Defining a Path

January 31, 2012 – 6:29 pm

Defining a Path

I had a chance to respond to a question on a business networking site this morning on if I had the opportunity to choose my career path over again would I still choose human resources. My response was in the affirmative.

I have been essentially a human resources professional and change agent for over three decades now. I chose that field because I have always believed the most important long term element of organizational success is the power of relationships. Even though I have progressed from human resources to operational executive roles and management consultancy I still believe my greatest contributions are in helping organizations shape and define those relationships.

I also have always had a great respect and admiration for people who can articulate ideas and help disseminate an idea through being a great speaker, artist, musician or other communicators.

When I was writing my first book a few years back the theme of candidate Obama talking about the audacity of hope spoke to me. More recently I have found the words and actions of a congresswoman from Arizona to be equally moving and compelling, especially some of the things she shared in her January 25, 2012 resignation letter when she came to conclusion that she could not focus both on her recovery from a tragedy and serve her constituents as they deserve to be served.

I would like to share some excerpts with you here.

  • · Strongly holding the belief that there is no higher calling than serving my country I chose to leave our family business and run for elective office. I disagree with her, but only slightly. I think you can serve the world.
  • · Always I fought for what I thought was right, but never did I question the character of those with whom I disagreed… never did I let pass an opportunity to join hands with someone just because he or she held different beliefs. What an incredibly powerful statement. From what I understand she not only says it she practices it. For those of us who lead or aspire to what a powerful example to follow.
  • · Amid all that was lost on January 8th (6 people died and several others were severely wounded), there was also hope and faith. Hope that our government can represent the best of a nation, not the worst. Why limit it to government? Why can’t those of us representing academia, business and other sectors aspire to the same level of leadership?
  • · Faith that Americans working together in their communities, in our Congress and in our society can succeed without qualification. Once again why stop at our borders? Let’s be a positive role model for the world again.
  • · Hope and faith that even as we are set back by tragedy or profound disagreement in the end we come together as citizens to set again a course towards greatness.

Our Founding Fathers well over 250 years ago took some profound steps to do that. They created a new model of society based on personal prosperity and personal competence. As time as evolved we have lost track of much of that and created both a sense of codependency and entitlement, a shareholder versus a stakeholder mentality.

I admire the work and writing of people like Michael Porter, Nilofer Merchant, Thomas Stewart and others who talk about a “new” model of capitalism where profit is measured in terms of shared societal value. The evidence clearly demonstrates that embracing this model doesn’t detract from shareholder value in fact it enhances it. Organizations that embrace true engagement and alignment outperform their competitors in every key performance metric!

Organizations that build themselves on a foundation of trust and respect are stronger and more successful, period.

Over the last two hundred years plus we fought a revolution, survived a civil war, and played a key role in two world wars committed to supremacy of a race or set of ideas.

I personally think that much of the cause for our latest recession was of our own making. We got greedy and we stop focusing on relationships.

We have significant challenges facing us as a society, but I believe that when we recognize that managing health rather than health care, that providing all Americans and then the world with access to a decent education, and attending to their basic survival needs is a societal goal not a solution that can be implemented by government alone or without a role for all sectors we can make enormous progress and return to a course towards greatness.

I am tired of “leaders” whose primary contributions are criticizing the views of others who disagree with them.

I am tired of hearing about the negativity and how if we can just return to the good old days it will all correct itself. The good old days weren’t that great if you weren’t one of the wealthiest 5%.

We are capable of building and implementing a better model and we each have a right and a responsibility to play a meaningful role.

To the Congresswoman I salute you! You were first a spark, then a flame and with me and a few others you have lit a torch.

I hope you will be back in some fashion. We need more real leaders!

