the courage to bet on our idea and it was successful then we need not say anything else. On the other hand, if we gave the idea our best effort and failed, then we will regret nothing. Additionally, it is often in the midst of failure when leaders learn the most and apply what they learned not to do to their next effort or idea. I do not know of any leader that has not suffered setback on the way to their success.

Remember that it is never too late! If you have a good idea that has been researched and on your mind for quite some time I suggest that you be strong and courageous. Be strong in your idea and your faith in yourself and your God-given abilities. Be courageous enough to listen to the beat of your drummer and not that of your neighbor.

Are We Putting the Cart Before the Horse?

I may not be the first to say this but I am concerned with our country’s obsession with instant gratification. It seems that we are constantly bombarded in the media by the newest, the prettiest and the biggest of anything out there and the need to have it now. Understand that I do not blame the media because it serves a purpose in bringing us information. What concerns me is it seems that we are becoming focused more on profits and less on service. I think this is putting the cart before the horse. Let me give you an example.

When I first opened up my personal computer service business in the early 1980s, I was focused on how to troubleshoot and repair this new phenomenon called the IBM personal computer. I found out that it was extremely difficult for the owner of an IBM personal computer to have it repaired after a malfunction. IBM stipulated that its customers had to remove any non-IBM components prior to returning the unit to a regional service center for repair.

There were a number of problems with this approach. The first problem was caused by removing the non-IBM component. Many times these components (such as memory cards and communications ports) were the source of the problem. An additional problem was also caused by the fact that the service center was often times located a number of miles away from the customer’s location. This fact in and of itself caused the customer to be without their computer for weeks.

I thought to myself what if someone started a business that would go to the clients home or place of business in order to troubleshoot and repair the customer’s computer regardless of any third-party equipment? This passion overwhelmed me and within six months I had resigned my position with IBM and began the lonely life of an entrepreneur. However, I was an entrepreneur with a passion. My passion was to provide exemplary customer service. I found that my profits rose as I focused on ways to improve service.

I successfully followed that formula for over 20 years. During one of those years my company was recognized by Inc. Magazine as one of the 500 fastest growing privately held corporations in America. The point I am making is that as leaders we have to be able to identify and articulate those values that we hold sacred. I do not advocate that we go back to the old way of doing things. That would be like saying we should throw away the Internet and never use the media.

My point is that we should recognize they are tools that we can use to implement our values throughout our organization while we focus on creating those programs that provide lasting value to our clients as well as profit to our organizations. Let’s put the horse back in front of the cart.

Do You Walk the Talk?

Whether you know it or not you are judged by what you do much more so than by what you say. Effective leaders have identified a certain set of values and then live their life in accordance with those values. That is, "They Walk Their Talk". This one step in and of itself allows leaders to live an authentic rather than a hypocritical life. Max De Pree in his book entitled “Leadership Is an Art” says that leaders should have a clear statement of values that should shape their corporate and individual behavior.

The values that you identify and hold sacred influence how you behave in any circumstance and situation. You should behave the same way 24/7, whether in church or out of church, whether in the office or out of the office. If you really want to know and identify your core values just ask yourself why you respond the way you do in certain circumstances and situations. For many of us our core values have been inherited from other people in our life, from our culture, or from where we live. We respond to circumstances and situations because that’s the way we have always done so.

Are there any areas in your life that you feel you would like to improve? If so, ask yourself what it is that you do not like about that area of your life. Ask yourself why you feel the way you do or respond the way you do in that situation or circumstance. Identify the value which causes you the pain in that area of your life. Once that value has been identified you can simply replace it with another that works for you. This is not difficult but does require honesty in its approach.

If you really want to do a personal makeover ask yourself how you feel about a number of different areas in your life. For instance, ask yourself how you feel about your job, your relationships, your spirituality, diversity, God, other ethnicities, etc. Most importantly, ask yourself how you feel about you and why you feel that way. Your response to this one question can have a positive, beneficial effect on you for the rest of your life.

As you identify and modify your set of core values you will find that you will have a new worldview. A worldview is nothing more than your personal relationship with the world. It encompasses why you feel the way you feel and why you act the way you act. As you identify your core values and create your own worldview you will find yourself more often than not being able to “Walk the Talk”.

Failure Is Not Always Fatal

Do you know that “it’s not what happens to you in life that matters; its how you deal with what happens to you in life that matters”? Never think that you are the only one that has difficulties and setbacks in life. Most of the people that we call leaders today have experienced a number of failures and setbacks in their personal and or public lives before reaching that defining moment that qualified him/her as a leader.

Let me give you an example. When I grew up as a child in Chicago I never took the opportunity to learn how to swim. However as I began my training to become a Naval Aviator I found out that I had to pass a very extensive swimming test that included a one-mile swim while wearing a flight suit. Now I really wanted to become a Naval Aviator but if, prior to choosing that career, someone had told me I would have to pass that exhaustive of a swimming test I probably would have chosen another option.

As the day of the test approached I spent all of my free time practicing in the pool. On the day of the test I jumped into the pool and flunked that sucker bigger than Dallas. As a result, my entry into flight training was delayed until I could pass the test. I was at a decision point in my life. I could either choose another military career or I could learn from my failure and take the makeup test in 30 days. How many of us know that “failure is not always fatal”?

I chose to take the makeup test and concentrated on those parts of the swim where I was weakest. I found a qualified swim instructor to help me turn my weaknesses into strengths. I wish that I could say that I excelled in every part of the makeup test but I didn’t. However I did pass and that was my goal. I went on to have an exciting career as a Naval Aviator. The point that I am trying to make is that leaders learn from their failures and recognize that “success is not always final and failure is not always fatal”.