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Newsletter
March 2002A
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A Printable Newsletter Format March 2002A
LEAD LIKE THE GREATS: 40 Things You Can Do
Solid leadership is a combination of instinct and education.
It is born of the inherent versus environment precept. It
is never all of one and none of another, but a balance. Great
leaders carry a charisma: some of it inborn, some of it through
the development of skills that bring with them confidence.
That charisma, or as we call it, that "It" encompasses more
than sheer charisma. "It" is the magic that causes people
to follow when it doesn't make logical sense to do so. "It"
enables groups of followers to weather storms, fight uphill
battles, stretch their own limits beyond what was once thought
possible, and live on long after the leader is gone. (By studying
the greatest leaders in history, such as Ganghis Kahn, Atilla
the Hun and Winston Churchill, we can get an education in
the secrets of "It.")
Any
great leader has an "It" checklist that looks like this:
1.
There is a difference between leaders and managers. Managers
make sure that things are running smoothly, leaders create
change and followings through vision.
2.
Leaders create visions in which others can believe. Leaders
enable followers to buy in to decisions by giving them clear
objectives and expectations and them leaving them to use their
talents and strengths to do the work.
3.
Leaders understand and honor the words autonomy and empowerment.
Leaders know not to do too much, but to supply their people
with the resources and guidance they need to follow through
on their own. Outstanding leaders lead the charge, riding
on their horses with the troops, but they allow each soldier
to draw their "bayonettes" as conditions necessitate.
4.
Leaders see the totality of their company. Their cross-functional
teams know how to work as a whole enterprise. The best of
leaders teach their teams how they are interwoven, and how
each team carries a vital purpose to the whole, and how they
fit into the interwoven mesh of the corporate blanket.
5.
Leaders understand the necessity of key subordinate leaders.
They know how to hire based on unique valuable talents and
remember to let those talents work for the group. They know
that it is the weak leader who allows his own fears about
loss of control to cloud his memory in regard to why those
special talents were brought on board to begin with.
6.
Leaders have followers who not only believe in the mission
of the organization, but have followers who are accustomed
to winning. Winners believe that goals and objectives
can actually be captured. Leaders hire people who know how
to win and thrive on the energy generated by winning.
7.
Leaders are curious. Usually they are curious by nature.
They want to know why and how things are done. They ask questions
and aren't afraid to probe into unknown areas to find solutions.
8.
Leaders are instinctual. They follow their gut. Their
curiosity drives them to accumulate the necessary information
they need so that when decision time comes, it is the gut
that has the final say.
9.Leaders
understand the saying that a rolling stone carries no moss.
Their organizations are not mossy. They know that the key
to success is continual momentum. Momentum breeds momentum.
They carry this forward from product development and reward
programs that boost morale, to customer satisfaction efforts.
10.
Leaders reside in the moment of today and tomorrow simultaneously.
They are not short sighted, developing systems and institutionalizing
their best strengths in order to succeed today and in the
future.
11.
Leaders plan. They know that 90% of their time is best
spent planning and 10% is spent on administrative work.
12.
Leaders form partnerships. They don't pretend to be lone
rangers. They know that their success hinges upon their ability
to use other people strategically. The partnerships of successful
leaders are win-win partnerships. They ally themselves with
anyone from customers, competitors, vendors and whatever sources
bring the results their organizations need.
13.
Leaders are not incremental. They transform. They welcome
change and use change to keep on top of their industries.
14.
Leaders admit their mistakes. They know how blame casts
a fatal blow to morale and trust. They do not, however, gravel
and seek pity. They acknowledge, learn, and move on.
15.
Leaders are masters of observation. They listen, watch,
and detect what others overlook. They use the subtle cues
or observations to give them the upper hand when needed.
16.
Leaders institutionalize their values, visions, accomplishments
and strengths. They know how, through procedures and systems,
to filter their strengths through the organization.
17.
Leaders may leave physically, but not spiritually. Their
legacies live on long after they have exited their employment.
18.
Leaders don't hold hands, they shape their organizations through
shaping minds. They provide direction and guide. They
do not believe in making decisions for their key subordinate
right hands.
19.
Leaders give credit where credit is due. They acknowledge
and reward achievement and use the momentum from the accomplishments
to fuel further success in their followers.
20.
Leaders don't provide positions out of the goodness of their
hearts. They create positions and fill them based on the
objectives and the vision of the company.
