Entries Tagged 'Leadership' ↓

If you’re a Leader you need to combat negativity and maintain a positive attitude (no matter what!)

Based on a conversation with John Milgram and Ralph Dise

“It can be lonely at the top,” but it doesn’t need to be, and it shouldn’t be.

Many people would be surprised at the number of successful corporate executives who feel like fakes—these are highly successful people who attribute their success to luck, timing, or coasting by with a great personality. This includes CEOs of big, successful companies.

Many of these CEOs feel lonely and isolated – and that’s precisely the problem. As a Leader you should not let yourself get isolated in the first place.

It’s understandable though, how Leaders can become lonely and isolated. In our culture, starting from a young age, many children are told “don’t do this”, “don’t do that”. We spend the first couple of years of our children’s lives teaching them how to walk, and then the next sixteen years telling them to sit down and shut up. When and if you’re called upon, it’s a sign of weakness if you say you don’t know something.

But being a Leader doesn’t mean you have to be Superman. Leaders are human, made of flesh and blood, and put their shoes on one foot at a time—like everyone else. Many of the best Leaders are very hands off – they’ve learned to delegate everything to their colleagues and subordinates.

As Leaders, if we’re going to be open to new opportunities, one of the most important things we can do is to work to better understand our own personal strengths and weaknesses, and the strengths and weaknesses of our organizations, and then enlist others—from the HR department to the people who are working in the field—to fight the good fight against our ingrained culture, and tell everyone who works with us: “You are better than you think you are.”

“It’s up to you to build a positive culture.”

As a Leader you must maintain a positive attitude, no matter what. But attitude and affirmations are not enough. You need to show you mean it, because actions speak louder than words. Follow through to better understand your people’s strengths—and then find ways to put them to good use. With use, your strengths—like your muscles—will naturally get stronger and more resilient.

“The Geography of Nowhere”

In “The Geography of Nowhere” (Simon and Schuster, 1994), James Howard Kunstler offers a scathing critique of America’s urban and suburban landscapes, with our endless highways, bedroom communities, and strip malls.

It’s really a critique of our culture. Unfortunately when you compare many parts of the United States to other developed countries, which have put a great emphasis on developing livable communities, it rings true. It should make us think about what constitutes a good human habitat, a good community—and if you’re a corporate Leader—a good organization.

Kunstler received great praise for his work, and like others who’ve worked hard and suddenly achieved acclaim and success, he found acclaim and success somewhat unsettling.

In his own beautifully self-deprecating words, Kunstler says:

“‘The Geography of Nowhere’ was moderately successful. It seemed to help people understand their feelings about a subject that had long bewildered them. I became something of a low-grade guru. I received many invitations to speak to civic groups, professional organizations, and colleges around the country. My initial reaction was panic that people were looking to me for illumination. What could be more natural than to feel unworthy of other people’s esteem? I am aware that many successful figures secretly feel like frauds, including people far more knowledgeable and accomplished than myself. This is apparently a universal neurosis. Everybody feels inadequate. I’ve since formulated a social principle called Kunstler’s Law, which states that: “In any room containing 100 people, 99 of them each think that they are the only one in the room who doesn’t have his-or-her act together.”**

As a Leader you need to stop the negative self-talk and the negative feedback

Kunstler‘s observation is dead–on target. Many CEOs, Corporate Chiefs, and Leaders feel like fakes and frauds, and secretly think: “If only someone really knew ‘the real me’, they’d know that I am a fraud (or a loser, or a jerk).” If you’re ever going to succeed, you need to stop the negative feedback and the negative self-talk. Stop it dead in its tracks.

Here are “Three things you can do to combat negativity“:

1. Surround yourself with positive people – Negative people and negative thinking will only bring you down. That doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t listen to bad news. You should just have a positive attitude when you hear it, and deal with it accordingly. It’s not what happens; it’s how you react to what happens that really makes the difference between a winner and a loser.

2. Listen to motivational tapes and read motivational books – You need to hard-wire your brain to think positively. Two of the best books ever written are ‘Think and Grow Rich’, by Napoleon Hill and ‘How to Win Friends and Influence People’, by Dale Carnegie. They’re classics. They’ve helped millions of executives and managers to get their heads on straight, so they can take advantage of the opportunities that lie in front of them.