By Mark Herbert | Posted in accountability, action, authenticity, beliefs., character, choice, clarity, collaboration, competence, Congress, congruence, culture, decision making, economy, education, effort, empowerment, engagement, example, financial crisis, Founding Fathers, generations, health care, Leadership, leading, lessons, lighthouses, Maslow, models, Obama, paradigm shift, paradigms, pay it forward, principles, productivity, purpose, relationships, respect, tolerance, tragedy, trust, Tucson, values, vision, whole people | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments (0)

Rites of Passage

January 23, 2012 – 1:11 pm

Rites of Passage

Two events occurred over the weekend that I at least found important and interestingly connected. I am a student of leaders and leadership so how leaders handle themselves is intriguing to me. To be candid neither of the events I mention included Newt Gingrich prevailing over Mitt Romney. While I find them both infinitely more articulate and qualified than the Donald, I don’t find either of them particularly compelling.

I do find Newt’s indignity over the allegations of his colorful personal life pretty entertaining. Come on Newt you are not a newbie. You saw what happened to Herman Cain, previously with John Edwards, Bill Clinton, etc. Did you really think you were going to get a pass? You just don’t pull indignant off very well. Kind of like Dick Cheney trying to do compassion. Stick to your strengths.

The rites of passage that illustrated real differences in character and approach were Joe Paterno’s death and Gabrielle Gifford’s decision to resign her congressional seat.

I had long admired Joe Paterno. He wasn’t just a man and a coach, he was an institution. As the drama played out over the Sandusky scandal I became more and more disappointed and sad. We will never know how much Joe Pa really knew, but to see his last few weeks pass in pretty much disgrace was a sad end to his legacy.

I know that there are those who feel the Board acted unfairly and preemptively to terminate his contract, but I respectively disagree. Joe Pa had reached a place where in the interests of what he built and what he could have left he overstayed. His communiqué regarding his decision to leave at the end of the season reeked of being either out of touch or profoundly arrogant. At that point it wasn’t his decision to make.

I hope that over time we can look at the totality of his legacy again and not just remember the tragedy of an elder statesman who should have exited sooner.

Gabrielle “Gabby” Gifford’s is quite a different story. Many outside of Arizona may no little or nothing about her other than she was tragically shot and is experiencing a miraculous recovery. She is an interesting person, a rising star in the Democratic Party from Southern Arizona who I hope will return to office and some point.

Her background in and of itself is interesting. In a State and geography dominated by Christians, she is Jewish. A member of the Democratic Party she has also maintains a membership in the NRA. She has managed to be elected from a highly diverse constituency including the progressive elements of a major city and the conservative farmers and ranchers of far Southern Arizona. She is attractive, articulate and married to a former astronaut.

A little over a year ago at a public outreach activity on a Saturday morning in a supermarket she was targeted by a disturbed individual who killed six people including a Federal Judge and a little girl and was herself shot in the head. The events immediately following the incident were nasty and polarizing.

Arizona has one of the most liberal gun possession and carry environments in the country. As long as you are over 18 and not a convicted felon you have the right to carry a concealed weapon on your person without a permit being required.

Many of our elected officials believe our most significant issue is illegal immigration. I happen to believe it is the economy. Many of those same officials are passionate advocates for our permissive gun carry and possession laws. I am concerned that we represent a significant channel for the River of Iron. For those of you not familiar with that expression it is what law enforcement calls the flow of illegal firearms into Mexico. It is estimated that as many as 60% of those weapon transactions may originate in Arizona. We don’t like to talk about that much.

Gabby’s recovery has been the subject of a lot of coverage and I would say a positive outcome is the effect it had on a community. Tucson rallied around Gabby and the other victims and survivors of that terrible day.

Some critics of the Congresswoman will likely say that her decision has been inappropriately a long time coming and that they don’t understand why she received so much attention. She was elected to Congress, she was shot, and she survived. Big deal. I would suggest they look a little further into this person that makes up Gabrielle Giffords. I kind of like the constituents of her district who responded to those calling for her earlier resignation to mind their own business. They stated that Gabby was their elected leader and the decision to ask her to step down or even return her to Washington for another term is between them and her.

