FC Experts Blogs
John Baldoni
February 6, 2008
Leadership: Good Bob, Bad Bob
The General has left the hardwood.
Robert Montgomery Knight, nicknamed the General not only for his stint as coach at Army, but also for the discipline and control he exacted at Indiana and Texas Tech, has abruptly resigned. Saying he was tired after 42 years of coaching, Bobby Knight is handing the reins of this team to his designated successor and son, Pat Knight.
Let the dissection of his career begin. For some Bob Knight represented everything good and wholesome about intercollegiate athletics. His teams played as a unit. His kids graduated, most often within four years. He played by the rules. And he won -- 902 games, more than any other Division I coach. At Indiana, the Hoosiers won three national championships and he also coached the U.S. Olympic team to a gold medal. By any standard, Knight was, and is, a true champion, in the purest and most authentic sense.
But then there is the other side of Bob Knight. Mercurial, irrational, heated, arrogant and down right mean spirited. Bob Knight once threw a chair across the court during a game in Puerto Rico. He repeated bumped heads and thumped his players’ heads and chests with his hands. He was caught on videotape grabbing the neck (and possibly choking) one of his own players at practices. He insulted deans and university presidents and threw tantrums in his office as well as in press conferences.
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January 30, 2008
Leadership: Crouching Competition, Rising Tiger
“I’ve got holes in my game.” That’s one of the first things Tiger Woods told the media after his first victory of the 2008 PGA season in the Buick Invitational at Torrey Pines. “If you’re not getting better, you’re getting worse” was also part of his reflective soliloquy on his play in his first tourney of the year in which he nearly lapped the field, winning by eight strokes.
So is Tiger playing mind games with us? Is he indulging in the de rigueur self-deprecation that we like to see in good athletes? Or was he giving us a peek inside his psyche, a glimpse at what makes him so great? I opt for the later. Quite simply, at 32 years old with $76 million in winnings and 62 PGA titles, including 13 Majors, he is the very best golfer of his time and perhaps and very likely the best there has ever been.
The media drools over Tiger’s prowess typically falling over themselves to come up with new superlatives to define his performance. Hyperbole, sure! But it doesn’t make the compliments less true. Despite the drooling from an admiring broadcast crew, Tiger isn’t buying it. Golf is a fickle game; and humbling one, but one perfectly suited for a man who knows himself, his strengths and his weaknesses, and his desire to dominate. What accounts for Tiger’s ability is not his swing, which for the record does produce errant shots. It is his tenacity, his desire, his resilience, and quite simply his dream to get better and better. So what can we learn from Tiger’s dominance?
Posted by John Baldoni at 8:00 AM
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January 23, 2008
Leadership: Fresh Eyes Approach
Some time ago I listened to a national sales manager exhorting his sales team to take critical look at the appearance of facilities within their franchise network. While some facilities were in tip-top shape; others were sub-par. Getting the franchisees to upgrade, or at least, maintain their facilities properly was the job of the sales team. In talking to his team, the national sales manager urged his people to take a “fresh-eyes” approach to examining franchise facilities. The executive was asking his folks to adopt the mindset of customers. That is, if you were a customer would you do business in a place that was run-down, shabby, and in need of paint? Probably not, especially if you could go elsewhere and find a similar product in a better facility!
Adopting the customer perspective means adopting the mindset of someone who needs to be persuaded. To be persuaded you need to believe that what you are hearing or seeing is credible. Sales people work on credibility by making certain they understand their customers as well as linking their offerings features and benefits to customer explicit and perceived needs. Good sales people in fact adopt the customer viewpoint in their sales process; they see what the customer sees.
Adopting the customer perspective applies not only to sales people; it applies to management. For example, if you walked into a restaurant and saw a mouse run across the floor, you might think twice about sitting down and ordering. On the other hand, if you were in a lumber yard and saw a mouse, you might not think twice. You eat food, but you don’t eat wood. The customer perspective enables you to see things as they are rather than as you wish them to be. Easy to say, but hard to implement. So here are some suggestions
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January 16, 2008
Leadership: Keep It Loose
The first time he got the ball, he fumbled it and the other team scored. The third time he got the ball, he did the same and the team scored. It was running back Ryan Grant’s first playoff game and his two mistakes had put his team, the Green Bay Packers, down 0-14. It was not an auspicious start, but his on field boss, no other than the legendary quarterback himself, Brett Favre, told him to shake it off and do what he did best: run the ball. Grant took Favre’s message to heart and had a career day, running for three touchdowns and 201 yards, many of them gained in driving snow in last Saturday’s NFC divisional playoff game on the “frozen tundra” of Lambeau Field.
While Grant deserves credit for keeping his head in the game, it was Favre’s leadership that opened the door for him to clear his mind. Favre, himself a gambling sort of player, reminded Grant that he had once thrown six interceptions in a single game. Favre’s message should resonate with any manager facing adversity. Keep it loose. When the leader gets uptight, the team tightens up. When the boss loses him composure, the team starts bickering. And when the boss walks around in a sulk, the team clams up. The result is that nothing gets done. Here are some things we can learn from Favre’s example.
Stay focused. When adversity strikes, people will look to look to their leaders for cues on how to respond. When the leader remains calm, but focused, it makes it easier for the people to do their work. Favre is a master of shaking off a bad play and remaining attentive to what must be done next. The leader should be visible and present, speaking frequently to the team, offering encouragement when necessary but also talking about the challenges ahead and what it expected of them.
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January 9, 2008
Leadership: To Change or Not To Change?
