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Archive for December, 2011
Find a Leader . . And Listen. My conversation with Jeno Paulucci
Like many people, in the next month I plan to tackle the biography of Steve Jobs. I like reading about interesting people, especially leaders. While we learn by doing, slowing down to learn here and there is one of the key things leaders can do to raise their own performance. But do not forget the living biographies that are around us. Here is my story of pausing to hear a living biography.
Jeno Paulucci died Nov.25th at the age of 93.
I met Jeno in 1999 when I went to Duluth, MN to run Grandma’s Marathon. When I planned the trip I thought of Jeno because my Grandfather had talked about him years before. The family story was that my grandfather, as the dean of Hibbing Junior College, had convinced Jeno to stay in college. He went on to become the second most famous person to come out of Hibbing, Minnesota (behind Bob Dylan – aka: Bobby Zimmerman). The highlights of his business career:
- Founded Chun King – sold it to RJ Reynolds for $62M
- Founded Jeno’s Pizza Rolls – sold to Pillsbury for $135M (rebranded to Totino’s)
*if you want more his Wikipedia page has more details
I wrote Jeno a note, and he answered with a handwritten note to accept my offer, so I setup a meeting. He met a friend and I for a couple hours and we talked about his memories of my grandfather, why he started his business, his current business (Michelina’s pasta), and life stuff. The line I most remember was him sharing a decision point he had as to whether to sell Michelina’s in his 70′s or keep it. He went home and told his wife that he thought he should sell it so he could spend more time with her. Her response was “Jeno, if the only reason you are selling it is to spend more time with me then keep it. Having you around every day, all the time, will drive me crazy.” He decided to keep the business. 
Jeno and I - Grandma's Marathon 1999
The other thing that struck me about Jeno was that his office was very plain and he was very normal. He knew my grandfather and made time for me to just talk, and the conversation was very easy. When I met him at the end of the marathon he ordered me to go get my jacket so I would not get cold. He was kind of bossy.
Often times the holidays puts us in rooms with people that we do not know that well, and much of the time is spent figuring out how to escape. When I see a room full of people I see it as a kind of a library of biographies. Storied that can be heard by asking things like: Where they lived? Where they grew up / went to college / worked? What were some highlights from past jobs / holidays / vacations? Who is the most famous person they have ever met?
I never talked to Jeno after 1999. The one thing about his obituary that caught me eye was the piece about his wife. She died 5 days before Jeno. Apparently she must have been pretty important to him. Go figure.
trU Tips #16a – One on Ones and Leadership
Since you are my faithful readers that want to engage with me daily/weekly to talk about leadership – both of groups and self, with a splash of developing culture in organizations, I thought I would add some thoughts that did not make it past the 430 word trU Tip limit. (here is a link to trU Tip 16 if you missed it).
There are three things that are critical to making a One on One really work:
1. What is my job? I am still surprised how hard it is for people to define this. The list is either really long and detailed, or so generic that it would be impossible to use to recruit a new candidate or help with guidance/accountability for anyone in their job. My goal over the next couple months is to create a tool to help people do this – - – if you have any input or want to help let me know. I think it could be very cool, but maybe a bit scary to unleash a bunch of people with a clear sense of purpose or asking for just a little leadership from their manager. More to come . . . .
2. NEVER, NEVER, NEVER, NEVER Reschedule: This might be impossible, but can we all agree on one thing – it is important that people Trust you as their leader, right? In Covey’s book, The Speed of Trust, he makes the point that People judge themselves based on their intent, and judge others based on their actions.
Here is a scenerio: Leader tells everyone in a staff meeting how important they are and he/she will start doing one on ones to make sure they are getting support they need and any issues/changes that are happening get clarified quickly. In first six meetings, three get cancelled. Leader thinks: We are doing one on ones just like the book! I really care about my people. People think: He/She said it was important, but must not think it is that important. Just another example of . . . . .
3. Make it a Followership tool: Remember the ownership of this conversation rests with the individual, not the leader. The leader’s job is to: 1) Show up 2) Follow-up (on commitments) 3) NOT Gobble up time (ie. show some restraint from making their agenda the most important.
