Creating the Environment for Success with Mike Frantz

By George Dise

What is success?  How do you achieve it?  According to Mike Frantz, a company like Starbucks maintains success through brand awareness and loyalty.  Mike believes that since a single negative experience stands out five times larger in the mind of a customer than a single positive experience, the number one most important thing to consider is consistency of service.  Well-picked co-workers tend toward providing positive service, but can occasionally lapse or make a mistake; the key to customer satisfaction is consistently providing the same service on a bad day that you’d provide on a good day.  While it may be difficult to maintain consistency throughout an entire brand, let alone a single franchise, it helps to formulate products and train employees to provide services that are always positive.  This is especially important for law firms like Frantz Ward- think about all the times people complain about “the lawyers” on TV.  “The lawyers say we have to do it this way,” “the lawyers say we can’t do this.” Like every business, law firms have to avoid being tarred as the company of no.  That’s why Mike thinks of- and advertises his services as- “figur[ing] out ways to get things done, not throw up obstacles.”  His firm exists to promote new ways of thinking to help clients get things done –to avoid obstacles.

Mike thinks the best way a lawyer should act in order to create an environment for success is as a “consigliere,” or trusted business advisor.  As a consigliere, he focuses both on what a client expects, and what a client needs.  In some cases, expectations may not meld well with needs, and clients need to be advised so they receive the maximum possible benefit from your company’s services.  In these cases, you have to give clients what they need packaged in a way that it appears to be what they want.  That requires a service provider to actively listen and figure out what keeps a client awake at night, then take an open-minded reconnaissance of the marketplace to figure out what other options are available.  With a thorough understanding of possible options, service providers need to take efficient and effective steps to resolve the issue.  Even if your client never figures out that their expectations and needs didn’t coincide, if you served them effectively, they’ll still ultimately realize that they did the right thing by hiring you, because your services provided a lasting benefit. Continue reading →

Recruiting the Not for Profit Executive Director: Avoiding Serious Pitfalls

By George Dise

Executive Director search committees fall into three common pitfalls: too many members on the search committee, dragging out the process, and seeking candidates just like the incumbent.  Here’s how to avoid getting tripped up.

How large should the search committee be?  Five members is good, since an odd number eliminates ties in voting, and there are enough members that two can be absent from interviews.  More than five increases the chance of personalities clashing and dragging out decisions.  Or, there’ll be too many opinions to balance, dragging out the process.

When you’re putting together a search committee, it helps to mix in people who’ve experienced a search committee before with people who haven’t.  You’ll have more people on the board at the end of the search who now have experience working on a search committee.  It has the added benefit of forcing experienced members to justify their methods to newer members, forcing them to evaluate whether they’ve been doing it right.  Any bad habits the experienced members bring with them from other committees will be diluted.  It also helps to include representatives from different groups within the organization in the search committee.  When I worked with a search committee for a local high school an alumnus and a teacher were included on the committee to help ensure that the candidates were compatible with the character of the school. Continue reading →

Succession Planning and Strategic Talent Management can help you avoid catastrophic risks and be more competitive now and in the years ahead

By Florian Kete

Mention the word “succession planning” in a small to medium-sized company these days, and you can see the eyes roll. Most leaders these days are worried about top line revenue, and how they’re going make the most productive use of the staff they have and may not want to be distracted by planning for potential vacancies or departures.

What many fail to understand is that there’s a correlation between managing your top talent effectively, overcoming the challenges of the economic downturn, and taking your business to the next level. The “rolling eyes” is precisely the reason someone needs to take it seriously—if your leaders don’t consider it a priority, you can guarantee that no-one else will.

Knowing what to do in case your CEO or one of your key players is hit by a bus is not the only reason to go through succession planning. There are other reasons- but mainly: “It will position your company to be stronger both now and in the years ahead.”

Succession planning is an integral part of strategic planning, Actually it’s somewhat of a misnomer because it’s really an exercise in “Strategic Talent Management.” As Jim Collins detailed in his acclaimed book “Good to Great”, step one to being a great company begins by having the right people on the bus! Unfortunately what works for mammoth organizations like GE and IBM; the firms that have pioneered succession planning—does not necessarily work for smaller organizations.

Succession Planning /Strategic Talent Management for the Small to Medium-sized Business

As you embark on your own Succession Planning Project /Strategic Talent Management Project, be sure to adapt it to the nuances of your business. Take a look at your talent needs over the next 3-5 years and decide how you’re going to fill those needs.

THE TOP FIVE SUCCESSION PLANNING/STRATEGIC TALENT MANAGEMENT QUESTIONS:

Continue reading →

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.

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 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.

Leadership takes practice—and here are 3 things you can do today to be a better leader

By Ralph A. Dise, Jr.

If you have ever needed to work with—and through—others to accomplish an important goal, then you know how important leadership skills are to your success.

Drawing from my own experience running a business for the last 18 years, and observations I have made throughout my career in human resources, it is my conclusion that while “natural-born leaders” do exist, they are few and far between. 

I also believe that leadership is a virtue.  Virtues are characteristics valued by our society because they promote both individual and collective well-being, and thus are “good” by definition.

My experience in Leadership Cleveland (Class of 2003) taught me that leaders are not somehow anointed by the “powers that be”, but rather, they are self-appointed. They stand up and take charge of a situation. Then they become acknowledged by others to be leaders.

 To be an effective leader you must display leadership qualities that other people want to emulate, and follow.

Getting the most out of your people requires thoughtfulness, an open-mind, and a willingness to approach challenges with a trial and error approach. Over time, every leader creates his or her special style that is reflected in the organization.

Yet there are three fundamental characteristics that all good leaders have in common:   

1. A good leader sets the example for behavior.
Your job is to establish the culture and the environment for your company (or business unit). You need to show by example the way that people (vendors, peers, associates, and customers alike) should be treated and the way objectives should be pursued. Your standard is the one your people follow. 

2. A good leader is attentive to the needs of his or her people.
Your people have needs, and you need to be on the lookout for what only you can provide them to improve their skills and their performance, whether it is in the form of:  compensation, recognition, appreciation, mentoring, and/or discipline.

3. A good leader is open to suggestions and ideas.
If you have employees who have ideas that you have tried once but failed, you can show how you trust them by listening and letting them make mistakes, too. We all make mistakes, and as long as we learn from them, we can only get better.

People need to know, most of all, that their leader trusts them. 

If you don’t show your trust, your best employees will leave you because they feel stifled, and they know they can do better elsewhere. This leaves you with the mediocre employees who will stay on because they are accustomed to being micromanaged anyway.

If leadership is a virtue, then ineffective leadership is a vice which is typified by micromanagement. 

Based on all my experience in business, and as an HR Professional for my entire career, the number one thing you should avoid at all costs is to be a micromanager because it is the antithesis of good leadership.

Being a micromanager means you are doing the work that you’ve hired your employees to do. It means you are doing their work for them (while neglecting your own), or supervising them to the extent that you might as well be doing it yourself.

No one likes to be second-guessed and no one likes to be shown how to do the job they were hired to do. It is unfortunate that many otherwise-savvy executives second-guess their people all the time, and they’re not even aware of this destructive behavior.

While unproductive leaders may achieve a modicum of job security, it comes at the price of an unhealthy, unhappy organization.

If you are in a leadership role right now, or you desire to excel in a leadership role, I hope that this provides an insight that will help you (1) set the tone for your organization (2) be attentive to the needs of your people, and (3) be open to ideas and suggestions, and thereby become a better leader.

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.