“We change when it hurts too much not to change.” That statement is attributed to Harvard professor Rosabeth Moss Kanter, the author of many books on change and its effect on organizations. This sentiment certainly applied to both Hillary Clinton and Mitt Romney in the wake of their resounding setbacks in the Iowa caucuses; both were trumped by avowed candidates of change, Barack Obama and Mike Huckabee respectively. The next day both Clinton and Romney were framing their campaigns as ones of change; neither seemed convincing because both candidates are clearly establishment candidates. While both are still very much alive in the presidential primaries, if they do win, it will not be because of their recently adopted change messages.
Change is the buzz word of presidential politics. It is not surprising given the unpopularity of the current president and the significant challenges facing the nation in terms of an unpopular war, a weakening economy, and a general sense that things are not going so well for our country. So a when candidate has built his message on change, as Obama and Huckabee have done, he finds people willing to listen.
Most times change is not a popular topic, chiefly because it is unsettling to those in power. However when their power is eroding, as it certainly does when things are going poorly, then change becomes an imperative. However, if you are going to push for change, there are some fundamentals to observe.
Continue reading "Leadership: To Change or Not To Change?"Posted by John Baldoni at 10:01 AM
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January 2, 2008
Leadership: Lessons from a "Fat Smoker"
“We know what to do, we know why we should do it and we know how to do it. Yet most businesses and individuals don’t do what’s good for them.” That conundrum is what David Maister calls the “fat smoker syndrome” and is the driving theme he explores his newest book (the aptly titled) Strategy and the Fat Smoker.
Maister, a former professor at the Harvard Business School, is one of the world’s premier consultants on the management of professional service firms. He knows of what he speaks, and the world in which he consults and operates is one where ideas are paramount yet equality (with some exception) rains. It’s brains and sweat that earn you recognition, not rank and title. That mindset is what makes Maister compelling to listen to. He cuts through the clutter of organizational nonsense with clear and common sense ideas for getting things done the right way at the right time with the right people.
The book contains four sections: strategy, client relationships, management, and “putting it all together.” The sections explore hard-edged questions about developing strategy, building a business, managing and coaching, and personal topics such as passion and principles. Here are some gems that I noted:
Continue reading "Leadership: Lessons from a "Fat Smoker""Posted by John Baldoni at 10:44 AM
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December 26, 2007
Leadership: Burning Lessons
“I gotta go with Billy on this one, Reggie,” the owner said, insisting that Reggie meet individually, man to man, with each of the players on the team to apologize for his remarks in a sports magazine in which he had criticized the team and its best player. The owner is none other than George Steinbrenner, and “Billy” is Martin and “Reggie” is Jackson. Later that same year, as depicted in ESPN’s drama series, The Bronx Is Burning, Steinbrenner also urges the “best player,” Thurman Munson, to bury the hatchet with Jackson for the good of the team and as a personal favor to him the owner.
Being that this is TV drama, one cannot be certain how accurate these scenes are, but as depicted, Steinbrenner comes across as an enlightened leader, doing what is necessary to back his management and hold his team together. Of course in other scenes we see him go off the rails, and act more like his public persona – the meddlesome Boss. And now that the real-life Steinbrenner, rumored to be in ill-health, has stepped back from active management in favor of his sons Hal and Hank, it may be time to remember the Boss as a senior leader who did do some things right. These include:
Let the manager decide. When Steinbrenner backs Martin’s insistence that Jackson make personal apologies, the Boss is showing support for the manager to manage the team. That’s what managers in baseball as well as “real life” are supposed to do. Managers need to be able to run their own departments; support from senior leadership helps them do this.
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December 19, 2007
Leadership: Our Better Nature
We like him because he makes us feel good about ourselves. And we dislike her because she makes us feel inferior. That’s an assessment from political pundit, MSNBC’s Chris Matthews, about why people like Barack Obama and dislike Hillary Clinton. The point is debatable; Matthews makes his living by stirring the political pot. The assessment may be fun for political musing but it raises a very crucial point about leadership. Men and women who get us to follow them are often those, who in the words of Abraham Lincoln’s First Inaugural address, appeal to our “better angels of our nature.”
When we feel that the leader is well-intentioned and wants what’s good for us, and our organization, we naturally want to follow. And if that leader can cause us to feel good about ourselves, too, that is special indeed. The history of civil rights teaches us this; people embraced Martin Luther King, not only because he was smart, eloquent and moving, but by following him we felt better about whom we were. To a much lesser degree, but very visceral way, rooting for our hometown sports team – be it Yankees or Dodgers, Patriots or Chargers, Celtics or Lakers – makes us feel good because we assume they are one of us. [Of course they are not, but we feel as if they are.]
Leaders who make people feel better about themselves are very powerful and can accomplish great things. In ancient Greece, Epanimondas rallied the yeoman class of Boetia to fight against the hated Spartans and twice defeated them in battle, the second time destroying Sparta’s ability to invade again. As historian Victor Davis Hanson writes in Soul of Battle, Epanimondas’ appeal was directly tied to his ability to make the farmers feel good about taking up arms against the enemy that had brutalized them for so many years. In business, people embrace Whole Foods because they like the selection of foods, natural and otherwise, but also because they feel good shopping in a place that treats its employees well and lives its creed of sustainability as much as possible.
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December 12, 2007
Leadership: Stand Up and Be Counted
Dances with Wolves was a critical and box office success. It established creator and star, Kevin Costner, as an actor with exceptional talent as well as a gifted director. Costner was a bankable star before Dances with Wolves but had never directed. Two other big-name directors turned the project down, citing problems with the script. Every major studio passed on it at least once.
