Questions on Leadership

After Luca Luigi Rosi, a London-based journalist, read my Harvard Business Review blog, he wrote to ask me some questions on leadership so he could post them for his readers.  I think his questions and my answers might stimulate your own thinking around the foundational principles of leadership.  Please take a look at the last question and do yourself a quick favour - answer the question yourself.  If you’d like, please post your comment for all of our readers - we can learn together and have some fun.  Thanks!

Luca:  If there’s one lesson to be learned about good leadership, what would it be?
Doug:  Most leadership books are formulaic and miss the key point that what is needed from leaders depends on the situation.  A country in a crisis needs a different type of leader than a country that is growing and reinvesting.  An organization that needs to be turned around needs a different kind of leader than an organization that needs to scale by a factor of ten.  Leadership and it’s behaviors are always determined by context.  The lesson here for a person who aspires to be a leader is to know what you can be great at and find the right context to express your talents.  For instance, I’m best at growth opportunities where the pie is ever expanding.  I’m not great at turn-around situations nor at leading incremental change.  I need to find companies I can help lead who want to grow in a significant way. 

Luca:  The frontline is the bottom line. Do you think leaders are visible enough?
Doug:  Too many leaders are not involved in the gritty encounters where engagement with the customer is realized.  In this age of transparent social networks, leaders are becoming much more aware of how important it is to improve the customer experience at the front lines.  The problem is that many try to solve this problem with complex “customer experience surveys.”  Data is inputted and executives analyze it.  The data from the surveys is certainly helpful but often misses discovering the real opportunities for improvement.  For instance, I can tell you in a survey what I liked or did not like, but I’m not going to suggest a more creative way for your company to handle your overall customer experience process.  The best way for a leader to design innovative improvements is through face-to-face interactions with both real customers and real employees at the front lines. 

Listen to the underlying story being told when you talk with a customer or employee – the narrative that is being woven about your company.  Are you proud of it?  Does the story inspire customers and does it motivate your associates to be their very best for others? Bottom line, there is no substitute for interactive visibility by a leader.   

Luca:  What are the behaviors that leaders should be rewarded for? 
Doug:  Again leadership is determined by context.  However, in general the modern connected economy requires leaders to craft new capacities such as:   

1. First and foremost, crafting a narrative that speaks to your entire community of involved stakeholders.  If you as a leader can appeal to each constituent’s desire for meaning, purpose, connection, and the feeling that you are building an important community of stakeholders who can make a difference in this world, then you understand not only the power of a pay check, but also the power of your narrative to inspire the best in all of your stakeholders. 
2. Thinking about your organization in the context of a total system and how the system serves the larger purpose.  Dr. Michael Maccoby, a renowned expert on leadership, refers to this as Strategic Intelligence.
3. Collaborating across teams and organizations to build synergy toward the common purpose.
4. Partnering with your broader community of stakeholders, including shareholders, suppliers, and potential joint venture partners.  For instance, Master Card partners with mobile telephone companies to build simple payment systems without a plastic credit card.
5. Knowing your strengths – surrounding yourself with the best people possible to compliment your strengths.  Do not underestimate the importance of picking great people that compliment your own abilities.

Luca:  Leading by example – your top three takeaways. 
Doug:   

1. Leaders cast a big arc of sunshine or darkness.  If you want to Lead By Example, you have to Be The Example. Everyone is watching how you behave and they will emulate your actions.  Therefore, always ask, “Is my behavior in this moment something I want others to imitate when I’m not present?”  If you can’t give a big affirmative “yes,” then first change your behavior.
2. Reinforce behaviors in others that support the culture you want to build.
3. Put a firm boundary around behaviors you do not want to see in the organization.  The actions you disapprove of are more important than the ones you support.  People will take notice and word travels fast.  

Luca:  What advice would you give me to get ahead in my chosen career?
Doug:  The best advice I can give an emerging leader is to listen to your own personal narrative – what are you most passionate about and how do you want others to describe the contribution you are making in the world?  Ask the question, “What will others say about how I help them change their world?”  Focus on your narrative from the point of view of the contribution you make to others – not about how wealthy or powerful you will be.  Your best bet to get ahead is to do something significant that helps others get ahead. 

