10 Basic Tips — Leadership For Business Profit

 

Dec. 21, 2011

In the new economy – a former Great Recession that seems to linger and linger – companies will succeed by being a leader in generating capital. Unfortunately, this economy has become a zero sum game for many businesses.

They stay alive by taking market share from their competitors, not by innovating. At some point to dominate the competition, it will be best to create new opportunities for growth.

This will only be accomplished if a company’s culture is positive and every employee acts as a team member. That requires leadership.

For a positive leadership quotient, here’s a quick checklist:

1. Budget time for “blue sky” planning. Imagine how the company can become a market leader.
2. Review your strategic mission and plan, set priorities and communicate them. The biggest single complaint that employers have mentioned to me – their employees fail to see the big picture. Find ways to communicate your values on a regular basis. Explain to employees how their roles contribute to your company’s overall success.
3. Make certain your supervisors know the differences between leaders and managers. Don’t be one of the companies ripe for EEOC complaints.
4. Be authentic. Be open in your communication, create a climate for honesty to deal with mistakes, and listen. Drive clarity and promote accountability. Position yourself to profit from employee respect.
5. Bring your employees together for collaboration. Invite them to contribute their perspectives. It’s amazing how many problems are solved and profits are created by listening to workers – where the “tire meets the road.”
6. Simplify processes. Nurture your employees. Understand their desires, passions and talents. Give them confidence to accept challenge and to reach their full potential. They will propel you and the company upward. Further, remember that there’s a definite link between financial performance and succession planning.
7. Create a fun environment. Keep focusing on the positive.
8. Keep yourself moving forward. Learn the 10 characteristics of a successful CEO.
9. Stretch and grow by understanding how and where you need to mature personally to become a Ninja innovator.
10. Keep fine-tuning your culture. Keep an open mind. Look for ways to evolve and innovate.

From the Coach’s Corner, here are 7 Tips for a young professional to become a CEO.

“No institution can possibly survive if it needs geniuses or supermen to manage it. It must be organized in such a way as to be able to get along under a leadership composed of average human beings.”

-Peter Drucker

 

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Columnist Terry Corbell is also a business-performance consultant and profit professional. Click here to see his management services (many are available online). For a complimentary chat about your business situation or to schedule Terry Corbell as a speaker, why don’t you contact him today?

Lessons for Education via Penn State, the Need to Hire a Real Coach

 

Nov. 11, 2011

So Penn State promises to learn the truth. That’s commendable for the 156-year-old school. It has to re-earn the confidence of non-football stakeholders. The horrific events indicate it’s time for Penn State and all universities to hire the right kind of coach.

Students and all of America deserve leadership role models. As it is, businesses are not satisfied with the productivity of higher education.

By now, you probably know the story. A former assistant coach, Jerry Sandusky, is accused of illicit behavior with boys as young as 10 during a 15-year period. Even worse, a grand jury learned that law enforcement was not contacted. Iconic coach Joe Paterno and the university’s president, Graham B. Spanier, were fired over questions on how they handled the issue.

We’re left with the impression the university was concerned with its reputation and winning football games at the expense of young boys.

Following the investigation into the root causes of the child sex abuse case against the school’s former assistant football coach, big changes are warranted. Only the right kind of coach will do.

It’s obvious big changes are needed at Penn State and at schools nationwide. Such abuse must end, and be replaced with honesty and integrity in athletic programs to restore trust.

Universities must rescind the power they give coaches, and stop paying them too much money.

The issues stem from money

Money was the catalyst for Penn State’s problems.

It’s indicative why tuition is out of reach for many deserving American kids. As a result, the onerous burdens of high student loans and predatory habits of some lenders are the No. 1 concern of this portal’s educated readers who can’t keep up their payments.

Over the years, in my interviews with university faculty members, I’ve learned firsthand how much resentment they have against athletic departments. Too much deference is given to athletic programs and the pay is astronomical.

In the Harvard Business Review, Andrew Zimbalist, a Smith College economics professor, revealed that some coaches are paid as much as 10 times more than university presidents. Fittingly, he proposes pay changes.

Ironically, money is the root cause, which will ostensibly haunt Penn State.

At risk: The school’s Aa1 bond rating by Moody’s Investors Service Inc. from the possibility of declining enrollment, decrease in donations, resulting civil lawsuits, criminal action, and tarnished academic image.

In addition, Bloomberg reported Six Advertisers Are Said to Drop Penn State Game on ESPN.

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Columnist Terry Corbell is also a business-performance consultant and profit professional. Click here to see his management services (many are available online). For a complimentary chat about your business situation or to schedule Terry Corbell as a speaker, why don’t you contact him today?