As Costner told Dennis Davies of NPR’s Fresh Air, he was on his “second lap” of studio pitches when at his last pitch he insisted on two things. One, the movie contain subtitles because much of the dialogue would be in the Lakota language. Two, he would have the final cut, meaning the movie would reflect his final views. When he exited that studio pitch, his fellow producer pulled him aside and asked why he insisted on the final cut. Costner replied that if the studio did not believe in doing the movie in Lakota then what other things would it cut. Costner stood up for himself and his picture, and of course the movie was a hit around the world.
What Costner did was stand up for himself. He stood by his convictions. He put his work first. It was certainly a matter of ego, but it was more a matter of standing up for the material, the art – what the project stood for and why it was important. Standing up for convictions is laudable; we love to tell stories about it. Heroes are made of stand up for what is right and what is not. However, in the corporate world, so often standing up for your conviction can get you fired. And so that’s why it sometimes seems self-righteous for outsiders, that is, consultant types like me, to laud convictions. Not going along with the flow can get you a fast ticket to nowhere.
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December 5, 2007
Leadership: Finding Your Place
We are very good at advising others what to do. This is especially true for those of us in the human development community by which I mean anyone working in executive coaching and leadership development. Our profession by nature is helping people discover truths about themselves so they can become more effective leaders. For that reason we heartily endorse coaching and suggest leadership development initiatives for our clients. But as for taking our own advice, some of us turn a blind eye (and ear).
And for that reason it was refreshing to spend a weekend of personal and professional development at the Banff Centre in the province of Alberta. The Banff Centre has pioneered a unique approach to leadership development. Taking advantage of its spectacular location in the Canadian Rockies, leadership development at Banff begins with a sense of place. Adding to that sense of place is the infusion of arts and culture. Banff Centre is home to many artists in residence and offers a myriad of arts programs in music, dance, writing, drama, and the visual arts. This connection to the arts infuses Banff’s programs with a sense of enchantment that stimulates reflection and creativity.
The weekend I spent at Banff was not part of a formal program, but rather part of a development exercise for the Centre and a group of fellow thought leaders, among them coaches, authors, and leaders in the arts and non-profit communities. Each of us came to the weekend with different perspectives on leadership development.
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November 28, 2007
Leadership: When to Say Good-Bye
Tens of millions of Baby Boomers will be retiring over the next decade. Organizations are working diligently to plan for their replacements as leaders as well as hiring new recruits to fill new positions that open up due to succession plans. Boomers themselves are executing final plans about their own leaving. Financial planning aside not enough attention is paid to exits of senior leaders. One man serves as an example about how and when to leave. He is Lloyd Carr, who is retiring after 13 seasons as the head football coach at the University of Michigan.
At the press conference announcing his leaving, Carr joked, “I’m not tired. I may look tired.” Then he turned serious. “But, I still have a great passion for the game, for the players and for the competition. But I also know that there are some things that I don’t have anymore, and so it’s time.” That in a nutshell sums up what leaders must consider when they take their leave: know what you can do as well as what you cannot do any longer.
Being the head football coach at a major collegiate program is a grueling occupation that devours time, energy and resources. There is always the pressure of winning and winning repeatedly. Toward that end, coaches spend long months identifying and recruiting players with the talent and skills to succeed in their program. There is always, certainly at schools like Michigan, the expectation to “win with integrity” and so coaches and players need to live by the standards that the university expects for academics and athletics but also for personal conduct. Higher than the standards perhaps are the expectations of the program and its supporters; they expect conference championships and even national championships – every year.
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November 21, 2007
Leadership: Heads Up on Coaching
The need for executive coaching is booming.
One reason for the boom is the increased emphasis on succession planning. More and more senior leaders are looking for replacements, not simply for themselves but for key levels throughout the organization. Part of this shift is demographic; baby boomers will begin to retire in record numbers. Another part is a realization by senior leaders that they have not prepared their managers to become more senior leaders. Leadership development programs are one solution; another more personalized solution is executive coaching. [Source: Conference Board and Bersin & Associates]
Executive coaching most often involves behavior-based change. [Exceptions include coaching related to business and strategic development.] An individual works with an executive coach to develop a plan of action that addresses behaviors that when improved can affect performance. Typical coaching focuses on aspects of leadership related to communication, delegation, decision-making and conflict management. Sometimes the coaching is developmental; other times the coaching is corrective, finding ways to overcome behaviors that are interfering with productivity as it relates to people and processes.
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November 14, 2007
Leadership: Watch for Reactions
The other day while watching the making of a short video comedy, I noticed how the director made time to get reaction shots from key members of the cast. Anyone who knows comedy knows that what is often funniest, particularly on film, is not the comic line itself, but the reaction of others to it. The look of surprise, shock, or grimace pays off the gag.
There is a lesson in this for leaders. And it is this: pay attention to how people react to what you do or say. Carl Bass of AutoDesk was recently quoted in the Wall Street Journal as saying that when he became CEO, “My IQ jumped 10 points and I became much funnier.” What Bass discovered is that proximity to power can have unintended effects on people.
Something said in an off-hand manner will be taken as an order. Or something left unsaid may give people license to ignore it. The higher the rank the more ripple effects a leader’s action cause. And for that reason, leaders need to pay attention to their behavior, especially toward people over whom they have authority. More specifically leaders need to stretch their frame of observation so it covers what’s happening now as well as what happens later. Here are some suggestions:
Posted by John Baldoni at 9:47 AM
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November 7, 2007
Leadership: Are You Ready to Stand and Deliver?
Tremble.
You have a big presentation to make.
Tremble. Tremble.
You are not exactly sure of what you will say or how you will say it.
Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.
You freeze up whenever you have to speak in public.