A Father's Day Tribute: The Treasure of Tenacity

"If you’re going through hell, keep going!" 
Winston Churchill

My father was a tenacious man. He retired as the Chairman of AMF Wheel Goods, which made RodeMaster Bicycles, Hercules Bicycles, and Junior Toy Tricycles.  He was one of the first to introduce Shimano Products into the U.S. market and helped create the first training wheels for children’s bikes. Dad loved life and taught me many great leadership lessons.  He had a favorite poem titled Keep A Goin’.  It’s an early twentieth century poem laden with metaphors of the outdoor life, told in a Southern style lingo.  The theme of the poem is the power of tenacity.

I can see the smile on my dad’s face and the positive swing of the arm across his chest when he would encourage me - Always keep a goin’.  His message was that with tenacity and a positive spirit, I will figure out life.  That message has served me well.  I have also since learned that it is a key attribute for any successful leader, especially an entrepreneurial leader who wants to innovate, make changes with a new product offering, design a new process, or build new culture.  A great leader will keep a goin’.  Think of Elon Musk.  After hitting it big with Pay Pal, he showed incredible tenacity when he went all in with both Tesla and Space X at the same time.  After months of missing the mark on both products, he was literally one rocket launch away from failure with Space X but refused to give up.  He had spent all of his own money, had borrowed millions of dollars, and was on the edge of complete failure.  He then launched a rocket one week prior to Christmas in 2011.  It was his third attempt.  He knew that if the third attempt failed, he was doomed.  The launch was a success.  In less than seven days, because of his tenacity and good fortune, NASA pledged 1.5 billion dollars in future space shuttles, and Space X was again infused with capital. Without incredible tenacity to win in the marketplace, both theSpace X enterprise and Tesla Motors would have been finished - but I guarantee you - Elon Musk would still not have given up as a person.  Why?  Because he has a Never Give up Spirit.  He always will keeps a goin’ - no matter how difficult life gets.

Mahatma Gandhi said, "The history of the world is full of men who rose to leadership by sheer force of self-confidence, bravery, and tenacity."  Every company and every country thriving today is indebted to a leader who made a courageous decision and said, "I'm going to solve a problem and create something new." No founder, innovator, or change master anywhere has ever had it easy.  The ingredients needed are just as the great Mahatma said, "a sheer force of self-confidence, bravery, and tenacity."  These qualities can pull a leader through the weighty forces of pulling an idea into reality.  There is no substitute for courage followed quickly by tenacity - a sheer force of the will to win.  

Here are some great innovators who understood the mantra, keep a goin’

* Thomas Edison:  His favorite quote when a light bulb solution failed was, “Ah, one more way that does not work.  I know to not try that again.” 

* Steve Jobs:  He admired tenacity in his people.  He worked until he solved a problem and he was not willing to give up until the problem was solved to his satisfaction.  He kept a goin’ until the very end.  In fact, he was working on new business solutions the week prior to his death. 

*  Peter Drucker - at 89, Forbes did a cover story on him titled, “The Youngest Mind In America.”  Now that’s a gentleman who knew what it meant to keep a goin’ and never stop.  Why?  Because it was in his character to keep creating, to stay young at heart, and to never loose his ambition to contribute - even though it required tremendous focus and hard work.  He loved it all!

We can all think of people we admire who keep a goin’.  I can’t think of a single person who would deny tenacity is a key trait of a successful business person, politician, homemaker, or any other good citizen.  I know to this day that when I feel discouraged with a problem, the poem, “Keep A Goin’” comes back into my head.  I can see dad’s smile, the twinkle in his eyes, and the enthusiasm in his voice as he would quote to me a memorable verse from the poem.  And so, here is dedication not only to my father who kept a goin’ but to all of the father’s who kept a goin’ and made our lives better as a result.  As a tribute to our fathers, the poem ends this blog.  May all of us who are inspired to make a difference in this world find encouragement, gratitude, and tenacity to, as the author says, “drain the sweetness from the cup.”

"KEEP A-GOIN’"

If you strike a thorn or rose,
Keep a-goin'!
If it hails or if it snows,
Keep a-goin'!
'Taint no use to sit an' whine
When the fish ain't on your line;
Bait your hook an' keep a-tryin'--
Keep a-goin'!

When the weather kills your crop,
Keep a-goin'!
Though 'tis work to reach the top,
Keep a-goin'!
S'pose you're out o' ev'ry dime,
Gittin' broke ain't any crime;
Tell the world you're feelin' prime--
Keep a-goin'!