10 Key Differences between Leaders and Managers

 

Published reports in Google News are an eye-opener. If you Google “leadership crisis,” you’ll get about 9,000 search results for business and the public sector. If you enter the key words, “management crisis,” you’ll see close to 17,000 results. These figures can vary, but you get the idea.

Further queries underscore the need for growth in many professionals, but there seems to be some confusion in understanding the difference between leadership and management.

True, leaders can manage and managers can lead. Hopefully, managers can display leadership qualities. Conversely, leadership efforts can help in management.

But the news accounts show that some leaders don’t manage and many managers don’t provide leadership. So, my sense is that it’s possible to develop a balance sheet – there are basic differences between the two.

In essence, here’s the salient distinction: It boils down to how professionals inspire their staffs and other stakeholders.

Attributes of a leader:

1. Studies, and develops ideas and principles
2. Innovates
3. Resourceful and look for solutions to problems
4. Empathetic with a focus on people
5. Inspires trust among stakeholders
6. Understands the big picture
7. Superior listening skills
8. Challenges the state of affairs, and asks why and what can be improved
9. Looks for opportunities to develop strengths
10. Develops a following

Attributes of a manager:

1. Administrates
2. Accepts the status quo
3. Pragmatic in accepting trends and events, but goes no further
4. Focus is on control, structure and systems
5. Has a linear perspective – only follows what’s at the end of her/his nose
6. Asks a limited set of questions – just how or when?
7. Acts like a chameleon or imitator of other managers
8. Perceives threats
9. Minimizes weaknesses
10. Manages subordinates but has few, if any, devotees

From the Coach’s Corner, here are leadership resource links:

Leadership Strategies to Profit from Employee Respect

10 Characteristics of a Successful CEO

7 Tips for a Young Professional to Become a CEO

Link between Financial Performance and Succession Planning

U.K. Study about Leadership Provides Lessons for the U.S.

Career Strategies: How to Get a C-Level Job

How CIOs Can Get More Respect in the C-Suite

Five Attributes of Leadership Are Needed Now

“Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.”
-John F. Kennedy

 

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Columnist Terry Corbell is also a business-performance consultant and profit professional. Click here to see his management services (many are available online). For a complimentary chat about your business situation or to schedule Terry Corbell as a speaker, why don’t you contact him today?

 

Is your Company Ready to Capitalize on What Women Offer?

 

It’s obvious the current economic environment is here to stay, so it’s necessary to keep an open mind and rethink our processes. That includes taking full advantage of all opportunities.

“What else is new?” you ask. Good question. It’s important to leverage the potential in human capital.

Two McKinsey consultants addressed one important aspect in a 2011 study:  “Unlocking the full potential of women in the US economy.” Joanna Barsh is a director in McKinsey’s New York office and Lareina Yee is a principal in the San Francisco office.

It struck a chord with me, as I’ve written columns on related topics, including why Banks Have a Credibility Issue with Affluent Women; and I asked Are You Successful In Keeping Female Talent?

So I agree American business has not fully leveraged its assets.

The problem is many businesspeople don’t inherently take notice and capitalize on under-utilized assets unless they’re personally affected. I’ve said it many times – working moms have the toughest job of anybody, but they provide a bevy of important attributes. Personally, my antenna goes up whenever I see the potentiality of talent being ignored.

That goes for women in the macro economy.

“Indeed, the additional productive power of women entering the workforce from 1970 until today accounts for about a quarter of current GDP,” wrote Ms. Barsh. As the U.S. struggles to sustain historic GDP growth rates, it is critically important to bring more women into the workforce and fully deploy high-skill women to drive productivity improvement.”

Agreed.

Ms. Barsh listed the study’s objectives.

“McKinsey & Company undertook this research over the past three months to understand how women contribute to the U.S. economy; how their work benefits individual corporations; what prevents women from making greater contributions to their companies; and what approaches can help companies unlock the full potential of women,” she said.

“Despite the sincere efforts of major corporations, the proportion of women falls quickly as you look higher in the corporate hierarchy,” she asserted. Overall, this picture has not improved for years.”

That means, of course, there are missed opportunities despite all the progress in breaking down the glass-ceiling barriers.

So, according to the study, there’s a schism – women are increasingly ambitious as they leap from entry level jobs to mid-management. But again, the talent is being ignored.

Attitudes of entry-level women workers:

• 79 percent want a promotion to the next level
• 32 percent want a leadership role
• 16 percent has longtime career goals to become a leader

Aspirations of women in mid-management jobs:

• 83 percent want to be promoted
• 51 percent want a leadership role
• 31 percent has always dreamed of being a senior manager

The study indicates that women have multiple barriers:

• Lack of role models
• Exclusion from the informal networks
• Not having a sponsor in senior management

“Managers – male and female – continue to take viable female candidates out of the running, often on the assumption that the woman can’t handle certain jobs and also discharge family obligations,” wrote Ms. Barsh. “In our Centered Leadership research, we found that many women, too, hold limiting beliefs that stand in their own way – such as waiting to fill in more skills or just waiting to be asked.”