Don’t panic! Help is on the way in the form of an insightful new book, How to Give a Speech by Gary Genard. This book is jam-packed with advice about how to shape, deliver, and sustain your presentation. Dr. Genard offers 75 chapters filled with tips and techniques developing a powerful presentation and delivering strong performance that is memorable and evocative. Here’s a sampling of what How to Give a Speech offers:
Posted by John Baldoni at 10:06 AM
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October 31, 2007
Leadership: Tune In or Forget It
“He doesn’t get people.” That’s how actor Steve Carell describes Michael Scott, the character he plays on The Office, NBC’s wicked comedy about work life. Scott is the boss who is woefully and pitifully out of tune with the people he manages. He constantly crosses the line between professional and personal boundaries and as a result does the inappropriate thing people-wise. Michael Scott criticizes when he should not; micromanages others constantly, and never takes responsibility for any consequences – it’s always someone else’s fault. The conceit of the show is that Scott believes is a great manager, one who leads his people by example when in reality he is a complete fool. Of course, it works as comedy and it is why the series is so popular, here and in Britain where it originated.
A reason for the popularity of The Office is that everyone seems to have worked for or with Michael Scott. Funny yes, but terribly sad and truly indicative of the sorry state of mismanagement in our culture! Sometimes managers are like schoolteachers. We expect so much of them, but we fail to provide them with the education, training and resources they need to succeed. Then we hold them solely accountable for failing schools. Likewise managers by and large do a good job of getting things done, but so often their people skills leave much to be desired and as a result, organizations under-perform. As with under-prepared teachers, we have under-prepared managers.
Continue reading "Leadership: Tune In or Forget It"Posted by John Baldoni at 10:39 AM
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October 24, 2007
Leadership: It's All About Respect Says Joe
Joe Torre turned down $5 million to coach the Yankees next year, $2.5 million less than he earned this year. True, there were incentives that could boost Torre’s pay by $3 million but for Torre that was too much. “I’ve been here 12 years and I didn’t think motivation was needed.” Torre skippered the Yankees to 12 consecutive playoffs and four World Series titles.
For Torre, his leaving was not about the money. “Yes, it was a very generous offer,” Torre said at his press conference. “But it wasn’t the type of commitment that ‘we’re trying to do something together.’” In Torre’s eyes, the deal was more “’let me see what you can do for me.’” Such an offer also was “not right for my players.” For Torre you win for yourself and your team – not your manager.
The Yankees are not alone in failing to show respect. Far too many organizations from the mom and pop store on the corner to global organizations fail to show their people adequate respect as individuals and as contributors. Respect is important; it is a bond that works both ways. Respect the individual and she will respect your company. Respect directly affects retention. According to data conducted by Sirota Survey Intelligence, “63 of those who do not feel treated with respect intend to leave within two years, vs. only 19% who feel they are shown respect.” And so it is useful to remind ourselves of ways we can show respect to folks on our team.
Continue reading "Leadership: It's All About Respect Says Joe"Posted by John Baldoni at 10:34 AM
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October 17, 2007
Leadership: Less Buzz, More Results When It Comes to Employee Engagement
You want your employees engaged in their work? Absolutely! And because they are engaged your company will achieve its intended results? Not exactly!
“Intuitively most managers know that that it’s better to have engaged employees,” says Dr. Dan Denison, co-founder of the Denison Organizational Culture Survey. “But measuring employee engagement alone is not enough. Employees can be happy, satisfied and engaged, but this doesn’t necessarily mean they are supporting the business goals of the organization.” Some companies may have satisfied employees, but fall short of meeting bottom-line results.
Employee engagement, according to Denison, is “the extent to which people feel a sense of physical, cognitive, and emotional attachment to their work.” Research by Denison Consulting, culled from more than 4,000 organizations around the world, shows that such engagement “may be more a result of good performance than a cause.”
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October 10, 2007
Leadership: What's Your Purpose?
Two conversations got me thinking: do we know what we’re doing and why we do it?
One conversation was with a senior leader in large company; another was with a friend who runs his own business. Both are highly competent and recognized for excellence in their fields; both have accomplished great things, and both are destined to continuing doing great work that will benefit customers, employees, clients and the community. However, both realize that they must refine the way they project themselves. The senior executive needs to focus on goals for the organization; the small business owner needs to refine his approach to marketing. Both could benefit from something that all of us need: a purpose statement.
A purpose statement defines your vision (where you want to go), your mission (what you do), and your strategies (how you do it). It is not a simple exercise; it requires much forethought and internal debate. Discussions with close associates are valuable. For leaders, purpose statements are essential. It is a process of thinking that helps focus your mind and in turn your actions. Toward that end, here are three questions to help you develop a purpose statement.
Posted by John Baldoni at 10:23 AM
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October 3, 2007
Leadership: Trust Matters
Let’s say you are the manager of a department that includes one hundred people, including supervisors and employees. How many of those people would you suspect are loyal, that is planning on sticking with the company? 34! How many of those people would you estimate are headed out the door? 36!
These findings from the 2007 Walker Loyalty Report for Loyalty in the Workplace states that just 34% of employees are sticking while another 36% are about to walk. That leaves 30% who either haven’t made up their minds or are just going with the flow.
Should you be concerned? I think so. If only a third of the people are with you then it means that two-thirds are either on the fence or going against you. No wonder you have difficulty getting things done.
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September 26, 2007
Leadership: Watching "The War"
There was a time when I was growing up in the early Sixties when it seemed that every dad I knew had fought in “the War.” Viewed from the point of view of a child who squeezed in games of “war” between games of baseball and football, the Second World War was a touchstone, an affirmation that good guys always won. That attitude changed with the violence of the Vietnam, and the cold reality that so many young men, little older than me and eventually my own age, were going there, some never to return.