3. Celebrate positive attitudes and open-mindedness – You should work always to have a positive attitude, no matter what. If you see someone maintaining a positive attitude despite the circumstances, especially when the going is rough, let that person know you really appreciate it. If one of your employees was faced with a difficult situation, and they work their way out of it, celebrate that success. If someone finds a new way to solve an old problem, praise him or her openly for looking at things with fresh eyes.

As a Leader you are responsible for your culture

If you are a Leader, you set the tone of your business, your household, your civic organization – whatever you do. If you’re a CEO, a division chief, a human resource Leader, or a father or a mother, you have people looking up to you. They will follow your lead, whether you’re leading by intention or by default—so be mindful of how you conduct yourself and the cues you’re giving them.

Do you create a culture of fear and intimidation? Do you tell your people what they should and shouldn’t do? Do you show them just how wrong they are? Or do you project confidence and tell your people that you trust them? Do you celebrate successes and tell your people that working together you can accomplish great things, that working together there’s nothing you can’t do?

If you’re a Leader, and there’s negativity in the workplace, it’s up to you to get rid of it. The tone of an organization is set by the CEO and the HR Leader.

“You really are better than you think you are—and if it’s feeling lonely at the top, it doesn’t need to be.”

Takeways:

• “A positive culture doesn’t just happen; you have to create it.”

• “Work on your strengths and make yourself stronger”