That’s why I lamented the demise of two women executives, Carol Bartz and Carly Fiorina in Business Management Lessons from Yahoo’s Demise and Are HP’s Board and New CEO Headed in Right Direction? These situations didn’t help the case for other women to assume leadership roles.

Ms. Barsh makes another good point: Culture change is needed.

“Our evidence points to the need for systemic, organizational change,” explained Ms. Barsh. ”Companies that aspire to achieve sustained diversity balance must choose to transform their cultures. Management needs a powerful reason to believe such as the potential competitive and economic advantage from retaining the best talent.”

Therefore, in view of the stagnant economic climate, let’s hope the right people read this column, and the McKinsey report: “How women can contribute more to the US economy.”

Further, a lot of companies would benefit from the 6 Steps to Implement a Cultural Change for Profits.

From the Coach’s Corner, as for advice to young women, here are 7 Tips for a Young Professional to Become a CEO. Be sure to take note of the column’s postscript about getting a mentor.

“If you want something said, ask a man; if you want something done, ask a woman.”

-Margaret Thatcher

 

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Columnist Terry Corbell is also a business-performance consultant and profit professional. Click here to see his management services (many are available online). For a complimentary chat about your business situation or to schedule Terry Corbell as a speaker, why don’t you contact him today?

Did Carol Bartz Use the Right Leadership Approach?

 

Feb. 7, 2012

Imagine, you’re at work and you suddenly get a boorish mass e-mail from the head of your company announcing she’s just been fired.

How would you feel? Would you respect the person sending such a message? Would you be confident in your company?

I don’t know about you, but I’d have a negative response to all three questions.

My perspective is three-fold: Early in my career, I worked in management, and found myself downsized. I’ve been an executive who decided to terminate employees. And now I’m a business-performance consultant who advises clients in human resources.

Yes, losing a job is painful. And, yes, it’s important to be transparent. But that doesn’t mean it’s OK to be crude in making such announcements.

That’s my assessment in the case of Carol Bartz.

When she was terminated as Yahool’s chief executive officer, published reports indicate she sent an e-mail blast to 13,400 employees. It read, “I’ve just been fired.”

It isn’t hard to believe. Her job ended just as the events unfolded in her tenure – chaotic. She’s one of the business management lessons from Yahoo’s demise.

Here’s why:

All Ms. Bartz accomplished in her message was to act unprofessionally capping an unproductive pattern of behavior, which had led to poor performance, and her eventual demise.

What she never seemed to understand was that she never understood Yahoo’s mission. In her case, it should have been all about building Yahoo to satisfy its users.

Now, she’s the second woman in the last six years to disrupt a major technology company. She didn’t learn from the lessons of Carly Fiorina, who misjudged Hewlett-Packard’s situation in the marketplace.

She came across as brash and ostentatious, too. Ms. Fiorina never should have tried to force the merger with Compaq. The cultures at the two companies were too different. Some 17,000 workers lost their jobs unnecessarily. And HP, my favorite printer company, still hasn’t found its way.

At least when Ms. Fiorina was terminated in 2005, she publicly indicated she respected the decision. In my view, that was her most stately act as head of HP.

But Ms. Bartz’s e-mail blast came across as angry, egotistical and manipulative. All Ms. Bartz accomplished was to continue an unproductive pattern of behavior, which led to poor performance, and an eventual demise. Her salty language more suitable at a football game.

Leaders might be confident in their abilities, but they evaluate their performance on a regular basis. They make corrections when necessary. But they don’t continue as if everything is good when it isn’t. They don’t consistently make brash statements. And don’t fail to take responsibility for setbacks in the marketplace.

Aside from her career, her crass announcement has at least two ramifications:

1. She’s hindering Yahoo’s future.
2. She’s sending an emotional message that makes it more difficult for women business leaders to break through the glass ceiling.

Unfortunately, for Yahoo stakeholders, Ms. Bartz was simply an example of the Peter Principle. She rose to her level of incompetence. The job was simply too challenging for her. But she didn’t have to make the situation worse. That’s not what leaders do.

From the Coach’s Corner, other editor’s picks:

Leadership, HR, Marketing Lessons from HP’s Executive Turmoil

If Mergers & Acquisitions Tempt You, Consult HR Pros

“Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.”

-Peter Drucker 

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Terry Corbell is a business-performance consultant and profit professional. Click here to see his management services (many are available online). For a complimentary chat about your business situation or to schedule Terry Corbell as a speaker, why don’t you contact him today?