And so it is that subsequent generations have forgotten the sacrifices that their fathers and grandfathers made in that War. Those sacrifices come alive again, night after night in Ken Burns new series The War, through the stories of people in four different American cities. Their remembrances remind me of the men I knew, who went into the conflict and thankfully survived.
This War, like all wars, comes down to commitment honed by sacrifice for a greater cause. But as grand as the goals may seem, wars are not fought in “war rooms,” they are waged on the ground, at sea, and in the air by soldiers called to service. From them we learn lessons, such as:
Saying good-bye. For many young men, leaving home for the first time was an adventure, perhaps a lark. For those with wives and children it was more poignant. However, in time, all would feel the pain of separation whether they were stateside or overseas, they all had one thing in common – separation from all they had known till then.
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September 19, 2007
Leadership: Heroes Redefined
“We need not talk about our morale. As committed soldiers, we will see this mission though.” Those words were thrown into poignant relief the other day when it became known that two of the men who penned those words were killed in Baghdad. Yance T. Gray and Omar Mora, both sergeants in the 82nd Airborne, died in a roadside accident when their five-ton truck overturned.
Gray and Mora were two of seven soldiers who had written an Op Ed piece, “The War as We Saw It,” published by the New York Times that questioned the successes that senior military and civilian administrators were claiming. “[O]ur presence may have released the Iraqis from the grip of a tyrant, but it has also robbed them of their self respect… [T]o regain dignity is to call [U.S. forces] what we are – an army of occupation – and force our withdrawal.”
The 82nd Airborne is an elite group of paratroopers. Their mettle was proven at D-Day and their rigorous conditioning and training continues to this day. They are true professionals; they know combat up close and way too personal. The media is fond of calling them, and their brethren serving in Iraq, heroes. I do not disagree with that term, but I think that to use the term objectifies them in ways that deprives soldiers of their humanity. Why? Because like the term “saint,” “hero” implies that these people are some how special and can do extraordinary things. They can, but they are not super human. They are all too human. They bleed when they are wounded and they die when their injuries overpower the flesh. They are also all-too cognizant of the reality around them; they know the odds. Yet day after day, mission after mission, they put themselves in harm’s way because someone in the chain of command told them to do so.
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September 12, 2007
Leadership: Lasting Lessons
So what can a retired collegiate football coach who has not coached a game since the 1989 season teach us about leadership? Plenty, if you are Bo Schembechler, head coach at the University of Michigan from 1969 to 1989.
His lessons are brought to life in vivid stories -- some poignant, some funny -- that will enlighten every leader’s repertoire. Collected in book form by John U. Bacon who collaborated with Schembechler in Bo’s Lasting Lessons. Schembechler who died last November strides across these pages in full form dispensing wisdom that rings true to leaders at every level, most often of those who never set foot on the gridiron. Here are some of those lessons.
Respect the institution. When Schembechler became head coach of Michigan football team, he laid down the law on his expectations – for players, coaches, and staff. He was tough but sincere. He also built upon the foundation of what had come before him. As much as he pushed for change, he couched it within the Michigan’s institutional values of integrity, excellence and education.
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September 5, 2007
Leadership: Lesson from Appalachian State
I was there. In section 12, row 67 for the biggest upset in collegiate football history. A Division 1-AA school, Appalachian State, beat the No. 5 ranked team, Michigan, in the nation. One for the ages certainly, but also one to remember as a lesson in poise, confidence, and execution.
First off, let me put my cards on the table. I am a Michigan football season ticket holder. I am part of a three-generation family of Michigan graduates. And my wife works for the University. To say I bleed Maize and Blue is an understatement. All this summer I moaned to all who would listen that it was “beneath” Michigan to play a Division 1-AA football team. I was wrong.
Appalachian State came into the vaunted Big House, so called because it seats more fans than any other football stadium, with a mission in mind: to shock the world. They came not to play, but to beat them. And they did. Straight up 34-32. Shock indeed. For days afterward, their upset made headlines in all the media, even the New York Times carried a front page story on the game on Monday – two days later.
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August 29, 2007
Leadership: Kick Back and Relax
The ability to relax! That’s what presidential historian, Doris Kearns Goodwin, advises as a necessary attribute of presidential leadership. Kearns, who consults for NBC and was speaking on Tim Russert’s CNBC show, presented a list of attributes that she feels are important to presidential leadership. Withstanding adversity, decisiveness, and selection of good advisers are key, but so is the ability to kick back.
Teddy Roosevelt loved to hunt and camp. Harry Truman played poker. John Kennedy sailed. And Ronald Reagan cut brush on his ranch. In each instance, these activities allow the president to disengage from the hurly-burly and to recharge his batteries but also to gain perspective on the issues of the day.
Corporate leaders are famous for relaxation. Scott McNealy of Sun is a scratch golfer. Ted Turner was a world-class sailor who won the America’s Cup. And a friend of mine, Dan Denison, races Formula Ford cars, and his company, Denison Consulting has its own racing team. Other execs fly planes or play tennis. And Ted Kooser, poet laureate from 2004 to 2006, was a successful insurance executive who wrote poetry on the side.
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August 22, 2007
Leadership: Energy Boost
Good friends make for good company, as well as a boost of energy. So it was with me the other day when friends of ours, Jerry and Mary, whom we had not seen in 17 years rolled into town. In moments the years peeled away and we caught up with life, kids and careers. And it is the latter – careers – that I want to focus on because Jerry and Mary have had more careers between them than most extended families put together. With them starting a new venture is second nature and I think worthy of exploration.