My understanding is that she made the decision to resign because she feels she cannot focus on her recovery and serve her constituency the way they deserve to be served. I understand her mental acuity is not so much in question as she still struggles with communicating clearly and coherently. I am obviously impressed that this brave young woman displayed what I believe to be a cornerstone of leadership- recognizing that when you lead you serve, not the other way around. She didn’t wait to be asked, she determined that her constituents deserved better than she can provide them.

I integrate that with something I read in Fast Company over the weekend that resonated with me as well. It said that the new currency that determines consumer choice and behavior is trust not price. People are returning to that place where feeling they are involved in a business relationship that is more than transactional is becoming increasingly important to them.

I have long believed that. I mentioned previously that I thought Stephen M.R. Covey’s The Speed of Trust, differentiating the difference between paying a trust tax or reaping a trust dividend was seminal. I go further and say this is a core issue with the Occupiers and others. We need to bring trust back into our vocabulary and the foundation of our relationships.

Trust is key to every functional relationship, personal and professional and our collective engagement scores, the apathy with our elected officials and institutions and some many other key indicators are screaming the obvious.

We can reframe the relationships and rebuild the foundation, but it isn’t lean or six sigma or benchmarking that will facilitate the change.

So I guess for me the very differing actions of these two leaders caused me once more to pause and reflect on both what kind of a leader I aspire to be and what kind of a legacy I want to leave….

By Mark Herbert | Posted in accountability, action, authenticity, brand, career, character, choice, clarity, decision making, future, heroes, icons, individuality, integrity, Leadership, models, principles, reflecting, respect, responsibility, trust, vision, whole people | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments (0)

Would your company prefer being #2 instead of #1?

January 19, 2012 – 1:41 pm

Many corporate leaders aspire for their companies to become industry leaders. But there can only be one leader for each industry – or in marketing terms, there can only be one product, brand, or business that controls a category. Sure, there are exceptions, but more often than not, there is a big company who sets the standard – and others must follow.

There are countless reasons why companies would want to be known as industry leaders. Reasons range from setting industry prices to determining product specifications to clarifying standards for customer service. But in many industries, a large and powerful force has emerged as the #2 player who often keeps the industry leader on its toes in terms of new product development, pricing, and customer service – all in an attempt to chip away at the industry leader’s percentage of market share.

Here are some famous industry leaders followed by the #2 players in their industries:

* Coca-Cola vs. Pepsi (soft drinks)
* Hertz vs. Avis (rental car agencies)
* iOS vs. Android (operating systems)
* Google vs. Bing (search engines)
* Ford vs. Chevy (trucks)
* McDonald’s vs. Burger King (fast food hamburgers)
* Duracell vs. Energizer (batteries)
* Home Depot vs. Lowe’s (home improvement warehouses)
* Ritz-Carlton vs. Fairmont (five-star hotels)
* Mozilla Firefox vs. Microsoft Internet Explorer (web browsers)

However, something interesting has happened with many #2 companies. Many #2 companies have used their #2 status as a selling point and competitive advantage. The fact that they are #2 or the little guy (think, David vs. Goliath) resonates with consumers, customers, and prospective customers. Consider Avis and its tagline: “We’re #2 – We Try Harder.” Avis may not be the biggest car rental agency, but its ads and theme stick out. Consider the Energizer Bunny – who doesn’t think of the pink bunny when a wireless mouse or keyboard needs new batteries? And while the golden arches of McDonald’s appear on almost every corner around the world, Burger King’s constant advertising and emphasis on bigger and cheaper hamburgers have developed a large and dedicated following.

So the next time your leadership team asks, “Why can’t we be number one?” Explain that there are genuine advantages to being #2. One advantage to being #2 is the ability to create unique product specifications and/or packaging since no one expects you to be different.

Consider the recent uproar when Coke launched its main product in white cans versus classic red cans – there was such an outrage that the white cans were removed from store shelves within a month of their launch. Other advantages include the ability to tweak pricing, the ability to align or partner with totally unconventional companies or brands, and the ability to change packaging or advertising just to see how consumers react.

Without the responsibility of being the industry leader, you have more leeway to appeal to new customers. Depending on how creative your marketing initiatives are and how well they are implemented, you may develop a more brand loyal following than the leader in your industry.