 

20 Tell-Tale Signs – If You’re Under-Performing as a Manager

 

Whether new or experienced, managers can often struggle. Poor management, of course, leads to poor performance.

As red flags, under-performing managers share one of two common traits with ineffective employees. Such managers aren’t fully aware of their shortcomings. Even if they are aware of deficiencies, they’re afraid to admit it.

Either way, nothing is done about the shortcomings. Accountability suffers. There are 20 typical warning signs.

Here’s a list of questions – 20 tell-tale signs – if you’re under-performing as a manager:

1. Is your department underperforming? It can be attributed to ineffective management.
2. Are you getting positive performance reviews from your boss? If not, that’s an indicator.
3. Do you have a strong image ? If you don’t enjoy employee loyalty or if peers are snubbing you, those are omens.
4. Are you a stress carrier? Whether its personal stress caused by conditions at home or career challenges, it can adversely affect your work relationships.
5. Do you engage in self-doubt? Weak decisions prompt actions leading to poor results.
6. Do your employees communicate well with you? Sometimes employees are distant because they’re unhappy with your style.
7. Are you careful to surround yourself with great employees? You don’t want a lot of yes-people. You want thinkers who will take ownership of their work.
8. Are you clear with your expectations of employee performance? If you’re nebulous in day-to-day interactions, instructions or in formal reviews, employees won’t deliver.
9. Do you make good investment for short-term and long-term success? Whether it’s technology or human resources training, good managers take productive steps and make insightful investments.
10. Are you a go-to person? Does your boss look to you for solutions and projects, or are you overlooked? This means you’re not viewed as being a valuable resource.
11. Are you open-minded? Do you step outside your comfort zone? This means being able to be innovative and assertive, and you don’t settle for mediocrity.
12. Are you a big-picture manager with strong potential for the C-suite? A manager who is good CEO-material has knowledge and ability in all areas of the business, not necessarily a doctorate-level expertise in any particular segment of the business.
13. Are you constantly looking for ways to improve? The best managers are voracious readers, and look for sources of good ideas and processes.
14. Do you instill a customer-focused organization? Task-oriented managers who are not focused on customer needs will not maximize profits.
15. Do you meet goals? If goals aren’t being met – whether it’s your department or your individual employees – performance will not been enhanced.
16. Do you have weak links on your team? It’s possible to have high-performing workers, but prima donnas are a liability if they don’t work well with others.
17. Are you ensuring company policies and values are upheld? If not the culture will be endangered and profits will suffer.
18. Are you on top of budgetary matters? In this business climate, it’s imperative to have a clear view of your department or company finances.
19. Do you regularly assess your business strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats? This is crucial for goal-setting and strategic planning.
20. Do you recognize employee and company success? Celebrations are good for everyone’s morale.

From the Coach’s Corner, for effective management, here are more resource links:

Leadership Strategies to Profit from Employee Respect

Human Resources – Power Your Brand with Employee Empowerment

Management Best-Practices Include Solid Operations Checklists

21 Quick Tips to Avoid the Dark Side of Management

“The best executive is the one who has sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants done, and self-restraint enough to keep from meddling with them while they do it.”

-Theodore Roosevelt

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Terry Corbell is a business-performance consultant and profit professional. Click here to see his management services (many are available online). For a complementary chat about your business situation or to schedule Terry Corbell as a speaker, why don’t you contact him today?

Senate Leadership: Kerry, McCain with Sensible Do-Not-Track

 

April 16, 2011

 

A lost art in leadership has come to the rescue of marketers and consumers, alike.

Long ago, it was a pleasure to watch politically opposite leaders – President Ronald
Reagan and House Speaker Tip O’Neil – work congenially. The focus was on
principles, not personalities. Another example from Congress and the Presidency was Gerald Ford.

Yes, I met all of them. As a young broadcast journalist, I separately interviewed Mr. Reagan before he became president, Mr. O’Neil when he was Speaker of the House, and I broke the story nationwide about Mr. Ford’s plans after leaving the White House.

They were indeed leaders. After meeting them, political compromise was naturally taken for granted. Since then, however, it seems to be a lost art.

However, we experienced a joyful return to yester-year after the bipartisan bill entitled, Commercial Bill of Rights, was introduced by Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.).

By way of explanation, changes in commerce and the Internet have led to debate.

Admittedly, as a consumer, online privacy is a concern. Trust is important. Consumers have a basic right to protect themselves against predators.

Conversely, my marketing side has been concerned by over-reaching of consumer advocacy groups in discussions over do-not-track legislation. Marketers have understandably been worried about the loss of visitors’ data. That is, until now.