First, you need to know that Mary began her career as a nurse; she met Jerry while she was studying for the California Bar. Jerry was working in a hospital as a bio-medical photographer and cardiac technician, back before there was really such a thing. Mary subsequently went to work as corporate counsel for various companies where she spent more than 25 years. Jerry meanwhile started his own business producing multimedia shows; he later went into sales, everything from cars to businesses. And ten years ago they moved to a lovely beach town in Central California and started over again. They began in real estate and later bought a coffee shop, and now have the freedom to do pretty much as they please. Hence the long road trip across America.
Jerry and Mary to me epitomize what you can do when you put your mind to it. They don’t climb mountains – though Jerry has run marathons. They don’t invent new things – though Mary is an expert knitter with her own loom. They simply embrace life; they make things happen and in the process make life better for them and others. Here’s what I've learned from them.
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August 15, 2007
Leadership: Dealing with What You Don't Know
How do you lead when you don’t know all the facts? That’s a question that Don Vandergriff and George Reed explore in a thought-provoking new article “Old Dogs and New Tricks: Setting the Tone for Adaptability,” published in Army Magazine. The authors, both retired Army officers, discuss the challenges the Army is facing as it continues being a command-centric organization engaged in a world and in battlefields that demands on-the-spot thinking, reacting and action all in split second time.
The article opens with a metaphor that former Chief of Staff, General Pete Schoomaker, used in describing the Army’s transformation as a cattle drive that was less about destination and more about the journey. Cowboys moving from the high country of Wyoming to the flat lands of Kansas knew they were moving southeast, but they did not know what or whom they would encounter on the trek. The landscape and stars pointed them in the right direction; experience held them together. Along the way, the cowboys, led by the savvy trail boss, dealt with the unexpected – weather, topography, and thieving poachers.
The issue of adaptability that Vandergriff and Reed explore for the Army has relevance to the corporate world. True enough desk jockeys are not seeking to outwit fundamentalist militants. But they learn soon enough that plans provide directions; leaders provide guidance. Thinking ahead as well as dealing with the unknown is part of the everyday reality. And so it is useful to explore ways of dealing with the unknown so that when the unexpected occurs, you will not be caught unawares.
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August 8, 2007
Leadership: Optimism Against the Odds
Let’s say you’re the CEO of a company that just lost more than $12 billion dollars the preceding year. Your company is not expected to post an annual profit until 2009. So what do you do? Hide your head in the sand? Scream at your team? Learn to read tea leaves?
Well, if you’re Alan Mulally, CEO of Ford Motor Company, you do none of the above. You radiate optimism. You talk up new opportunities and reassure people that things will get better. Mulally may be excused as being a bit naïve; after all, he’s a newcomer to Detroit and best of all he’s not responsible for the years of mismanagement that put Ford into its current nosedive. He was hired in September 2006 to save the company. So far, he hasn’t moved the sales needle, but he has reinvigorated its sense of purpose. And for that reason, Mulally is someone who knows how to smile when the red ink is lapping at your chin. As gleaned from a recent interview Mulally gave to reporters Jeff McCracken and Joe White of the Wall Street Journal, here’s what we can learn from his example:
Get grounded. As a Boeing executive, the auto business was new to him so there was a steep learning curve. He read research, studied reports from consultants, and he talked to his stakeholders – employees, dealers, and suppliers. This information gave him a true picture of what was working and what was not. He went out of his way to seek different points of view inside and outside the company.
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August 1, 2007
Leadership: Lessons from the Hammer
The Babe had it easy, at least when it came to setting the all-time home run record. When he broke Roger Connor’s record of 139 homers in 1921, it caused barely a ripple of attention. Fifty-three years later, when Henry Aaron was closing in on Ruth’s 714 home run record, it was an athletic struggle marred by hatred. By then Babe was a legendary icon and often considered the best-ever to play the game. Now, thirty-one years after Hank hit his final home run (755), there is another furor as Barry Bonds approaches and breaks the all-time home run record.
Hank Aaron’s pursuit of the most hallowed record in baseball was shamed by racial bigotry. Compounding the fact was that Aaron played for the Atlanta Braves, in a South which was not too far removed from segregation. Barry Bonds’ chase is marred by an indignity of another sort. Purists do not want to see a man whose body seems to have been transformed by performance enhancement substances break a record by a man whose muscles were all natural. Their indignation is fueled further by Bonds’ surly behavior; in public he makes prima donnas look demure.
Regardless of the personalities involved, how Aaron approached this record has lessons for those of us who may never swing a bat but who all aspire to set marks by which others may remember us.
Continue reading "Leadership: Lessons from the Hammer"Posted by John Baldoni at 11:18 AM
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July 25, 2007
Leadership: Commissioners in Crisis
It is not often that you see three commissioners of three major sports make news within the same 24-hour news cycle. This time none of the three was promoting anything; each was responding to threats to the integrity of the games they represented.
Roger Goodell of the National Football League banned Michael Vick from attending training camp in the wake of his indictment for participation in a dog fighting ring. Bud Selig of Major League Baseball issued a statement saying that he would personally attend upcoming games to watch Barry Bonds, an alleged abuser of performance enhancement drugs, try to break baseball’s all-time home run record. And David Stern of the National Basketball Association gave a press conference in which he laid bare the facts about a referee who as been accused of gambling on and fixing games.
None of these admissions reflect positively on the leagues they represent. Instead of making news to help shape, enhance, and protect the images of their leagues, each commissioner was reacting to bad news. In doing so, however, each provided a glimpse into what senior leaders must do in crisis situations.
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July 18, 2007
Leadership: Mutiny Before the Hurricane
There’s a saying in sports that says you don’t want to be the coach who follows the legend. You want to be the coach who follows the coach who follows the legend. Bill Proenza, the former director of the National Hurricane Center, knows what it is like to follow a legend. He succeeded the very popular director, Max Mayfield who was seen by millions on television during hurricane season.