21.
Leaders remain focused on the company missions and lead their
followers to do the same.
22.
Leaders are global thinkers. They don't underestimate
the power of the global economy. They constantly search for
ways in which they can expand or benefit upon the global and
they are keenly aware of the pitfalls of turning a blind eye
to the global business markets.
23.
Leaders know communication. They're savvy interpersonal
and technological communicators. They know the ins and outs
of dealing with various personalities as well as they know
how e-mail connects them to their front line staff.
24.
Leaders think outside the box, inside the box and all around
the box.
25.
Leaders are not afraid to take an unorthodox approach.
You'll never hear one say, "We don't/can't do it that way."
They go beyond the "That's the way we always do it" mentality
to the "That's the best way to do it."
26.
Leaders learn from leaders. They look to history, competitors
and mentors. They are not too proud to always learn from those
they admire.
27.
Leaders know that there is always something more to learn.
They are constantly feeding their minds. They know that the
key to progressive transformation is found in ideas. They
realize that success isn't going to happen. They have to seek
new ways in which to make it happen.
28.
Leaders give ownership when it is strategically advantageous
to do so. They give rewards and incentives, such as stock
options, in order to keep key employees. They understand that
rewards give birth to new successes.
29.
Leaders create teams to achieve goals. They know that
the meeting of two minds can develop opportunities that only
one mind may miss. They successfully manage the interactions
of their teams in order to meet desired ends.
30.
Leaders develop creative ways to cut through unnecessary bureaucracy
or eliminate hindering bureaucratic practices in order to
expedite vital activities.
31.
Leaders know that in order to keep pace and be innovative,
they need to educate and empower their staffs. They provide
training, education, and workshops to keep the minds they
lead in top, competitive shape.
32.
Leaders focus their people's efforts on the customer.
33.
Leaders understand that key employees are assets. They
are careful about who is hired and appointed, understanding
the ripple effects of putting the wrong people in the wrong
places. Gary DiCamillo, Polaroid's Chief Executive since 1995,
has suffered the woes of poor employee retention, losing key
people in sales and product development. It's reported that
most of these human resource assets were lost when DiCamillo
filled his executive vice-president position with Judith Boynton,
previous controller for Amoco. Key employees were baffled
by the appointment and lost faith in DiCamillo for putting,
what they thought, was an unqualified sub-leader in such a
high-ranking position. Polaroid steadily lost $166 million
since DiCamillo's reign, from 1995 through 2000. [Source:
Forbes 1-22-01 p. 69.]
34.
Leaders know how to eliminate the wrong people.
35.
Leaders are decisive.
36.
Leaders have the courage to live with their decisions.
37.
Leaders work it out when things go wrong. They face problems
head on and deal with the issues at hand quickly and effectively.
38.
Leaders charge forward with urgency.
39.
Leaders guard all assets that give them an edge. They
are careful to set in place confidentiality systems and to
properly license and trademark intellectual property, inventions
and groundbreaking concepts.
40.
Leaders know that even the greatest product is not enough.
Often criticized for not acting quickly enough to develop
spin-off products from its PT Cruiser, DaimlerChrysler recently
revealed concept cars based on the blockbuster success of
the PT Cruiser. Why? The market will always demand something
new, better, more versatile, etc. The GT Cruiser Concept has
a larger engine, the PT Cruiser Convertible Concept offers
a sporty, fun twist, and the Panel Cruiser Concept is offered
as a light cargo vehicle with its 119.8 cubic feet and wood
base floor. The original PT Cruiser is one of the most sought
out vehicles by buyers today; it's sold at full list price
and backordered for months at a time. DaimlerChrysler's possibilities
are endless. What are they doing with the product to renew
it, to increase demand, and to prepare to fill that demand?
Look at the list again. How can you better motivate your staff
to perform at higher levels? Do you see what might be slowing
down progress? What might you need to improve upon in your
quest to run uphill and seize the flags of victory? Chances
are you're doing a good job already. The question becomes,
what can you do to convert from good to great? Prosper and
enjoy!
UNCOVERING
HIDDEN PROFITS:
Amidst Those Who Just Don't Get It
The package you requested from engineering a week ago arrived
on schedule as requested. You can make the presentation in
confidence to the new prospects. Production is running smoothly
with minimal raw good shortages, it appears your decision
to hire a new purchasing agent was worth the investment. Your
colleague opens the envelope with the crucial documents you
had asked your assistant to get delivered. If business always
ran this smoothly, there would be a limited need for those
with problem solving abilities.