When it looks like all is up,
Keep a-goin'!
Drain the sweetness from the cup,
Keep a-goin'!
See the wild birds on the wing, 
Hear the bells that sweetly ring,
When you feel like singin', sing--
Keep a-goin'!

 Author: by Frank L. Stanton (1857-1927)

Focus Time: How to Improve Strategic Decision Making

A wise comedian said, “10% of the world thinks, 20% thinks they think, and 70% would rather die than think.” In this age of continuous distractions, even the 10% may be decreasing! My own biggest challenge in this equation is to carve out time to think deeply about the most important questions I face in business and life planning. It’s all too easy to get absorbed in the day to day routine, and bounce from one captivating topic to another. Focused attention is different. And it’s difficult. To have true success with focus, it’s vital to have the tools, methods, and disciplines to get you there. One key tool I have incorporated into my own life is the practice of structured focus time. Below is a story of a female CEO who saved her company from loosing millions of dollars in value because she took time to incorporate this tool. Here is her story.

Stop, Think, and Change Your World

Dawn was facing a dilemma. Her company had grown from a little start-up to a thriving business in a digital media space. Revenues had peaked and were no longer increasing. Dawn needed time to think about the future. She set aside a block of time to STOP and BREAK HER ROUTINE. She went to a private setting where she knew she would be undistracted and thus open the avenues to creativity. She cut out emails and phone calls. She committed to letting these pile up until 2:00PM, so that from 8:00AM to 2:00PM she worked alone. She turned her cell phone off, knowing that if she answered even one phone call, she would leap into a completely different brain wave and derail her ability to concentrate and focus on the most important question: “What is the biggest risk we face today as a company and how do we mitigate this risk?” She took time to READ, REFLECT, AND REWRITE her assumptions about the business. She recognized that the habits and strategies that got her company to where they were today were not the habits and strategies that would get them to the next level. Something had to change.

Here is the routine I coached Dawn to use for Focus Time:

1. Start by reading something strategic, perhaps from one of the favorite classics in business, Good to Great. Take forty five minutes to an hour just to get the mind in gear.

2. After that hour of solid intake, start to jot down ideas. You can use an iPad, but there’s something about the creative act of pen to paper that puts your brain on a different path. Ask two simple questions : What is the biggest risk we face today as a company? How can we defend against this risk and survive to grow again? Write out your company’s strengths, the threats, the larger vision. Then, let yourself go, and write about what has been gnawing at you deep inside your “gut feelings.” In Dawn’s case, she scrawled that the company could no longer compete effectively against the rising behemoths in the industry. Worse, she felt she did not have the capital nor the right people to engage in the fight to get back on top.

3. Take a refresher break after writing and thinking; go for a walk or do something that will let your mind roam and reflect. Give your mind the freedom to connect loose dots together. Take 60 to 90 minutes so you’re fully refreshed. Then come back to your note pad and begin to write down more ideas; put pen to paper and let it flow - honestly. Dawn recorded three brutal facts: 1. Her company had grown swiftly. 2. New well capitalized competitors had entered her market space. 3. Her revenues were declining.

Dawn came away from her Focus Time with one key question: “Should we sell the company and prevent the destruction of further value?” She engaged two key advisors, one of whom was a venture capitalist. He encouraged her to sell, giving a very strong rationale. She then engaged the management team, and through a series of meetings, all held in a short time frame, the consensus was that it was time to sell and avoid the risk of a major loss in value. The decision was gut wrenching, and would not have been faced as directly if Dawn had not taken the necessary time to focus her own thinking, listening carefully to both her rational mind and her gut instincts. Ultimately, the company was sold and she saved the company from destroying millions of dollars of value by trying to compete in a space that would have been nearly impossible to win.

The lesson is not that focus time always produces a great decision. The lesson is that without focus time, you increase the probability of missing a key strategic question you need to be answering and acting upon. Leaders must step out of the flowing river, move to the banks, and sit thoughtfully to observe what is happening. Through focused attention, the problems have an opportunity to crystalize in your mind. So ask yourself two questions:

Do you take regular time alone to STOP and THINK about the future of your organization and the future of what you are trying to create as a leader?

What is the most important question you need to be asking yourself? Write it down and then block out time to FOCUS, REFLECT, AND DISCUSS with at least two key people. Don’t let yourself get distracted. Be part of the 10% who actually think - and change your world for the better as a result.