• “Stop listening to the negativity of the news media—and start consuming positive thoughts from other sources”

~~~

Written by Les Proctor, Marketing Consultant to Dise & Company, based on conversations with Ralph Dise, CEO of Dise & Company, and John Milgram, CEO of Aexcel Corporation.

**Excerpted from “Home from Nowhere”, Simon and Schuster, 1996.

Which “A” player is best for you?

By Bill Marshall, Vice President of Executive Search

Wedged between a recession and a recovery, most organizations have reduced their workforces to save money and remain viable. Many corporate bosses are evaluating talent to identify and retain top performers, and recruit the “A” players who will position them to be competitive in the years ahead.

Employers will be faced with higher turnover as the economy recovers. Good talent always leaves for what it perceives to be better opportunities as the economy pulls out of recession.

The Fed is reporting that recovery is underway, yet the labor market remains stalled—with unemployment hovering around 10%. This suggests that there will be many more qualified candidates than there are jobs available for the three to six months.

Then we must still have a buyer’s market, right? Yes and No.

There is a problem that every “buyer” must consider. With an abundance of seemingly qualified candidates, how can you determine which “A” player is going to be the best for your job? The risks and costs of choosing the wrong person for your company can be expensive – in terms of lost money, lost time, and lost opportunities.

It is critical to get it right.

Skills, values, and chemistry

At Dise & Company, when we conduct an executive search for a client, we evaluate candidates primarily for job fit and cultural fit.

Job fit and cultural fit are critical—that a candidate’s skills and experience are relevant to the job—and that the candidate finds the position’s activities and responsibilities satisfying. It’s critical that the individual and the organization possess shared values. Without good job fit and good cultural fit, you don’t have a good candidate. But what is the deciding factor when you have several qualified candidates for the same position?

“Sometimes the best candidate for the job doesn’t look that way on paper”

In my two and a half decades in Executive Recruiting, I have learned never to underestimate the importance of going with my gut, especially when faced with multiple candidates vying for the same position.

This is the “It” factor of hiring in a crowded marketplace.

The right hire is a combination of skills, values, and the elusive “It” factor.

When Instincts should override the data

Your gut instinct is a deep, subconscious voice inside that tells you: “This individual does not have the best track record, but she brings a package that makes her uniquely qualified for the opportunity—this is the person you need to hire. Don’t let this person get away.”

While the old adage that “Past performance predicts future behavior” holds true, there are exceptions to the rule, and you need to be prepared to recognize and capitalize on them.

“A” Players come in all shapes, colors, and sizes.

Sometimes a big setback can be the motivation to succeed in the next position. Sometimes you can find a diamond in the rough—a person who is hungry—and anxious to prove himself after what appears to be a failure or a mediocre-looking performance—“an underdog.”

If a candidate fell down in a previous position, the questions should be: “Did she get back up and dust herself off?” “Is he passionate about the industry?” “Did she learn from her mistakes?” Did he maintain his sense of humor?” “Does she emphasize practice over theory?” These character traits illustrate resilience and determination in the face of adversity—essential traits for success—no matter what the industry.

It all boils down to the chemistry between the candidate and the need. Going with your gut can be the deciding factor that will help you choose the right people to lead your organization and strengthen your competitive position in the years ahead.

Bill Marshall is the Vice President of Executive Search for Dise & Company. You can contact Bill directly at the People Page on Diseco.com.

Why you should enlist others to help you identify opportunities for change

By John Milgram, President, Aexcel Corporation

Even the best leaders develop blind spots—areas in which you do not see yourself or your organization’s situation realistically.

These blind spots, or lack of awareness, could potentially cause great damage to your company and all the people who depend on it.

When things are going well … life is easy.  But when we’re faced with a difficult business environment and there is a real need for change, too often we hang on to old activities.  We hope that what made us previously successful will make us successful again in the future. Yet clinging to old ideas is possibly the last thing we should be doing.

Very often as leaders, we’re completely invested in the things that got us where we are.  We are slow to recognize the need for change. We’re in denial for longer than those who look upon us.

“What can we (or I)  stop doing today to become more productive?” ~ John Milgram, Aexcel Corporation

If your organization could benefit from a change, how are you supposed to recognize it? And if you do recognize a need for change, where are you supposed to go for advice?  

Several years ago, feeling that our company could do better, we came to the realization that the activities of our company were grounded on what had been done in the past, instead of what needed to be done to meet the company’s real business needs.

Operating on the notion that our business strategy was based on what we deliberately chose not to do, as much as what we chose to do, I started asking our people the question: “What should we stop doing?”

Acting upon the input from several key people, we phased out an entire line of business that was very time-consuming and cost-intensive. At the time, this line of business seemed off-limits and the thought of eliminating it caused many sleepless nights.