(Disclosure: Visitors data is used for data to make this business portal as relevant as possible. It indicates which columns are popular and those that aren’t, and from where visitors come and how long they spend here. Tracking makes it possible for advertising to be inserted adjacent to certain content that interests users. By using key words, readers are able to find helpful information and insights.)

But the Kerry-McCain bill is a cavalry of sorts coming to our rescue. It requires a code of conduct, but do-not-track legislation is excluded. In this digital age, much of the economy depends on it.

“Americans have a right to decide how their information is collected, used, and distributed, and businesses deserve the certainty that comes with clear guidelines,” said Sen. Kerry.

“Our bill makes fair information practices the rules of the road, gives Americans the assurance that their personal information is secure, and allows our information-driven economy to continue to thrive in today’s global market,” he added.

In general, here are the bill’s basic components:

• Accountability and security – marketers must use security
  measures for data.
• Access, consent, correction and notice of information – clear notice must be given to consumers as well as their right to opt-out.
• Constraints on data – Marketers are restricted on the data they collect to enable transactions or to provide services.
• Enforcement will be provided by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Attorneys General in each state.
• The FTC will be allowed to approve programs by nongovernment organizations to monitor initiatives providing safe harbors or protections.
• The Department of Commerce will help coordinate safe harbor applications for privacy and sharing of information.

Sounds good. Let’s get it done, and encourage more bipartisan leadership!

From the Coach’s Corner, here are two resource links:

Five Attributes of LeadershipAre Needed Now

Here’s the video of the senators’press conference.

 

Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine.

— Robert C. Gallagher

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For a complementary chat about your situation or to schedule Terry Corbell as a speaker, why don’t you contact him today?

 

 

Planning – Need a Game Changer? Ford, Seahawks Are Good Case Studies

 

If your business is performing in a mediocre fashion, chances are your company needs an overhaul. A culture change, if you will. For positive case studies in change-management for a game changer, take your pick – either Ford or the Seattle Seahawks will suffice. Such best-practices in cultural change-management work for nonprofits, too.

Game-changing requires an assertive, strong administrator, especially because all such organizations go through humbling experiences. Strong visionaries know how to profit from ego-destroying events.  Effective managers have been the catalyst for Ford and the Seahawks.

First, let’s consider one of the salient Ford headlines, such as: “Ford Makes Comeback From the Brink to Billion-Dollar Profit.

Actually, Ford’s fortunes began to improve when it looked outside the carmaker for solutions to its challenges. The automaker recruited Alan R. Mulally from Boeing.

The irony is that Mr. Mulally had his own ups and downs, of sorts. He had been bypassed twice by Boeing for the CEO’s job. But he was able to put his full talents to work at Ford. 

Not to oversimplify, Mr. Mulally has notably installed a competitive, sustainable business model. He simplified production processes. Managers, in effect, were told to change their perspective on change. He inspired a positive balance sheet by taking strategic steps on Ford’s cash flow. 

Unlike Chrysler and General Motors, he didn’t seek a government bailout. This meant Ford was able to focus on being proactive, for example, development of new vehicles – cars consumers would buy. Ford would not be hamstrung by bailout cash-flow constraints. Chrysler and GM became beholden to the government – bureaucrats called the shots. Ford didn’t have to resort to discounting and incentives to attract car buyers.

Ford’s brand image skyrocketed as Chrysler and GM suffered from poor images – they were only able to survive with the help of bailouts and bankruptcies.

In other words, Ford’s success was summed up by this headline: “Ford Says Culture Change Has Led to Success.”

Seahawk lessons

So why are the Seahawks a good case study? For starters, let’s consider the headlines, such as: “Seahawks stun defending champion Saints.” There were more than 2,800 such headlines on the Internet referring to the Seahawks upsetting New Orleans, 41-36, in the first round of the National Football League playoffs in the 2010 season.

Just as Ford’s comeback was launched when Ford hired Mr. Mulally, the Seahawk comeback started when owner Paul Allen hired Pete Carroll as head coach. Mr. Allen has a good eye for talent.

Previous, Mr. Allen astutely hired Green Bay Packers Head Coach Mike Holmgren. Among his many accomplishments, Mr. Holmgren won at Green Bay, and he’s credited with the development of quarterbacks Steve Young and Brett Favre.

The management mistake, however, was that Mr. Allen installed Mr. Holmgren as both his executive vice president/general manager and head coach. As a Biz Coach, I wrote then that Mr. Holmgren couldn’t adequately handle executive and coaching responsibilities – a classic case of the Peter Principle – people rise to their level of incompetence. Mr. Holmgren is very talented in coaching and developing quarterbacks, but being an entrepreneurial chief executive requires much-different skill sets.