GUEST POST BY DEBBIE LASKEY, MBA
Debbie Laskey has 15 years of marketing experience and an MBA Degree. She developed her marketing expertise while working in the high-tech industry, the Consumer Marketing Department at Disneyland Paris in France, the non-profit arena, and the insurance industry. Currently, Debbie is a brand marketing, social media, and employee engagement consultant to small businesses, start-ups, and non-profits. Recognized as a “Woman Making a Difference” by the Los Angeles Business Journal, Debbie has served as a judge for the Web Marketing Association’s annual web award competition since 2002. Follow Debbie on Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/DebbieLaskeyMBA) and on her Blog (http://debbielaskey.blogspot.com).

By DLaskey | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (0)

A Light at the End of the Tunnel

January 6, 2012 – 5:11 pm

A Light at
the End of the Tunnel


Well by tomorrow we will have survived our first week of
2012! I have to say for me so far my cautious optimism continues to hold out.
Part of it may be bluntly that I live in Phoenix and we have been experiencing
unseasonably warm, sunny weather. I know there are those who love the seasons, but bluntly I have lived on the
East Coast and in the Pacific Northwest long enough that warm, sunny weather
doesn’t bore me.

I am also kind of jazzed to see the stock market up a bit. I
will be honest I don’t pay a ton of attention to it as a small business owner.
I kind of tend to gage what is happening with the economy by my personal
reality- do clients call me to do work and can they pay me once the work is
done.

I am starting to hear more and more people talk about doing
things differently as well. I won’t say it has become a movement yet, but I seem to be encountering more people recognizing
that doing things the way they have always been done may not solve our problems
and that working collaboratively rather than finger pointing may even yield
some positive results.

I have worked in the area of change management now for going on three decades. I have found the
single biggest obstacle to overcome is inertia, taking the steps to do
something different. I read a great blog this week on resolutions and
motivation. Most people assume that when they have difficulty implementing a
new strategy or changing their behavior their issue is motivation. The author
of the blog and I both disagree- the culprit in many cases is execution, doing the work.

It is interesting when you look at rice cultures (primarily Eastern)
versus wheat cultures (primarily
Western) we see this phenomenon unfold. In the West we often ascribe ability to
inherited character traits like leadership or athletic ability. It is in your
genetic makeup. Eastern cultures pit a lot more value in effort. Natural
ability plays a huge part, but how hard you are willing to work plays a huge
role for them as well. Their educational systems reinforce a much higher work ethic
than ours in many cases.

I have always been a big believer that involving people as
much as possible in the changes affecting them is key as well. Our models of
organizations are in large part very invested in telling rather than engaging. A large part of our industrial model
is based on separating the world into two groups- those who think and those who
do. Even our sales models tend to be product rather than solution centered.

I don’t do well with arbitrary or capricious authority. I
also am not a huge fan of position power,
i.e. my position on the org chart is reflective of my ability and intelligence.
If I am higher than you it is because I am smarter than you. My corporate
experiences taught me that was a myth.

When you build models based on compliance that model is pretty embedded. You have to have
something to justify why you get to make the decisions. Spending all that time
on establishing credibility and trust is really time consuming. So you provide
people with a trade off- g8ive up your independence and we will provide a
degree of security- until we don’t.

Once you have created that codependence, there is a lot of
inertia required to overcome it. A lot of the political rhetoric I hear on both
sides reinforces codependency. On the far Right we claim we want you to be
independent, but we want to help you
make decisions about family planning, what constitutes appropriate
relationships and other factors. On the Left we want everybody to participate
in every decision and protect you
from the consequences of your own choices. As you might suspect neither
position works well for me.

Every year we invest trillions in new technologies,
training, and programs to increase
organizational performance and profitability, but the research indicates that applied technology along with
relationships and alignment has the highest long term payoffs. But
interestingly enough we refer to the ability to create alignment and cohesive
relationships as soft skills.