While the decision to phase out this line of business caused a great deal of anxiety, it eventually led to a dramatic restructuring of the way that we did business—lowering our costs, changing our customer base, expanding our distribution, increasing the volume of sales, and increasing our customer satisfaction.

As a result, our company is in a much better position today than it was 5 years ago, and we’ve been able to weather the downturn without laying off any employees—putting us in a much stronger position as the economy continues to improve, and we inevitably face a new competitive landscape.

Now we try to proactively identify those habits, actions, and assumptions that could potentially damage our business. And I rely on key stakeholders to help uncover blind spots and identify opportunities for change, including  (1) Customers (2) Managers (3) Employees (4) Trusted advisors (including my Board of Directors), and (5) Colleagues.

If you are a leader of a corporation, or the head of a division, or an employee who wants to get ahead, you might want to try this exercise. “What can we (or I)  stop doing today to become more productive?”

Coping with change is difficult. But not as difficult as coping with the kind of change you’ll have to cope with if you wait too long—and lose the opportunity to make the constructive change that will help your business thrive. 

If you take proactive measures to uncover your blind spots, you’ll be on the right path towards understanding the real issues facing your organization, and will be better able to adapt to the changes in your business environment.

John Milgram has been with Aexcel Corporation for twenty-one years, and President for sixteen of those years. Prior to that he earned an MBA from Columbia Business School, and worked in the financial services industry for five years. He obtained his BA from University of Pennsylvania in 1981, and graduated from Cleveland Heights High School in 1977

Ralph A. Dise, Jr. serves on Aexcel Corporation’s Board of Directors.

You really can do it all and still have a real life

By Ralph A. Dise, Jr.

Just because you’ve set big objectives doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice your home life.

On the contrary, the bigger the objectives, the more you need balance in your life. And you can’t do it alone.

Great leaders recognize the importance of working through others, whether they are employees, associates, vendors or customers.

Still it’s crucial to have a plan, and to work diligently at executing it. This applies to anyone seeking career success that must juggle multiple responsibilities of work and family.

How do you maintain balance in your life?

We’re all pulled in many different directions at the same time, children, employees, clients, school, community, church obligations…our kids’ activities (ask me about Irish Dancing some day). It’s nonstop.

The demands of running a professional service firm sometimes feel overwhelming. I have to be a leader, a manager, and a contributor. I have to sell, produce, and manage others. I have to give total, absolute concentration to my client’s needs. There are times when I feel I’m being hit from all sides. There are a lot of expectations from everyone—clients, colleagues, community and family. I want everyone to be happy and have what he or she needs (“good luck with that!” you’re thinking).

Communicate/keep it simple

The secret to running anything well is to prioritize your actions. You need to do the right things at the right time-those things that will help you win new customers, provide excellent service, and expand your sphere of influence.

All these actions must be executed in a timeframe that permits you to enjoy a normal life (this is a core value of Dise & Company. My colleagues and I respect one another and set aside time for our families, so that we lead balanced lives.)

Set an Annual Agenda

To ensure that I stay focused on the right things, I’ve developed an annual agenda that includes my top five priorities for the year. It’s simple, to the point and helps me decide what activities and tasks I should place on my calendar. It helps me be very clear about what to say “no” to.

My agenda for 2009-2010

1. Build sales pipeline with qualified opportunities by setting a leading example for my colleagues
2. Grow top line revenues through focused, disciplined business development management efforts
3. Optimize profitability by disciplined management of expenses
4. Grow my team’s professional capabilities by stretching them to learn new things
5. Reserve nights and weekends for my personal life.

My agenda is the basis for all my decisions. If something doesn’t fit into my agenda, it doesn’t have a place in my day.

Try an Agenda for Yourself

To stay balanced, and continue to grow, you really you have to have an agenda to keep focused on your goals for the year, and then you have to have a plan to keep you focused on your daily goals.

The challenge is, particularly in our networked world, where a PDA is now a mini-computer, is to stay focused, avoid distraction, set big goals for the year, (underpinned by big goals every day), and take action every day.

The Daily To Do List

Every morning, before you do anything else, update your daily to do list:

1. What are the two or three big things that will help contribute to your agenda?
2. Recommit to your annual goals
3. Ask yourself “ If I complete these things will it make it a good day?”
4. Ask yourself “Am I being realistic?”
5. Work towards completing the most difficult before you do anything else (especially before you check your email).

When you stop for lunch, look back at the morning, and ask: “How am I doing on my daily to-do list?” In the evening before you leave, take a moment to review your performance for the day. Assess your ability to stay focused and on-track. Did you open up your email too early? Did you spend the day being reactive and putting out fires?

Be Patient – but Selective