Business
is made of all sorts of profit centers, and when things are
running smoothly, you feel you can take that breather and
focus on your new products. But things don't always appear
to be what they really are. Supply chain, transportation and
distribution, logistics, or any other name you give to this
area, is a hidden gold mine of profits if watched carefully.
Let's take the examples above and offer 2 different backgrounds
for each event. You're likely to recognize these happenings
in one form or another in your firm.
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1A
Your package arrived from engineering, but it was shipped
yesterday via Next Day Air, because your request sat
on someone's desk for a week. The $5.50 Ground Service
package did not ship ground, not even 2nd or Next Day
Air afternoon delivery. The package was shipped via
overnight delivery for $202.00 using either a delivery
service or a commercial airliner.
1B.
Kenneth Miller of the Office Furniture Distribution
Association uncovered a firm where employees were shipping
packages Next Day Air to their co-workers in the building
next door: literally taking a package that would cost
pennies to deliver and increasing its cost 900%!
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2A.
Production needs raw goods to be waiting in queue/staging
in order to keep production moving. Purchasing quite
often orders full truck loads of goods, yet your shipping
numbers have jumped 74%. Taking a closer look, it appears
that frequently orders for truckloads priced at $1298.00
per load are followed by smaller orders costing $780-$876
per load meaning that purchasing adds additional orders
immediately after the shipping of the original order
requiring a pallet load to arrive by separate carrier.
2B.
The employees who control inventory are able to make
up for the shortages (created by the purchasing department
or by the production department's mistakes) by utilizing
a vendor down the street to fill inventory needs. When
a job goes bad or goods are missing, an employee can
jump in his/her car for the 20 minutes and pick up what
is needed. In some firms, this becomes a daily ritual.
Besides paying for the wasted time of the employee,
the goods are 75% more expensive due to order size,
and because the local vendor was a small player in the
industry.
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3A.
Your associate does not understand your shipping system
due to poor training. His response is to pass it on
to your transportation department saying...it's urgent.
Easy, efficient and job completed.
3B.
Workers within your company don't understand that shipping
firms have zones for distribution costs, classes for
types of goods shipped and estimated shipping times
for merchandise or documents. By the associate not understanding
the company's services, all packages are shipped air
while they could have been shipped Ground to reach their
destination. Supply chain is a bottom line profits part
of business activities. In most cases, incoming raw
materials or supplies or the shipping of marketing items,
engineering specs, contracts or other miscellaneous
items are not billable entities, meaning that for every
dollar you spend your firm must make that money up in
profits. If we were to relate this to a firm's financial
statement, for every $100 the firm sells, it might make
a 10% profit, or $10. If the package were to cost you
$3.00 to mail originally, that would have been built
into the $90.00 of expenses. Now by increasing the cost
to $12.00, the additional $9.00 must come from somewhere
and that is from the $10.00 your firm just made in saving.
This leaves the firm with $1.00's worth of profit on
$100. Not a good scenario.
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Management's
job is to control such spending. Some of it comes from just
sitting down and explaining how the supply chain system works
for your company so that better decisions are made. Setting
up systems is another method: such as charts, shipping bins,
envelope coding and work stations that produce predictable
reliable results. If one employee, just one, shipped one additional
envelope Next Day Air one time each week when the package
could have been shipped $10.00 less, you would have wasted
$520 per year. How much business do you have to do to make
a profit of $520? If this was your money utilized by your
finance department for investing in your 401K or IRA, imagine
what a difference that could make in the quality of your life
down the line!
In
a nutshell, there is a good chance that you have profits hiding
in obscure places within your firm. It is your job, as management,
to uncover the opportunities, educate your staff, and implement
systems that prevent waste from occurring in the first place.
In doing so, you roust those hidden profits out of obscurity
and utilize that money to grow and prosper.
_________________________________
David & Lorrie Goldsmith are founders
of the Syracuse based MetaMatrix Consulting Group Inc. Their
firm specializes in consulting, executive management education
and speaking services. They can be reached at 315-476-0510
888-777-8857 or emailed at dgoldsmith@davidgoldsmith.com
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