We do seem to be making some forward progress. I really enjoy
it when clients or colleagues call me or mention to me, you know this engagement stuff might not be complete bullshit. People
do actually seem to work harder and be more productive when they have skin in
the game not only financially, bit emotionally and intellectually.

Go figure!

Context is important as well. I read yesterday that 50% of
Congress are members of the nation’s one percent financial elite. If they don’t
start there when they begin their political careers they end up there. I wonder
why they don’t see the issue!

We have created a context where many people are used to
being told or had decisions made for
them. Asking them to suddenly change their behavior without changing their
context is difficult. In many cases that is what we are trying to accomplish.

I am hopeful that the crisis
we are experiencing will continue to cause organizations and people to
recognize that the old ways of doing thing are not as relevant as they once
were.

Maybe I am too Pollyanna, but I find the naysayers and gloom
and doom folks tiresome and boring. I am ready for positive movement and I
think I am seeing it.

Let’s make 2012 a banner year…..

By Mark Herbert | Posted in action, authenticity, balance, best practices, Change, character, communication, congruence, economy, example, excellence | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments (1)

Contemplating 2011

December 31, 2011 – 11:11 pm

Contemplating 2011

I wear many hats these days. Apparently there is a new movie out using the plot line from the old John LeCarre novel- Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy I feel the metaphor.  Aging human resources executive, coach, mentor, parent, author and consultant. I wonder if I do any of them well?

Over the last few years I have seen a growing interest in a couple of topics that speak to my heart… They have different descriptions and titles now, but I think their essence is essentially unchanged.

I have long believed in what we now describe as employee engagement. I remember entering the workforce over 30 years ago as young idealistic personnel professional and wondering why we talked at people not to them. As I grew up in a military family where we didn’t follow a democratic model I figured I simply assumed I didn’t understand it and it would become clear to me that superior thinking was involved as I matured and progressed…

A couple of decades in the corporate environment cured me of that.

Another related concept is from Porter, Merchant, et al on the idea of a new capitalism based on shared value. We define success based on societal outcomes rather than just shareholder returns. I will freely admit to being a bit of a romantic, I will probably die penniless in a gutter. I never understood why we thought that society didn’t operate systemically and that all the concepts and systems don’t eventually interconnect and why we have assumed for generations that technology can replace relationships. Turns out I might just be right.

I wonder that I am so out of touch that the anger and frustration I see exhibited still jars me – I don’t think I am naïve.

There are events that happened this year that touched me in different ways. I remember profoundly the morning that Congresswoman Gabriel Giffords was targeted and shot at a routine meeting with constituents. What was more both compelling and scary was the aftermath of that event. I saw incredible empathy and nasty parochialism and bile.

Those that serve in the armed forces have always held a special place in my heart. My family has a military tradition that spans eight generations. While I haven’t personally had the privilege to share it, it has touched me in a deeply emotional and profound way. When I have read the stories of sacrifice and heroism of individuals who have been awarded the highest military honors I have been humbled and grateful.

I have been equally humbled by the actions of citizens and frankly shamed by the actions of people who would probably see themselves as members of our society’s Elite.

I am concerned about some of the anger and bipartisanism I have seen exhibited both in expression and literally. We need to come together, not move further apart. I may represent a dissenting voice, I think many of the tried and true solutions are neither, we need new models.

On a positive note I have forged new partnerships and solidified others. I have found great illumination from reading and discussing ideas and concepts with colleagues representing multiple nationalities, generations, and educational and occupational boundaries.

Not as a political statement, but a few years ago a candidate for the Presidency expressed the concept of the audacity of hope and collaboration. He also talked about change we can believe in.

The electorate will soon have a chance to evaluate the ability of that candidate to deliver on his premise. As I said I am not staking out a position either way.

I am a change agent by profession and avocation. I don’t believe our current models are working so like Gandhi I aspire to be the change.

I have met compelling people in 2011. And read some really extraordinary books.

I have made a decision to look forward not back. I am and forever will be a student of history because I believe in the famous thought – those who do not study history are destined to repeat it.