You are not going to get everything that you need to be done in one day. The average executive has 37 hours of work waiting for his or her immediate attention at any given moment. How you spend your time is a strategic decision.

Being selective about what you spend your time on is the key to taking back your power, getting control of your situation, and being in charge your life.

You can have it all. You can pursue big goals and still have a life. It just requires an eye on the big picture, a to-do list that is in sync with the big goals, and the ability to say “no” to things that don’t contribute to your agenda.

Ralph A. Dise, Jr. is the President of Dise & Company, the Director Emeritus of Lincolnshire International, and has worked in the field of Human Resources his entire career. You can contact Ralph directly at the Pro People Page on Diseco.com.

Combat the negative person in your workplace

By Mark Gonska

Do you know anyone who is always looking for advice? But as soon as anyone offers up an idea or suggestion, his or her common response is: “NO – that won’t work!”

Do you know anyone who wishes they could be recognized for their brains and creativity, but have “NO ideas ” about how they could add value?

Do you know anyone who constantly complains about personal problems, the economy or global competition.  Yet, when it comes to professional development, additional training or any improvement that requires additional effort on their part, they have “NO interest”?

When asked to consider new people, new ideas, new line extensions, diversification – you guessed it… their answer is “NO!”

“Mr./Ms.  kNOw- it-Alls” are particularly common in today’s tough economy. 

Although doing exactly the same thing and expecting different results may seem unlikely, “Mr./Ms.  kNOw- it-All” sees NO need to entertain other possible solutions.  Because everyone “kNOws” they won’t work.

How do you combat the Mr./Ms.  kNOw- it-Alls? Just say “NO” to their negativity.

• Challenge pessimistic thinking and negative beliefs. Don’t let assumptions go unchallenged.
• Avoid negative people. They are their own worst enemy and could become yours.
• Avoid being sympathetic. If you are forced, through your position in the company, to work with a negative person don’t buy in to their road to NOwhere.  Tough love for tough times.

• If all else fails, talk to your own supervisor or human resources staff about the challenges you are experiencing in dealing with the negative person. Your supervisor may have ideas, may be willing to address the negativity, and may address the issue with the negative person’s supervisor.  

Note: Negative people will not bother to read this blog.  They already kNOw it’s just common sense.

Mark Gonska is Executive Vice President of Career Transition Services for Dise & Company. You can contact Mark directly at the People Page on Diseco.com

How Lubrizol implemented a Global Ethics Program to protect the value of the company for all the company’s stakeholders

For many years Lubrizol, through its Lubrizol Additives and Lubrizol Advanced Materials business segments, has been a global provider of specialty chemicals serving a wide variety of markets and end-use applications. 

Lubrizol’s products are used in gasoline and diesel engines, automatic transmissions, gear drives, marine engines, tractors, personal care products and pharmaceuticals, plastics, coatings, paints and inks, and industrial materials.

It has taken time and sustained effort from many people to attain this position. Founded in 1928 in Cleveland , Ohio,  Lubrizol has 7,000 employees worldwide, and  $5  billion sales per year.

The challenge

The new millennium marked a perfect storm for ethics and corruption problems that have resulting in the catastrophic failures of major American Companies.

Some of the companies that come to mind are Worldcom, Enron, and Adelphia. Not to mention Dynergy, RiteAid, Tyco, Global Crossing, ImClone Systems and many others.

Unfortunately, these  discrete failures were symptomatic of the looming systemic failure, and were followed by the sub-prime mortgage crisis, the global financial crisis, and the uncovering of other large Ponzi Schemes tied to Bernard l. Madoff ($50 Billion) and Alan Stanford ($8 Billion).

These failures were brought about for many reasons, including: a culture of arrogance in the companies, fraud, and conflicts of interest. These were complemented by accounting scandals, and the failure of:  independent auditors, rating agencies, regulators, senior management, corporate boards, and outside counsel.

 In such an environment, how does a  $5 Billion company, with 7,000 employees, operating in many different countries and different cultures around the world take steps to ensure that everyone is working together to create value for the company and its stakeholders, and that not one of their employees or vendors does anything to jeopardize the company?

The solution: The Lubrizol Global Ethics Program

Lubrizol has worked diligently over a period of years to create a culture where ethical decision-making is the norm. It purposefully cultivates leaders who produce exceptional results and who consistently make good decisions that benefit the company.

 As part of that effort, the role of Chief Ethics Officer was established.

Partnering closely with the company’s General Counsel, legal community and internal audit staff, the ethics office is responsible for providing leadership on matters related to ethical and legal conduct through the development, implementation and interpretation of the Corporation’s compliance and education strategy.

Senior executives at Lubrizol decided to take a pro-active approach towards an ethics program many years ago. That approach has served them well in that ethical failures reported in the news clearly demonstrated that an excellent reputation can be instantly lost, and it was in the best interest of all Lubrizol  stakeholders to share accountability for protecting the company’s value.

Much time and effort is spent communicating with employees, educating them about their responsibilities as corporate citizens, so that ethics and legal understanding is integrated into everyday decision-making and behaviors.