Proenza was reassigned after more than half his staff signed a petition to have him removed from office. Proenza got in hot water for complaining publicly that the QuickSAT satellite could not be counted on to provide accurate hurricane forecasts. Those comments irritated his bosses in the Bush Administration as well as his staff who said that QuickSAT was only one tool in their forecasting instrumentation process.
Proenza, according to a report on NPR’s All Things Considered , is a highly experienced and competent forecaster who has worked for the National Weather Service for many years. His appointment was endorsed by Mayfield, the well-respected head of the NHC who retired at the end of last year. Courtly and avuncular Mayfield led by consensus. His management style was the exact opposite of Proenza who keeps his own counsel and sometimes “shoots from the hip.” So it seems that when Proenza got into trouble over his remarks, there was no one on his staff to back him up. Proenza had burned his bridges. So what can we learn from the Proenza firing?
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July 11, 2007
Leadership: Make It Positively So
Think positively! That’s the mantra of a new book on executive coaching, Appreciative Coaching. But more than thinking, the authors provide a roadmap for how to envision your future and then make it happen. Based on principles of appreciative inquiry, an organizational model for change, as well as positive organizational scholarship, a study of what organizations do to succeed, authors of Appreciative Coaching have fashioned an accessible model for personal change that can be achieved through executive coaching.
And it arrives at the right time. One of the fastest developing trends in management today is executive coaching. A recent survey of 3,500 middle to senior managers by CO2 Partners in Minneapolis reported that half of them had been offered coaching. Another survey by the Institute of Executive Development and Marshall Goldsmith Partners in 2006 found that 48% of surveyed companies provided coaching for manager and director levels. One reason for the increasing demand is that more and more organizations are acting on an oft-stated, but not always implemented mantra, “people are our most important resource.” Coaching is the customized development of individuals that is designed to allow them to reach their potential.
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July 4, 2007
Leadership: Lessons from Scooterville
The presidential commutation of Lewis “Scooter” Libby’s prison sentence raises some curious questions about leadership. Namely, is it politics or is it principle?
On the side of politics, we have a president who has built a career on loyalty to friends and in his mind Libby was a loyal, in particular in helping to make the case for the Iraq war pre and post invasion. Conservatives were pushing him hard for a full pardon; and with his approval ratings hovering around 30%, conservatives remain his base of support. On the side of principle, the President pushed aside the judicial decision against Libby (as Presidents have the constitutional authority to do with pardons and commutations). Bush tipped his cap to the jury’s decision but said he thought the punishment was too harsh. [The commutation is not a pardon; it leaves the stigma including fine, probation, and possible disbarment but removes the prison stretch.]
Others, especially those in the Democratic Party, view this commutation as another example in a long list of unilateral actions where the president acts without broad consultation and doing what he thinks is best. Some call this resoluteness. Others would call it stubbornness or arrogance.
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June 27, 2007
Leadership: No One-Hit Wonders Need Apply
“What would have really pissed me off is if Jeff had said, ‘We’re just one hit away.’ He never said that…” That is Jeff Immelt talking about another Jeff -- Zucker of NBC Universal. “[Zucker] took all the right steps.” Immelt, CEO of General Electric, does not suffer fools lightly. But in the entertainment industry, foolishness at least in terms of lavish expenses, outrageous behavior, and over-inflated egos, is common place. Zucker is an accomplished television executive who has risen through the ranks at NBC and now heads all of the entertainment. NBC’s hit television shows have evaporated but Immelt is sticking with Zucker in part because the younger Jeff fits the profile of a GE executive’s “growth traits,” which, as reported by Patricia Sellers of Fortune, include “inclusiveness imagination/courage, expertise, external focus and clear thinking/decisiveness.”
The fact that Zucker understands that one hit does not guarantee success sets him apart from many in Hollywood, but also reveals that growth must be sustainable. One hit television show does not guarantee another. Zucker, according to Immelt, believes in a team approach as well as generating more good material. Easy to say, but hard to predict in the fickle world of Hollywood.
Zucker’s example is instructive for those of us not in the entertainment industry. Many executives may be content to shoot for the big score. You see this kind of behavior on Wall Street with investment bankers as well as with high performing sales folks. And in those environments, “shooting the moon” may be worth it, or even expected, but in day to day management going for the big score is not simply risky it can be foolhardy. A chief reason why is because going for broke puts everything else aside for one single target, and if that target is achieved, or missed, what happens next.
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June 20, 2007
Leadership: Lesson in Pop Management
You don’t care that every time your team gets to the NBA Finals the rest of the country shrugs. You don’t mind that the nickname for your best player is “The Big Fundamental.” You could care less that your team might be the third most popular NBA team in Texas. But one thing that you care about is that your team has just won its fourth NBA title in nine years. You are Gregg Popovich, head coach of the San Antonio Spurs. Few coaches have won four titles, that’s three more than your mentor the legendary NBA coach Larry Brown often considered one of the very best in the game.
Popovich, or Pop as he is known to his players and friends, is a throwback to the days when NBA coaches actually coached. He is skilled at the fundamentals as well as understanding the strengths and weaknesses of his opposition. He is teach and mentor, and for many an all-around great guy. He’s simply not Broadway, or Hollywood, South Beach or even the Windy City. A graduate of the Air Force Academy, Pop is a coach’s coach. And for that reason, Greg Popovich is a good role model of managers to study. Here are three reasons why:
He can teach. The NBA is known as a player’s league. Not in San Antonio, however. Tim Duncan is the star power forward and maybe one of the very best of all-time to play the position but his self-effacement and willingness to listen to Pop opens the door for everyone else on the team for follow his example.