I also believe at the risk of offending many that the authors of documents like the Constitution and even perhaps the Bible meant their work to be guidelines rather than absolutes. To be studied and applied contextually rather than literally. Perhaps I am wrong,

I have been so many times before.

Every new beginning is fraught with opportunity. What shall we do with ours? I wonder….

By Mark Herbert | Posted in accountability, action, authenticity, Change, character, choice, clarity, culture, empathy, employees, employment, empowerment, engagement, heroes, involvement, leading, lessons, lighthouses, linchpin, mappers, meetings, message, models, paradigm shift, paradigms, personal competency, reflecting, reflection, respect, sacred cows, solutions, thanks, tragedy, transparency, validation, values, vision, world | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (0)

It Is the Season

December 19, 2011 – 9:36 pm

It Is the Season

It seems a little surreal to recognize that not only is the season upon us, but almost here. Before anyone takes offense the season can be Christmas, Kwanzaa, Hanukah, or whatever you care to celebrate or not celebrate.

For me what is more important that what religious affiliation we associate with the idea of peace on earth and goodwill resonates with me. A brief respite to spend in reflection about friends, family, something beyond our daily grind is appealing.

I have found 2011 especially tumultuous. While I have seen some signs of the economy improving, at least for me personally there still seems to be a lot of fear, anger, and anxiety out there and people seem to feel a need to share it with the world.

I consider myself a realist, but also a romantic. I see the glass as half full rather than half empty. I am hoping that some of where we find ourselves in issues relating to things like employee engagement and dissatisfaction, the growing recognition about the correlation between individual lifestyle and health, and the realization that there are enormous opportunities to be had in reevaluating the relationships between individuals and organizations we may be slowly recognizing there are better ways. Every day I see new information that validates conclusions I have known intuitively for years- if you treat people with respect and fairness it is a good long term business investment and will show up on your bottom line.

I have been a change agent for over 30 years and always believed that people don’t necessarily resist change- they resist being changed. I think that is why Rosabeth Moss Kantor’s quote “when change is imposed on me I see it as a threat, when it is done with me I see opportunity” so resonates with me.

Inertia is always the most difficult thing to overcome and I think it frustrates us that at the end of the day it is things like trust and relationships rather than technology and systems that lead to meaningful and sustained change. Everything else is a tactic. Change is about people.

Some of the things that people get very animated about puzzle me. I am not a huge professional football fan. I don’t get why Tim Tebow seems to piss so many people off? He seems like a nice enough guy who is very invested in his Christian faith. He doesn’t seem to judge others and find them lacking. He probably won’t be remembered as one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time, but he doesn’t seem to present himself in that fashion either.

I don’t understand why anyone cares about Donald Trump’s viewpoint about anything or why people seem fascinated with the Kardashians and would spend money to see Lindsay Lohan nude, but hey that is on them.

I don’t understand why people would be outraged that The Learning Channel has a television show about everyday Americans who also happen to practice Islam. There is a group so angry that these folks were being depicted as normal people that they have a campaign to browbeat sponsors into withdrawing their advertising support. Do they really believe that everyone who is a Muslim is secretly a terrorist? Really?

I personally hope that –

  • · There is a Hell
  • · That people who practice terrorism find themselves there along with other truly evil people.

I think being a terrorist is kind of like being an asshole-

  • · You aren’t born one you become one.
  • · That no religion, national origin, color, gender, etc. has the market cornered on being one.

Just so I am very clear you can be an asshole and not be a terrorist in my opinion.

I read a story that I found very touching about a philanthropic group in Texas that surprised a Marine widow and her young son with among other things some gifts for the child and a paid for home for her. I was stunned in the comments to see people attacking the gesture because –

  • · Why did they only do it for the widow of a Marine (they don’t, it was her being the widow of a veteran was the primary criteria)?
  • · Why did she deserve anything? Really?
  • · What about all the other deserving individuals? (Sorry they don’t have the resources to address everybody in need or who is deserving).

How did we get so angry and small? I recognize that there is a lot of inequity and imbalance out there, but I am not sure that being angry or small to someone helps. It has never given me any satisfaction, in fact quite the opposite.