It’s not just a matter of knowing football. Many businesspeople make the same mistake. They only consider hiring people from their industries without regard for all the necessary skill sets. Mr. Mulally didn’t have automotive experience, but his management and manufacturing skills were transferrable from the aircraft industry. Simplly put, solid business principles are applicable in all industries.

It wasn’t until Mr. Allen removed the executive chores from Mr. Holmgren that the Seahawks finally made it to the Super Bowl in 2005 to play the Pittsburg Steelers. Only bad officiating kept the Seahawks from being world champs.

Meantime, Mr. Holmgren appears to be making the same mistakes. He’s been president of the Cleveland Browns since late 2009. Press reports indicate Mr. Holmgren is searching for a new head coach, and may consider being the team’s coach, too.

Mr. Carroll’s initial 7-9 season was judged to be lackluster, at best. But all was forgotten when his team, a 10-point underdog, upset the New Orleans Saints in the first-round of the playoffs. Most fans consider the game to be one of the biggest playoff upsets of all time.

True, I’m located in the Seattle area, but my Biz Coach sense is that the Seahawks are the most-dangerous team in the playoffs. Why? They continue to evolve and will continue to be under-rated, even though the playoffs are, in reality, a new season.

It’s obvious Mr. Carroll, like Mr. Mulally at Ford, has adroitly installed a change in the team’s culture. With the general manager, John Schneider, Mr. Carroll has overseen 275 roster changes on the 53-man squad.

Despite his sub-.500 2010 record, Mr. Carroll is not embarrassed and motivated his team to great heights. Twice, the Seahawks trailed the Saints by 10 points but didn’t give up and stayed with a resourceful game plan. They put 41 points on the board against a superb defensive team.

Not to overlook everyone’s play, among the highlights: Matt Hasselbeck, a 12-year veteran, had his first four-touchdown playoff game. To ice the game Marshawn Lynch delivered the team’s first 100-yard game this season in breaking eight tackles in his miraculous 67-yard touchdown.  

Much has been written about the cacophony of the Seahawks’ twelfth man – their raucous hometown fans at Qwest Field. But guess who motivated the fans in the week leading to the playoff game?

Mr. Carroll made good use of his Twitter account (or at least his representative did) in inspiring fans to be loud and vocal at the game. His boyish enthusiasm is fun. Mr. Carroll’s attitude is contagious and worth catching.

Such passion begins with enlightened management. That’s what I’d call Messrs. Mullaly and Carroll.

Steps to success

Here are the basic ingredients for a business game-changer:

Management – True leaders are strong, knowledgeable, and manage risks. They oversee all fundamentals but delegate – finance, marketing, operations, product management and customer service. Executives must also have a team spirit – an environment of collaboration.

Vision – Top managers possess skills in analyzing their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats in strategic planning. They avoid complacency and must continually fine-tune the company when appropriate. That means habitually practicing the Principle of Contrary Action, which is a process of learning how to keep an open mind.

Focus – Managers must outline their master plan, stay focused and inspire the staff – the frontline responders to the marketplace – where the proverbial tire meets the road. Nothing great has ever been accomplished without enthusiasm and passion.

Best Practices – Senior management must inspire best practices for quality in all areas. Creating value is job one.

Mobility and flexibility –The 21st century marketplace requires quickness and mobility. This also means empowering all workers in decision-making and in being proactive.

Listening skills – Effective managers are approachable. In a proverbial sense, they walk the floor twice a day to interface with their employees. They hire managers and staff members who, too, are effective in listening skills. That’s the first step for a motivated staff and creating profits. Without even looking at financials, an astute outside participant will always be able to ascertain the success potenial of a company merely by watching the interactions between management and staff.

Communication – Good, open communication is required internally with the team members and with the customers and marketplace. In this way, you’ll take great steps in inspiring loyalty from customers.

From the Coach’s Corner, here are related topics:

Solutions to Rejuvenate Yourself and Business

Leadership, HR, Marketing Lessons from HP’s Executive Turmoil

How to Get Results from Your HR Training Investment

Business Got You Down? Tips for a Morale Boost

Leadership Strategies to Profit from Employee Respect

Leadership, HR, Marketing Lessons from HP’s Executive Turmoil

 

Updated – Dec. 31, 2011

A court ruling puts former Hewlett-Packard CEO Mark Hurd and the company’sproblems back in the spotlight.

That means HP CEO Meg Whitman will find it advantageous to solve three salient corporate issues – long after the sudden exit of Mr. Hurd. At issue, are perceived quagmires in leadership, human resources and marketing.

Mr. Hurd was widely credited for HP’s recent success. But his forced resignation over a sexual harassment case and inconsistent expense-account reports is the company’s third tumultuous event involving key executives in just five years. Analysts were unimpressed with his lack of vision.