Recently I was talking to a leader that was kicking off an organization wide effort to help managers become coaches for their people. The barrier I saw - they had no habit around one on ones and generally people did not have enough clarity in their roles to ask for help. If they had this form/habit, their vision has a chance to be real. Without this form/habit, it will be still be great training, but as for the ROI . . .
If you were going to add one thing to my list or one piece to my one on one form what would it be?
Who Wants to be CEO?
In over a decade of helping leaders develop themselves and their people I have developed a secret question. It is probably the most impactful thing out of my mouth as I listen to the processess that are in place and the dreams/frustrations of senior leaders as they try to get the right people in place to make their business plans a reality. (aka: talent management)
Ready? Here it is . . . .
So what was their input on specific development needs and career goals?
I do not promote performance evaluations, career plans, or development plans – - I promote performance conversations, career conversations, and development conversations. The plan piece is the outcome that promotes ownership, supportive commitments, and ultimately the buzzword of the year for 2011 – accountability. In many ways, the plan is the easy part.
Yesterday I went to a Family Business Alliance event and listened to an executive from White Castle, Jamie Richardson, speak about their family business and share some great stories around everything from preserving culture to being a key small business voice in the healthcare debate. (fyi: the Harold and Kumar movie was NOT their idea. You have to love having people do movies about your product ) When asked about how the nine 3rd generation leaders approached the question of “Who wants to be CEO?”, he said they did two things:
- Gave each a 360 and, as a group, shared the results and explored strengths, weaknesses, and needs together.
- Asked each the question “Do you want to be CEO?”
In the end, two people answered yes, so the process continues. This is one of those processes that is not easy, but it is simple.
Great talent management processes are well designed, well communicated, and have to be understood by the participants.
AND . . . . Don’t forget to put most of your effort into making it a conversation.
My Top Shelf – Books that I love
Everyone should have a top shelf – the one you share with people at work when they ask for a reading recommendation. A few caveats on my list:
- I generally only recommend books <200 pages, with a few exceptions. (I favor authors who have mastered clarity, passion, and brevity)
- These are around business and/or personal development books.
- I will explain any selection, but not apologize or argue about it. It is my shelf – so build your own if you disagree.
- I do not loan these out, but will often buy people a copy. They are marked up and I would hate to lose them.
It has expanded over the years, but my general rule is that the number has to be limited. Now to add one I have to take one off. I had a shelf with about 8 books for many years, then I got a bigger shelf.
Here is my top shelf:
(they are in no particular order – but left to right in the picture)
- The Mindful Coach – Doug Silsbee
- Co-Active Coaching – Whitworth/Kimsey-House, Sandahl
- Sway – Ori/Ram Brafman
- Outliers – Malcolm Gladwell
- All Things New, A Fable of Renewal – Rodger Price
- Confessions of a Public Speaker – Scott Berkun
- Good to Great – Jim Collins
- First, Break all the Rules – Marcus Buckingham/Curt Coffman
- Fierce Conversations – Susan Scott
- Linchpin – Seth Godin
- Strengthsfinder 2.0 – Tom Rath
- How Full is Your Bucket – Tom Rath/Don Clifton
- Mastering the Rockefeller Habits – Verne Harnish
- Drive – Daniel Pink
- One Minute Manager – Ken Blanchard/Spencer Johnson
- For Men Only – Shaunti and Jeff Feldhahn
- Mastery – George Leonard
- Let Your Life Speak – Parker Palmer
- Rework – Jason Fried/David Heinemeier Hansson
- The Five Dysfunctions of a Team – Patrick Lencioni
- Death By Meeting – Patrick Lencioni
- The Will of God As A Way of Life – Gerald Sittser
- Season of Life – Jeffrey Marx
- The Servant – James Hunter
- Who Moved My Cheese – Spencer Johnson
- Into The Wild – Jon Krakauer
- HalfTime – Bob Buford
- Tribes – Seth Godin
- The Five People You Meet In Heaven – Mitch Albom
- Jonathan Livingston Seagull – Richard Bach
- Do the Work – Steve Pressfield
Some are great books, and some have achieved significance for other reasons. In the end, I will recommend other books on occassion, but I love these selections. In addition, I also have 2-3 Harvard Business Review articles I love for people not having time to read.