Sometimes when I think about Christmas and the idea of Christianity I think about a quote from John Lennon saying that people should spend less time obsessing about who Jesus was and more time contemplating the values and ideas attributed to him.

I recently read a novel that described the Marian visitations, the appearance of Jesus’ mother to children in several different locations and times to reveal some truths that had been misinterpreted in the least or repressed at best. Among them-

  • · Jesus never stipulated that acceptable love was only between the genders
  • · That women have always had the right to determine the decisions regarding their own physical health, well being and about whether or not to have children and other deeply personal decisions about their bodies.
  • · That women have never been excluded by intent or “God’s will” from serving as the equal of men in any capacity including the priesthood.
  • · That serving the priesthood in any fashion required or benefited from a life of celibacy.

It was just a novel, but if these things were revealed as truths, and more importantly as truths that were knowingly repressed for purposes of control and power the consequences to a lot of existing power structures would be rocked. People would lose trust in major institutions….

Kind of like recognizing that other paradigms about how we relate to one another, make decisions about things like economic models, our responsibility to ourselves and each other, and a host of others may need to be reconsidered.

Hmm. What an interesting idea. I think I personally will try to spend at least part of this season taking Lennon’s advice and rather than pondering the legitimacy of a particular religion’s ownership of the holiday pondering some of the ideas attributed to Jesus with one thought in particular-

Peace on earth and goodwill towards everyone.

That is my wish for all of you and your families wherever you are and whatever you believe.

 

By Mark Herbert | Posted in accountability, action, adversity, anger, authenticity, Change, choice, church, dissatisfaction, engagement, health care, holidays, hope, icons, individuality, Jesus, lessons, love, message, paradigm shift, people, progress, receptiveness, reflecting, reflection, relationships, respect, terrorism, trust, values, whole people, world | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments (4)

Defining Your Terms

December 11, 2011 – 5:39 pm

Defining
Your Terms

I find words and their interpretation fascinating. Maybe it
was growing up kind of sickly and nerd like and having books as companions
rather than playmates, but to this day people who can really express themselves
well fascinate me and earn my appreciation and respect.

I include poets and the writers of great music in my
dentition of those people. I personally find Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen and
yes even Taylor Swift to be possessed of a gift. They can articulate things
that embrace you.

One of the latest objects of my appreciation is the auto
industry, particularly the U.S auto industry. I was reading about the new CEO
of Fiat and what he has accomplished so far in acquiring the majority interest
in Chrysler. Through the third quarter of 2011 sales at Chrysler are up 23%. In
2009 Chrysler was losing a billion dollars per month; in 2011 its operating
profit could reach $5 billion. In May Chrysler repaid the U.S. Treasury just
under $ 6 billion in bailout loans six years ahead of schedule. The really good thing is that Chrysler isn’t
alone. Ford and GM have also seen significant increases in sales domestically
and internationally,

The Center for Automotive Research believes that the auto
industry could add as many as 47,000 direct and 120,000 indirect jobs to the
U.S economy over the next four years. A couple of things stand out for me in
those numbers-

  • Many of those are manufacturing jobs
  • Many of them are located in areas that have been
    devastated by the economy.

What is interesting is that many still refer to the bailout
of the automotive industry as a failure.
I am not sure I understand that description.

I can’t say that I am as pleased with the results of the
bailout of the financial services industry; although the loans have been paid
back in large part the profits inured didn’t get distributed beyond a pretty
small group of people.  While I am not
ready to call it a failure, I would
call it a significant disappointment.

It intrigues me that individual dissatisfaction with their jobs
is at historical highs (84% of respondents in a recent survey indicated a
desire to change jobs), there is a disparity between what the average
individual can expect to see as a pay increase and what C level executives are
awarded of 20% ( 1.6% versus 21.6) ,we are spending over 12% of our GDP on an
adequate health care delivery system, that 60% of health care costs are related
to individual lifestyle and behavior and none of the reforms from either side
of the aisle address that and we think that who occupies the White House is
going to provide a compelling difference in a four year period.

