With Apologies to Jim Collins

Let's be clear. I am a huge fan of the best-seller business book, Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap...and Others Don't, by Jim Collins.

I'd like to think that I am a Hedgehog that stays busy trying to turn the company flywheel.

And I am generally good with incremental technology as a solution.

It's the whole "bus" thing that bothers me. At least part of it. The overall theme, "...get the right people on the bus, and the wrong people off the bus" is sound.

But the more I think about it (could I be a bit analytical here?), it's the visual image of the bus itself that is a bit annoying. After all, what is a bus? It's a large vehicle with many seats for passengers, and a driver.

Think about that. The passengers RIDE wherever the DRIVER is going. They do nothing to assist the driver in getting there. They RIDE.

We all know that business is a team sport. So I was thinking that in a future printing, maybe Mr. Collins might consider changing "on and off the bus" to something with a more productive image, say....a dragon boat.

You get the idea.

Your Tip So Far

I am a tipper.

I love tipping great restaurant service.  I tip my barber.  I tip the nice (and sometimes grumpy) driver that picks me in from the airport "back 40" extended parking area.  The finest shoe shine in America can be found at the Charlotte International Airport. I tip these guys.  I tip the airport restroom "attendant" that has a paper towel to hand me after I wash my hands.  If I have received great service at the local yogurt or coffee shop, even if there is no tip jar to be seen, I will ask if tipping is allowed.

Why do I do this?  Well, there are a few reasons.

First, simply stated, because I can.  I am not a wealthy man.  But I have been blessed beyond measure.  And I have seen developing countries.  I have friends in other countries, men with families a thousands of miles away that earn about $500 a month.

Second, tipping provides instant feedback to the other party.  Forget annual service reviews--receiving a handsome tip says, "I did a great job..."

Imagine if your compensation package were suddenly restructured.  Your annual "bonus" is gone.  Your company distributes some kind of coded Monopoly money to each employee to use for "tipping" internally.  You cash in your tips each payday.

From now on, anything you earn above your base salary will have to be earned through exceeding your internal customer expectations.  How might this affect us in reading and acting on email messages, returning missed phone calls, or making those commitment dates?  Would you move a little faster to get things done?

I remember reading a story some years ago about a guy that always brought an ashtray with him when we went out to eat at a restaurant.  He would place the ashtray on the table where it would be clearly seen by his waiter or waitress.  Standing behind the ashtray would be an index card that read, "Your Tip So Far."  He claimed that it was very effective.

So far as restaurants go, I don't think my waiter or waitress personally receives the benefit of the tip for good service.  I would imagine that these days, all tips are placed in a pool and shared equally among the waitstaff.  Which is similar to the bonus structure of many companies today.

I wonder if it might make a difference in productivity and perhaps job satisfaction if we could earn a little of our bonus every day, by providing superior service to our fellow team members.  I can tell you that where I work, the Administrative Professionals would be driving Teslas.

What if Clark Griswold had worked under such a program?  He and Cousin Eddy would already be living large in that new backyard pool.  
I'll get right to work on that "Office Tipping Guide."

The Secret About Secrets, or Integrity Matters

Your boss shares something with you that she or he describes as, "just between you and me," or "don't tell anyone else about this," and you think your boss is doing this because you are such a likable person.

While that may be the case, where your boss, and perhaps their boss is concerned, your career may be at a cross-road.  Integrity matters.

If your performance is graded on a periodic basis, as is the case I hope for all of us, the process used for your evaluation probably includes both specific (SMART as we would say) goals, and other softer indicators of your net value to the team.  These softer indicators might include Innovation, Teamwork, Communication, or Integrity.

In the nuclear power industry the phrase, "integrity of the reactor coolant system" is often used.  Simply stated, it means "no leaks."  Nuclear plant owners spend millions to ensure that this integrity
remains sure.

In your career, how much in salary or position are you willing to risk to 'leak' the information the boss or other leader has shared with you--just to satisy that human itch you have to share it (confidentially of course) with others?