Looking for a good question to ask your new leader? What two books stand out in your mind as great? (might be a good idea to read them – it will often explain how they think and what they value)
Submit a question to this posting if you want a more detailed explanation on any of these selections.
Leader/Manager as Culture Builder
I have been asked to read and review David C. Baker’s new book Managing Right: For The First Time. I write in books. I circle, highlight, and dog ear pages I want to return to. This posting is based on one of those pages. **Special Offer for my blog readers: If you are interested in reading this book yourself, the publisher has given me 10 copies to give to my readership. I liked the book because of the simple wisdom it shares and how it fits nicely into a mentor/mentee or group study. Email me if you want a copy – scott@thetrugroup.com.
Manager = Culture Builder (from Chapter 15: Creating and Sustaining Culture)
I can hear it now – “You want me to worry about culture? I am a manager trying to keep my head above water learning the job and reacting to all the change above me and below me, and now you tell me I am a culture builder?”
Culture is the sum total of all your choices - this statement from David Baker caught my eye because it is simple and scary. It reminds us that everything we do contributes to the environment (culture) we create. A lot to digest, so let’s focus in on one thing that Baker calls out in his list “Enemies of Culture”.
The first enemy of culture for you as the leader is the technically proficient or very capable jerk. I love the blunt language. There should be a name for the person who uses their knowledge to elevate themselves and to step on others. Jerk fits.
I have learned to ask certain questions when receiving the “They are really smart but everyone hates them. Can you help?” call. The first question is “Why do you want to keep them?” I have to hear a compelling reason and a strong commitment from the leader or it is not worth my time. I know from experience that 80+% of the people that are stepping on people do not know it, and when they get hit with that information they will need to see some extremely strong support to help them be successful or it will not work.
Action: Here is a template I published for a performance conversation that makes it next to impossible to side step this situation as a leader. Every performance conversation needs to be very explicit around: 1) What you do on your job and 2) How you do it (ie: culture). This enemy should receive high marks for being smart, and a substantially below standards for being mean.
I can here the reaction now. Scott – it is not that easy.
Just to let you know, I did not say it was easy, but I feel very comfortable saying it is that simple. Remember, as a leader the Culture is the sum total of all your choices. Make the choice to address this enemy.
Some Hmm . . . #’s – Appreciation at work, Tablet usage, If I were CFO
Some numbers this week that made me pause – and what they might mean to a leader
Employee Satisfaction (from current Inc magazine – source Global Workforce Mood Tracker; Staples.com)
Share of employees who say they feel underappreciated at work: 39% (up from 32% in Feb)
Leaders: Do you have a Habit of doing one on ones monthly? If no – Hmmmm . . . . Here is a posting that might help you get started.
If I were the CFO . . . . Employees top choices if allowed to make afew improvements to their work environment:
- Eliminate office politics – 44%
- Encourage telecommuting – 41%
- Upgrade computers – 37%
- Improve Office Furniture – 35%
- Provide Private Work Areas – 34%
- Allow More Flexible Hours – 34%
Leaders: The first one on the list is FREE. Are you great at communicating change? Makes a big difference. If you are spending money next year on stuff – what about some new computers? A few $100 flat screens might go a long way. . .
Tablet Usage in the US (here is the link to all the numbers)
# of people who own tablets (IPads, etc.) : 54 Million (early 2012) 108+ (1/3 of US population) by 2015
Leaders: Are you at least experimenting with tablets for your teachers? salesforce? Anyone for 2012? If you are – GREAT. If not, hmm . . ..
Typical Tablet user:
- Wealthy (50% have $100K+ income)
- Male, Age 18-34
- College graduate (51%)
Leader: Who on the exec team uses them? Don’t assume that number is the norm . . . ..
Executive: It is a good habit every now and then to have your leaders go listen to people who are listening to what people outside your company are feeling and doing. Then ask – Is it accurate? Is it relevant? What should we do with it?
I like to listen. This is just some of what I heard this week that made me go Hmm . . .