The hallmark of the Lubrizol Ethics Program is “Shared Accountability”, supplemented with an “Ethics Helpline”-an 800 number used to answer questions and log ethics inquiries.

The Basic Ethical and Legal Conduct Guideline Policy

“Employees of Lubrizol and its subsidiaries, as well as members of our Board of Directors, must respect the laws, customs and traditions of each country in which they operate. At the same time, employees are not to engage in any course of conduct which, even if legal, customary and accepted in such country, could be deemed to be in violation of Lubrizol’s Ethical and Legal Conduct Guidelines.”

(A link to the complete Ethical and Legal Guidelines can be found below.)

Features important to the program’s success include:

• The Chief Ethics Officer reports to the Audit Committee of the Board and reports on the progress of the program regularly
• The support of the Executive Council is unwavering, as is that of the legal community and internal audit
• The Ethics Office and its global network of regional coordinators support the effort on a part-time basis in addition to other functional responsibilities
• The Corporation’s expectations have been communicated globally, in the languages of all employees, via Lubrizol’s Ethical and Legal Conduct Guidelines
• A toll-free help line is in place to receive questions, concerns and reports
• Employees are trained on the Corporation’s guidelines and its expectations of them; program results are also communicated regularly to all employees
• All reports are recorded and investigated. Violations are dealt with swiftly and aggressively

Outcome

In the last year out of 300 Ethics Cases, 15% resulted in disciplinary action, and 5% resulted in termination.

All ethics inquiries are logged. Calls are analyzed by type, location, and severity. Reports are created for the Audit Committee, Executive Council, Senior Management, and General Employee Population.

Lubrizol’s Ethics Program has been cited as an industry best practice by the American Chemistry Council.  Additionally, the program has been shared nationally in programs sponsored by the Ethics Officer Association, the U.S. Government’s Federal Sentencing Commission and the U.S. State Department.

Conclusion

Lubrizol believes an ethics program is essential.  This is a reality that the executives of many leading companies face as communications are instant and everywhere.

The Lubrizol Ethics program (1) enhances shareholder value by minimizing financial and material risk to the Corporation (2) fosters and an environment of corporate confidence in its leaders, associates and systems (3) guides business decision and behaviors, and (4) enhances the organization’s ability to deal with its customers, suppliers, shareholders and employees with honesty and integrity.

Ultimately the success of the program is measured not by how many people who are caught, but by how many people who are helped. 

One thing is clear: Lubrizol is serious about ethical and legal conduct.

Takeaways

You can’t sit back and wait. It’s important to have a proactive approach towards ethics to protect the value of the company for all stakeholders.

Actions speak louder than words. It’s not enough to have an ethics program. There must be follow-through and the guidelines must be re-enforced with separation of company and employee if necessary.

This case study was adapted by a presentation by Mark Meister, the Vice-President of Human Resources, and former Chief Ethics Officer (a position he held for nearly 15 years) of Lubrizol Corporation, to the Senior HR Thought Leaders Forum, sponsored by Dise & Company at the Union Club in Downtown Cleveland, March 2009.

Supplement: The Fundamentals of the Lubrizol Ethics and Legal Conduct Guidelines

Fundamental #1

Insisting on honesty and integrity in dealing with customers, suppliers, all third parties and with one another.

Fundamental #2

Simply stated:

“We Don’t Lie”

“We Don’t Steal”

“We Don’t Cheat”

Simple Test for Ethical Decision-Making

• How would I feel if my family or friends knew of my actions
• Would I behave differently if I knew my actions would be reported on the evening news?
• Does this meet “the treat others as you would like them to treat you” test?

 More on Lubrizol’s Ethical and Legal Conduct Guidelines can also be accessed at http://www.lubrizol.com/OurCompany/CorporateResponsibility/EthicalGuidelines.html

Become your company’s MVE – most valuable employee

By Mark Gonska

With the grim unemployment news splashed across the headlines, it is understandable that you may be concerned about losing your job.

According to Traci Bell-Thomas of the Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services, “The unemployment claim systems in Ohio and other states buckled this week under an onslaught of telephone calls and website hits.

With the number of people being laid off at the end of the year, the systems are just being overwhelmed.  The telephone hotline generally receives about 7,500 calls a day, but has been getting around 80,000 calls each the past two days (January 6, 2009).” 

Business as usual isn’t. 

So, what can you do, as an employee, to ease your anxiety and protect your position with your employer?  Here are some tips to fireproof your current employment by working toward becoming your boss’s Most Valuable Employee:

Make an honest appraisal of your job situation

Do you get along well with your boss?  What are you doing to make your workplace run better, faster and cheaper?  Do you bring solutions or complaints to your boss and co-workers? 

Make sure you are doing the best job you can be – and that you are the best employee you can be.  Identify three improvements you can make at work and DO them. 

You need to take action to make things better.  Don’t wait.  Waiters are for restaurants.

Put yourself in your employer’s shoes – and walk around