You (and I) are often vain enough to think that the boss shared the big secret with us just because we are great people. And even further, we are foolish enough to think that even though the boss said not to, we just can't help overselves.  We rationalize it as, 'the boss just wants a controlled leak, and he chose me.'

But the reality is, you should treat every such occurrence as a test!  That's right, a test.  Many times these messages may be something relatively minor, soon to be announced to the whole department or company, and you are getting a heads up.  Other times these are matters that no one else needs to know, and it may very well be that you are being tested.  Since good rumors travel near the speed of light, it won't take long before the "rumor" makes its way back to the boss.  And the chances of you ever hearing, "that man/woman is a person of great personal integrity" is now very slim.

But let's just keep this between you and I, okay?

It's Pink Shirt Day

Pink Shirt Day: Being changed in such a great way that others clearly notice, and even comment directly or among themselves that you have changed--and for the better.

So how did I come up with the name, "Pink Shirt Day"?

I would venture a guess that most men don't even own, let alone wear pink shirts.  If I surveyed a hundred men, I might hear a hundred different reasons for that.  Sometimes it's just a cultural thing.  When I worked in the Middle East, one of my colleagues was even asked to go home and change out of, yes, the very nice pink shirt he had worn to the office.

Don't think your co-workers don't observe your office attire.  If you are like me, you have a limited wardrobe, and my office attire usually includes "starch white" above the waist.
There are those rare times that I spend a little extra on a nice tie, but rarer still is some verbal acknowledgment that I made the right shopping decision--"nice tie."

But people don't (and really shouldn't) care that I splurged for the Hugo Boss Italian Silk, when the Roundtree and Yorke would have been just fine.

The professionals I work with do care about how approachable I am.  About my leadership qualities.  How inspirational I am (or I'm not).  How I help them solve problems or make their jobs a little easier.

Sometimes we need to change.  Radically.

Why?  Because we all have areas of our personalities, "chinks in our armor" that hold us back.  Keep us from moving up.  Negatively affect our personal (and perhaps department and/or company) brand.  Stop us from getting the "Exceeds" rating on our service review.

And like with any other personal improvement, this too begins with the personal awareness (or perhaps more painfully from peer or superior feedback) that the change is necessary.  And the commitment to see the change through.

It's pink shirt day.  Let it begin with me.

No Gain, Some Pain

Wait a minute. That's not how that line goes. It's supposed to read, "No Pain, No Gain."

If we were talking about physical self improvement that might be correct. In fact, as a distance runner I can attest to its accuracy. But I'm not talking about building bigger biceps or running your first 3:00:00 marathon.

I'm talking about your life. If you search this blog you will probably find other references to Dr. Covey's Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, specifically my frequent use of the habit, "Begin with the end in mind."
Apply it to what you do at the office and you can get stuff done. Apply it to your life and you'll end up old, successful, and with few regrets.

For me, my biggest fear is to find myself in the winter of my life, and to discover that I have made no positive difference in another person's life. That I have left no footprint, I have not made my little corner of the world better. For me, this is the greatest pain of all.

But accomplishing this objective is not without cost. To the contrary, it will come at great cost. And a lot of pain. There will be lots of rejection, failure, misunderstanding, distrust, and disappointment along the way. The flip side is to just to stay in your own comfort zone. Don't make waves. Don't take chances. Don't risk failure.

But if this is your choice, don't expect to make great gains in your personal or your professional life. Steve Jobs said, "Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn't matter to me. Going to be at night saying we've done something wonderful, that's what matters to me."
Churchill described success as "Being able to go from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm." Both of these men left a huge and positive mark in their respective worlds. And so can you.

Work to be the very best at what you do. Set goals that other might see as out of your reach then watch their reactions when you achieve them. Step out of your own comfort zone. Mentor, share your knowledge, help someone avoid some of the land mines you stepped on. Endure some pain. Be disappointed. And in doing so, you will see great gain, and avoid the worst pain of all.

The Re-ride Option

I love to watch professional bull-riding.  When I hear the PBR version of Gary Allen's "Get Off on the Pain" start to play, I know that several young men are about to risk their lives on the backs of a ton of wild beef to entertain me.  And maybe win a nice buckle--and some really big cash.