Posted by John Baldoni at 12:00 PM
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June 13, 2007
Leadership: What LeBron Teaches Us
LeBron James is good for the NBA and the game of basketball. With style, sizzle and a lunch-bucket work ethic, LeBron of the Cleveland Cavaliers is an upbeat spokesman for the league. He plays hard on the court, but disappears off it except when he’s serving as a celebrity pitchman. For a twenty-two year old he leads a quiet life – away from the glitterati.
That quietness is reflected in his play; he is an unselfish player who is willing to dish the ball to teammates so they can score. In game one of the Eastern Conference finals against the Detroit Pistons, he passed to an open player for the game winning shot. The player missed and LeBron took the heat. Four games later, LeBron let his play doing the talking. He score 25 consecutive points and 29 of the Cavs’ last thirty. In those two plays, you saw the two sides. In dishing, he is Magic Johnson. In scoring, he is Michael Jordan. In fact, Magic Johnson himself said as much to the New York Times. “He’s much like me when he controls the game… He’s more like Jordan when he goes into the scoring mode and takes it to the basket with all the fantastic moves… He’s more into controlling the game than he is dominating it with scoring.” Author John Feinstein perhaps put it better by saying on NPR’s Morning Editionthat LeBron James is the first LeBron James.
LeBron is also something else – a role model for managers. What can a kid who plays a game teach a manager who rides a desk? Plenty. Here are three lessons.
Posted by John Baldoni at 12:00 PM
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June 6, 2007
Leadership: Ambition--Vice or Virtue?
A pair of new books on Senator Hillary Clinton, as described by the Washington Post, draw a portrait of a woman who is smart, shrewd and very “methodical.” Both books, one by Carl Bernstein (Her Way) and the other by Jeff Gerth and Don Van Natta, Jr. (A Woman in Charge), describe a woman bent on achieving her aims and very ambitious. In other words, she’s a politician. But consider what would a politician be without ambition? Someone standing on the sidelines watching others do the work!
Ambition is after all the inner drive that pushes someone to achieve. It is absolutely essential to leadership. Yet so often, as in the case of Mrs. Clinton and most other politicians, ambition is perceived as a negative. Why? Because it is how the politician channels that ambition as in putting the means to end ahead of the end. For example, Huey Long, the crusading governor of Louisiana in the Thirties, wanted to raise the standard of living in his poor state. He did improve the state’s infrastructure (roads, schools, hospitals) through public works, but he achieved his aims through ruthless means and corruption top to bottom.
The same might go for corporate executives like the Rigas family that took Adelphia from obscurity to a multi-billion status; they made plenty of money for shareholders, but also robbed those shareholders blindly by, treating the company, as one prosecutor put it, “a personal piggy bank.” Clearly ambition was misplaced for personal gain.
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May 30, 2007
Curiousity Never Killed the Manager
Curiosity. That’s the first thing Lee Iacocca mentioned when asked by Charlie Rose to describe attributes leaders need. Iacocca, former CEO of Chrysler, has a 7C formula for describing leadership with C standing for attributes such as communications, common sense, courage, and of course, curiosity. Of these, curiosity is often overlooked that it is refreshing to hear Iacocca speak about it as well as write about it in his newest book, Where Have All the Leaders Gone?
When you consider Iacocca’s background it is not surprising that he would favor curiosity. He studied engineering at Lehigh and then joined Ford Motor Company where he made his name in sales. Both disciplines require a high degree of inquisitiveness. Engineers want to know how things work and why. Sales people want to know what customers are thinking. Methods for discovering answers requires an ability to formulate good questions based on a wanting to know, that is, being curious.
In the quest for innovation, it is remarkable that so few companies seem to value curiosity. We speak of creativity. We speak of putting people in places where they can interact and where ideas can spark. We speak of how managers take those ideas and apply them to problems. But these are processes; creativity does not spring from thin air. It comes from being curious. The good thing about curiosity is that we humans are naturally curious. Watch any group of primates and you will see curiosity in play, especially when new items are introduced into their environment, be it a toy, a machine or a human. Curiosity is likely in our DNA. So it can be fostered. Here are some suggestions.
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May 23, 2007
Leadership 24-style (Take Two)
The Vice President eased back into his chair and shook his head wistfully. “Unless you’ve sat in this chair, you have no idea what it is like.” Vice President Noah Daniels was referring to the President’s seat which he had assumed when the President had been seriously injured in a bomb blast. In the twelve hours or so he had been President, he had tried to launch a pre-emptive strike against a Middle Eastern state, had gone toe-to-toe with the Russians than nearly provoked another war, and acknowledged an affair he had been having with an aide (albeit unwittingly) who had been feeding state secrets to the Russians. Worse, he had dared to contradict the judgment of ace agent, Jack Bauer, CTC’s sometimes rogue, but always honest, super agent. Thank goodness this is only TV, courtesy of Fox’s 24.
The Vice President’s rare moment of reflection illustrates a key point that is not fiction – the need to take stock and to evaluate you openly and honestly. And so for those of us in management who lead real lives, here’s what the Vice President taught us.
Ease up on gut instinct. The Vice President assumed his leadership role in the wake of the President’s injury with absolute certainty. He wanted to launch a pre-emptive nuclear strike and he was bound and determined to outfox the Russians. Both moves proved to be reckless, not to mention perilous, and backfired. Daniel’s gut was not match for the realities of presidential decision-making. Trusting the gut too much may allow you to make decisions influenced by passion rather than reality. Gut instincts are good, yes, but too much guts can roil clearheaded thinking.
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