What is keeping your boss up at night?  Find out.  Have a discussion with your boss and find out what you can do to help in these tough times.  Simply ask, “what’s the most important thing I can do to help our business in these tough times?  What can I do to make things better for you?”

Ask, “What do you see that’s working – that I should CONTINUE to do?  What’s not happening that I should START DOING and what’s really bugging you that I should STOP doing? 

Take immediate action on your employer’s recommendations. 

Let your yes be yes

Deliver what you promise.  Don’t wait to be reminded – you need to bring solutions, not problems and complaints. 

If you make a promise, you need to follow through on that promise.  Is your plate already full?  Clarify your priorities and determine what is most important to you. 

What should you purposefully neglect to get this done?  We all need to make sacrifices right now – and you might have to say “yes” more often. 

You now have several tools in your tool belt to help you keep your job.  Act on your fear about losing your job and use that energy to fireproof your job. 

Go into work each day and focus on how you can be the best employee you can be. 

Mark Gonska is Executive Vice President of Career Transition Services for Dise & Company. You can contact Mark directly at the People Page on Diseco.com

So what are you doing to turn the crisis into an opportunity?

By Ralph A. Dise, Jr.

The bad news just keeps coming.

While there is still a lot of uncertainty about the near future, and the economy is shedding jobs at a rate of half a million per month, it’s hard to remember that recessions are survivable. 

For those of us not eligible for a federal bail out, it’s survival of the fittest. Companies and the people running them have to make very tough decisions.  Those who survive will do so by being disciplined about managing cash and creative in their business development efforts.

What will the competitive landscape look like when there is a rebound? Your guess is as good as mine. Every time there’s a recession though, someone brings up the story about the two men hiking in the woods. So please forgive me if you’ve heard this one before, but it’s worth repeating…

The two men hiking in the woods
There are two men hiking in the woods who see a bear not too far ahead running straight at them. One man turns to run away while the other man quickly puts down his pack, pulls out a pair of sneakers, sits on the ground, removes his hiking boots, and starts putting the sneakers on his feet.

 The first man cannot believe his eyes and says, “Those sneakers aren’t going to help you outrun a bear.” The second man replies, “I don’t have to outrun the bear. I just have to outrun you.”

The bear is the economy. You are the guy with the sneakers. The other guy is your competition. All we need to do is make sure that we help you outrun the other guy.

What are you doing to manage the downturn?
Every two months, our firm hosts the Senior HR Thought Leaders Forum at the Union Club in down town Cleveland, Ohio.  At the January forum, we asked the question: “What are you doing to manage the downturn?”  What ensued was a lively discussion with many ideas for you to consider. Here are several of those ideas.

Managing cash flows and conserving cash
Conserving cash does not mean spending as little as possible. What it does mean is that every single penny is spent as effectively as possible, with the smallest level of risk to return.  Managing cash flow requires minimizing debt and doing everything possible to keep the cash flow positive.

It seems most companies have stopped their 401k matching programs, frozen salaries, laid off workers, and cut salaries. They’re doing everything they can to conserve cash. Others are investing in their future leaders by nurturing the talent they have. While merit increases may be frozen, they are offering their “keepers” new responsibilities and interesting assignments, and giving them challenging opportunities earlier than they might otherwise have done. 

Reorganization and restructuring
Public companies have to answer to shareholders, so when there’s a recession like this, leaders must realign their cost structure to weather the downturn and do it with certainty. It’s not personal.  It’s just business. One of our Forum participants told how his CEO could see the downturn coming, and wanted to take radical steps to restructure and re-organize. The Human Resource leader recommended that a significantly large number of employees be laid off, and that others be offered early retirement. The Chief HR Officer’s objective was to restructure one time and only one time.  In this way he hoped to mitigate the long, morale destroying death march he had observed at other companies in the past.

Executive leadership and visibility
Strong executive leadership is needed now more than ever. Leaders should be highly visible and actively communicating about the business environment. They should regularly articulate the plans the company has for managing the downturn. Leaders should constantly remind employees that it is everyone’s job to figure out where to reduce expenses— on everything from copy paper to corporate travel and lodging to raw materials. Especially even factory workers should be asked what could be done to drive down costs. They know where the savings are. They’re just waiting to be asked.

Turning a crisis into an opportunity
The main thing is that you can’t take this downturn lying down.  How are you going to turn this crisis into an opportunity?

Hard times means there are lot of talented people out there. And right now their skills are going to waste. It’s a great time to look for smart people who can get things done.  Are you spending time looking for the star performers that will help you through? You’d better be doing something about this or your competitor might.

As Wendy Edgar, Area Human Resources Director, America’s People Team at Ernst & Young said at the conclusion of our meeting, which summed everything up and brought our time together to a close: “a financial crisis is a horrible opportunity to waste.”