These guys only make money when they can stay on the back of a very irate bull for 8 seconds.  But as the commercial reminds us,
"8 Seconds is a Lifetime." 

Sometimes things don't go as expected.  The bull stumbles badly, runs into a rail, or does more running than bucking.  This is when the rider looks for the red flag thrown by a judge, indicating that he can ride another bull, in hopes of a better score.  If you watch PBR, you know the re-ride option is likely when the guy with the clipboard is talking to the cowboy.  The cowboy prepared well, but the meeting didn't go as planned, so to speak.

You and I don't get a re-ride option.  We ride the bull 8 to 12 hours every day, and we never know what to expect from it.  Sometimes our bull leaves us thinking, "you gotta be kidding!," but I can't recall a single time when I was told, "we're really sorry about what we dished out to you today, it won't count--come back tomorrow for a re-ride..." 

If we want the buckle--if we want to make it to the "short round," we have to be on top of our game every day, no matter what the bull does.

How Much Margin Do You Have?

Among my prized MP3 files (all purchased thank you) is a collection of movie and TV themes recorded by the Prague Symphony Orchestra. You've never heard Jurassic Park or Dynasty like this before. Incredible.

Perhaps what attracts me most is the "quality of brass." In other words, their horn players, specifically the trumpets, are the best I have ever heard.

In listening to this music the other day, a thought occurred to me. Every single time this orchestra plays, these horn players have to hit each note with perfection. In other words, they are so good, they have "margin"-- they are actually capable of playing better than what is actually required. If they met each note with minimum accomplishment, would the conductor really risk playing these great works of music in front of large crowds?

We all play in an orchestra. Maybe not a great symphony orchestra. But when we do what we do with "margin," when we become so good at what we do that we don't have to strain out each "note," we are great musicians indeed.

Great trumpet players aren't born. Doc Severinsen, Herb Albert, and Wynton Marsalis were disciplined enough to commit large amounts of time and energy to master their craft. They all obtained margin.

According to the Prague Symphony Orchestra's website, Jan Fiser is the Principal trumpet player. In my book, he has great margin.

What about you?

Blame It On The Groundhog

If I haven't mentioned it before, my all-time favorite movie is Groundhog Day, starring Bill Murray. I've watched it so many times, I can tell you what each character is going to say, before they actually say it. Laugh if you will, but there are some powerful truths in this classic comedy, about a very frustrated weatherman, seemingly cursed to live out the same day (Groundhog Day) every day. That is, until he figures out that getting out of this rut is entirely up to him.

All of us experience periods of lower performance. Call it a personal recession. If it continues for an extended period, we may see it as a personal "depression."

Only after Bill Murray's character in the movie recognized his need to make changes in his life, and actually made those changes, did he finally make it to the third of February (the day after Groundhog Day).

I have on many occasions done something that I would recommend to you, especially when you find yourself in a rut. Here it is:

• Grab a legal pad and a pencil (there may be erasing involved)
  
• Get away from your normal domain. If you do this during work hours, find a nearby library, coffee shop, or inspirational view.
  
• Ask yourself a few questions--what am I supposed to be doing? what is not working? what is working? what things can I try to make things better? am I taking advantage of all the help available to me?
  
• Focus your mind. Turn off the Blackberry and/or cell phone. If at the coffee shop, order the whipped cream AND the cherry. This is not the time to hold back on stimulating your mind--I have never experienced success here while munching on a granola bar.
  
• Write down everything that comes to mind. Here is where your personal creativity really kicks in.
  
• When you think you are done, analyze all of the data. What does it tell you? Maybe things aren't as bad as you thought! Maybe you've experienced some really great breakthrough ideas that will not only get you out of that rut, but make you the next office hero!

Bill Murray's character in the movie spent untold days blaming his problem on other things--the clock radio, the local radio DJ's, his boss, his co-workers, and yes, even the groundhog. Your own situation may be very easily resolved by a few simple steps on your part. And by all means, write down the specific actions you identify in your personal creativity session. It can make all the difference in carrying out your plan.