His accuser, Jodie Fisher, a 50-year-old actress and former reality television contestant who was hired has a marketing consultant, introduced him to key customers and kept him company. She said she was sorry he lost his job.

Especially, this week since a court approved publication of a letter sent by Ms. Fisher’s attorney, Gloria Allred, to Mr. Hurd – the letter detailed his alleged sexual advances toward Ms. Fisher.

For example:

“At times you would behave professionally seemingly ‘getting’ that she was not going to have sex with you,” wrote Ms. Allred. “At other times, not, and you would relentlessly attempt to cajole her into having sex with you.”

The first unsavory HP event, of course, was the 2005 firing of CEO Carly Fiorina following her lack of financial success and her questionable, contentious merger with Compaq resulting in heavy layoffs.

Then, there was the 2006 controversy surrounding Patricia Dunn, who as chair of the board, hired firms that used illegal methods to try to stop leaks of proprietary HP information to reporters.

So, it’s not surprising that published reports indicate employees now have huge morale issues after Mr. Hurd’s tenure.

Ms. Whitman will need substantial leadership skills because HP still has to improve the employee morale and marketplace position.

HP’s share price plummeted by 10 percent in just the first day after Mr. Hurd’s firing. It fell another 8.4 percent the following Monday to a 52-week low. Obviously, many investors are nervous. On Friday’s close, the share price was $25.76.

Certainly, employees feel betrayed. Improving employee morale necessitates a strong internal communications program with empathy and appreciation for the employees’ contributions to the company. Certainly, from the C-suite on down, HP’s HR and training initiatives are being tested.

It might seem like a bit of a stretch, but the marketing should tout the rich, storied legacy of the company’s origins in a garage. That’s what occurred to me after being reminded that Americans love an underdog following release of a 2010 study by the Simmons School of Management in Boston.

“Across contexts, cultures, and time periods, underdog narratives have inspired people,” according to the study co-authored by the school’s Jill Avery. “Stories about underdogs are pervasive in sports, politics, religion, literature, and film.”

In using the term, credibility, she implied in an interview with BusinessNewsDaily that trustworthiness and integrity are salient principles to inspire customers to buy.

“Underdog brand biographies contain two important narrative components: a disadvantaged position versus an adversary and passion and determination to beat the odds,” wrote the study’s authors.

In addition to Dr. Avery, the authors include Neeru Paharia and Anat Keinan of Harvard University, and Juliet B. Schor of Boston College.

They found that the respondents identified with underdog brands and were more likely to buy them.

“The American Dream, the fabled American myth, is built on the stories of underdogs who came to the United States with virtually nothing and pulled themselves up from their bootstraps to achieve success,” wrote the authors.

When the study of products that included the branding term, underdog, they were preferred in 89 percent of the cases by participants. Companies with a humble history are very appealing to consumers.

In fact, as a reward for participating in the study, respondents were given their choice of a chocolate bar. Seventy-one percent chose the underdog candy bar.

Meantime, to be fair — HP makes great products. My firm has had numerous laser printers; both black and white, and color. Some have only lasted a year or two. But two of the most reliable are the discontinued HP LaserJet 4P model printers from the early 1990s. They’ve produced reams upon reams of quality documents without fail. Sadly, they were finally mothballed in 2011 when it the drivers were no longer available for updated computers.

Let’s hope HP finally gets this leadership problem corrected. It’s past time for inspiration and vision for success with customers.

Related link: Are HP’s Board and New CEO Headed in Right Direction?

From the Coach’s Corner, if you have customer loyalty issues, don’t worry because you’re not alone: Bank Woes Provide Lessons for All Companies Seeking Growth.

“Leadership is solving problems. The day soldiers stop bringing you their problems is the day you have stopped leading them. They have either lost confidence that you can help or concluded you do not care. Either case is a failure of leadership.”

-Colin Powell

 

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Columnist Terry Corbell is also a business-performance consultant and profit professional. Click here to see his management services (many are available online). For a complementary chat about your business situation or to schedule Terry Corbell as a speaker, why don’t you contact him today?

 

Management — Why It’s a Mistake to Overlook Succession Planning

Updated May 22, 2011

 

First, it was Bank of America. Then, a second major financial institution exhibited questionable management. Both are examples of dubious succession planning, and investor and customer relations.

You might recall HSBC CEO Michael Geoghegan threatened to quit  if he wasn’t named chairman. His widely publicized threat didn’t work. Instead, HSBC named Stuart Gulliver CEO, replacing Mr. Geoghegan, who retired at the end of 2010. Mr. Gulliver had been in charge of HSBC’s investment banking operations.