Remember the story of the two men hiking in the woods? What are you doing to “outrun” your competition? What are you doing to turn the crisis into an opportunity?

Ralph A. Dise, Jr. is the President of Dise & Company, the Presiding Director of Lincolnshire International, and has worked in the field of Human Resources his entire career. You can contact Ralph directly at the Pro People Page on Diseco.com.

How to cope with the pressures caused by the downturn

By Bill Marshall

If you are in Finance or Accounting, or you’re an Executive charged with managing the P&L of an organization, you are probably undergoing a rather large increase in stress as you come to terms with financial conditions you may not have experienced before. 

What many people don’t understand is that when you are charged with ensuring the management of the day-to-day and at the same time safeguarding the health of the organization for the future, you are expected to maintain a certain image, and sometimes you can’t let your guard down.

And this is increasingly hard to do, especially if you’re moving into uncharted territory.

That is precisely what we’ve launched Project CFO:  a confidential consultation that is designed to evaluate the difficulties you may be facing to (1) identify staffing needs before they become insurmountable problems, and then (2) recruit the talent that will help you overcome the challenges that are keeping you wake at night.

Key Attributes of a Project CFO Consultation:

• Inherent understanding of key leadership skills necessary to get the job done in any environment
• Mature approach to understanding your corporate culture and what the ramifications are for finding the right candidates that fit your needs and your culture
• Ability to craft a compelling story about why a highly desirable candidate should want to join your organization

If you’d like to take a short time out of your day—a confidential breakfast or lunch—where you can escape from the pressures of managing the day to day– with an experienced human resources professional who will listen to your story, then let me know by contacting me confidentially through our website (see link below).

Bill Marshall is the Vice President of Executive Search for Dise & Company. You can contact Bill directly at the People Page on Diseco.com.

You must take action 

By Ralph A. Dise Jr.

When I was growing up, my Dad worked for US Steel, where safety was always a key issue. In fact, my Dad’s annual bonus was conditioned on the annual safety record of the plant he managed.

On occasion, I’d visit Dad at his office. There, I saw yellow signs and stickers all over the place that read: “Knowing’s not enough.”

As a kid I used to wonder, what the heck does that mean…“Knowing’s not enough?”

Steel mills evoke images of strenuous, hot, and dangerous work. But, it’s not enough to know that a work place is dangerous. Your every day behavior must reflect your awareness of that deadly danger too. 

Mammoth machinery and molten metal can be hazardous, unless safety procedures are rigidly observed. Hard hats, safety shoes, protective eyeglasses, earplugs, and fire retardant clothing are a requirement in steel mill production areas.

So knowing is absolutely not enough. It’s the “doing” that counts. To keep accidents to a minimum everyone must wear safety equipment and follow safety rules, every minute of every day. Getting the entire team to behave in a way that keeps it productive, and safe from harm, so each member can return home to his or her family is an important job of plant leadership.

It occurred to me quite recently that this idea of “Knowing’s not enough” is a universal truth in business. For instance, executing strategy is the doing all the things that you must do to make your company succeed.

Here’s a critical question: Do your people, from your top management to your working-level people, know how to execute your strategy? It’s easy for everyone working in a steel mill to understand the need for safety, even so, accidents happen. Your senior staff may be able to recite your strategy, but do they know what to do, how to do it…and are they taking the actions necessary to do it? Do they enlist their people in the strategy every day?

What if you’re trying a new strategy? What if you’re trying to launch a new product Line and cross-sell into existing accounts? Or trying to identify your greatest supply chain risks to avoid predictable loss? Are your people doing what they need to do?

Time and time again, strategic implementations fail.  And when they do, it’s because somewhere in the organization, people aren’t delivering on crucial tasks. They may “know” what is to be done, but they’re not doing it. Someone may have told them. There may have been a lot of heads nodding up and down. But deep down inside, they really don’t know how or why their job supports the strategy and they’re not motivated to take action.

The tactics they’ve been called on to execute don’t compute, and don’t translate into what they’re supposed to do between 8 and 5 (or burn the midnight oil to get the job done).  So everyone proceeds full speed ahead with business as usual –whatever that means to him or her. And the strategy sputters out and dies.

Implementing a strategy, whatever strategy you choose, requires the right culture, the right structures, the right systems, and the right processes. But most of all leadership focused at every level of the organization, committed to the daily work it takes to make the strategy happen.

It’s not about having the best ideas. It’s about executing ideas—even mundane ideas—like hardhats, safety shoes, protective glasses, earplugs, and protective clothing…but making sure they get executed without fail.   

At the end of the day, it’s not about what you know; it’s about what you do and how you behave on a daily basis.  

Don’t tell me you know – show me you know.  Because “knowing is not enough.”

Ralph A. Dise, Jr. is the President of Dise & Company, the Presiding Director of Lincolnshire International, and has worked in the field of Human Resources his entire career. You can contact Ralph directly at the Pro People Page on Diseco.com.