Bank of America’s situation was different. But it also is among many businesses teaching us valuable lessons about management. From the stakeholders’ point-of-view, B of A took an exasperating long time to name a new CEO. The delay suggested that the B of A board and outgoing CEO Ken Lewis bungled by not succession planning.

Critics point out the significance of the job and why it’s important for a new CEO to get a running start.

But Brian Moynihan walked into his new position facing a barrage of problems: The investigation into B of A’s acquisition of Merrill Lynch, friction with regulators, opponents in Congress who have questioned his leadership, and cultural issues within the company. He was able to created favorable buzz with small business.

Succession planning should be an ongoing strategic process. It’s vital for identifying talent and building a reserve bench for development. However, delays in succession planning result in a perceived lack of competence – image problems in the marketplace, among shareholders and internally with employees.

To empower shareholders as a policy matter, the Securities and Exchange Commission issued a nonbinding legal bulletin calling for transparency in management succession.

So it isn’t surprising that activist shareholders are going after the likes of B of A, American Express and Whole Foods regarding their succession plans. That includes the 500,000 member Laborers’ International Union of North America. The union is targeting 14 companies and asking them to disclose their succession plans in detail.

More than 1,ooo executives admit their problems with succession planning, according to a study by search firm Egon Zehnder International. It showed none of the responding executives believe they’re good at succession planning. Forty-seven percent admit being mediocre in the process of succession planning and 53 percent disclose their ineffectiveness.

“The global financial crisis has resulted in high CEO turnover. This fact combined with the recent SEC announcement that would allow shareholders to challenge the Board to disclose more information about plans for CEO succession, makes developing a succession plan even more critical,” says George L. Davis, Jr., an executive at Egon Zehnder International.

Responding were 1,092 senior executives in every business sector from a total of nine nations.

While the situation is untenable in the U.S., it’s worse overseas. Seventy-one percent of UK responders believe they’re just so-so in succession planning while 80 percent of French executives say they are unsuccessful.

But it isn’t bleak everywhere abroad. Fifty-seven percent in India believe they’re doing well. Seventy percent in Germany say they’re successful.

For small family businesses, succession planning is complicated by the federal estate tax. Also derisively called the death tax, it’s 45 percent after a $3.5 million threshold on heirs of family estates. The tax wasn’t imposed in 2010, but was scheduled to return in 2011.

Not to mention the time-consuming preparation for a business owner who is advanced in age, the estate tax is a nightmare for family businesses with considerable land, such as farms, or manufacturing equipment.

The tax jeopardizes the business. Because of cash flow, many heirs have to sell company assets to pay the tax.

Yes, some business owners incrementally transfer assets before their passing to avoid the harsh tax. But often some find they lose control of the business to their heirs while they’re still alive.

So don’t emulate B of A. You can do better in succession planning. And yes, it’s important in the public sector and nonprofits.

Some small business owners erroneously believe a will constitutes a succession plan. Not true. They’re not the same thing.

New businesses don’t need a succession plan. They should start thinking about a succession plan when the business starts to grow in value.

Professional guidance should be obtained.

Not to oversimplify, every case is different but here some basic elements to consider:

• If children are involved, first learn if it’s feasible for them to be involved in the family business.
• Get a sense from every family member regarding the business’ future.
• Give summer jobs to children that will expose them to all areas of the business. Not all kids are interested in eventually taking over. That’s disappointing to parents, but the sooner they know the better.
• If you have a partnership, you’ll need to draft a buy/sell document that includes an agreement on the business’ value so one partner can buy from the other. A shareholder agreement is customary for corporations.
• A vision for the business will be needed in case of death. To be decided – what should happen to the business and who will own the firm whether it’s a family member or partner. If the heir is not a relative but there are family members involved, an instrument should be devised in case the partner will buy out the shares of the surviving family members.
• After developing an agreement on the succession plan, then decide on insurance matters for liquidity purposes.
• Review the succession plan on a regular basis and update it as needed.

Finally, a word of caution: More than 90 percent of family businesses typically don’t succeed past the second generation.

Weak management is often the reason why inherited businesses do not succeed. And unless the children invest or buy the business from their parents, it usually doesn’t work. It’s often better if they don’t receive the business as a gift.

Not to be cruel, but the heirs simply don’t have the passion or ability to manage a business founded by their parents.

From the Coach’s Corner, here are related resources on management:

21 Quick Tips to Avoid the Dark Side of Management

Human Resources – Slow Motion Gets You There Faster

“Management must manage!”

-Harold S. Geneen

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Terry Corbell is a business-performance consultant and profit professional.  Click here to see his management services (many are available online).  For a complementary chat about your business situation or to schedule Terry Corbell as a speaker, why don’t you contact him today?

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