I was having a great conversation with a colleague I really
respect this week over some definitions as well. We agreed that when the
average American talks about pay equity
in their jobs they mean fairness-

  • I am paid fairly relative to others doing
    similar work and relative to my efforts.
  • I understand that every job doesn’t and won’t
    pay the same, complexity and scarcity of a skill set affect its relative value.
  • I have an expectation of being treated with a
    level of respect for my personhood and
    that includes informing me about how and why key decisions are made.

We also discussed excellence.
Seems everybody is in search of it and there is a whole industry (consulting)
that for a few thousand of dollars will even benchmark and define it for you.
They don’t install it though.

We were talking about engagement and alignment relative to
excellence. Engagement in my definition is alignment. We all understand the
collective objectives, how our individual contributions fit, and apply that
every day. The interesting thing is that organizations that do that exceed the
performance of their competitors by an order of magnitude.

Is that excellence or consistent, thoughtful execution? Are
they the same? I don’t think so. We have all seen situations where a company,
group or team possessed a talent pool that individually and collectively
exceeded the capacity of their opponents, but they never really delivered on
their potential.

I like Seth Godin. I like the simplicity of some of his
definitions-

  • If you never actually ship it you don’t have a product.
  • If you never actually get paid for providing a
    product or service you don’t really have any clients or customers.

One of my favorite definitions is the debate around leadership.

  • If you look back behind you and there isn’t
    anybody there you aren’t a leader.
  • If people follow
    you only because of your ability to award rewards or sanctions you aren’t a
    leader. You are a boss.
  • We don’t teach leadership in our colleges and
    universities, we teach management and techniques. I am not saying that is
    wrong, just trying to be clear.

Another interesting article I read said that our obsession
with nature or nurture as defining someone is a rather silly exercise; you
can’t really separate the two with any degree of absolute certainty. We are
shaped by both.

I spend a lot of my time thinking and writing and studying
things like this. Maybe I just have too much time on my hands (we don’t have
cable TV, our condo is restricted to one provider and I found that annoying).

I also spend a lot of time with individual and
organizational clients trying to help them define and communicate their definitions, terms and conditions.
I try to focus on not trying to tell them what is right or wrong, but rather
what is right or wrong for them. Then we try to do that alignment thing. Bring
people into your organizations who share your definitions and values.

You may never be excellent
as defined by some outside party, but it looks like you will still be able
to outperform your competition by a significant margin.

There are some definitions I am going to continue to focus
on for myself personally as we wind down 2011 and enter 2012-

Alignment, we see
and share a connection to a common set of goals and values

Commitment, people
pursue a course of action or goal collaboratively and willingly with me because
we share a value proposition or goal.

Success, achieving
my goals and outcomes creates societal and community value not just personal
gain for me.

Leadership, I
always remember that whatever leadership role I possess is a gift not an
entitlement and if I look back and no one is following I failed them, they didn’t fail me.

Respect, I see
people in terms of their whole person. I won’t hold them to my personal
standards or expectations for myself, but neither will I be codependent with
them and tolerate or enable performance or behavior that doesn’t meet their
capabilities or organizational norms.

Personal competency, I
own responsibility for pursuing my own success and personal prosperity. Others
may assist, but the outcomes are mine.

Just some terms I
have been musing on. What are some of yours…..?

By Mark Herbert | Posted in accountability, action, authenticity, autonomy, Change, character, choice, clarity, commitment, communication, competency, congruence, decision making, Detroit, economic development, economy, effort, employees, engagement, excellence, financial crisis, fit, fulfillment, health care, individuality, initiative, involvement, leading, lighthouses, management, MBA, models, motivation, Obama, paradigms, personal competency, productivity, purpose, reflecting, respect, responsibility, selection, transparency, trust, whole, whole people | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (4)

Perpetuating the Insanity

December 5, 2011 – 4:10 pm

Perpetuating the Insanity

I think it was Einstein who I paraphrase in saying- Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result is the definition of insanity. Yet still we persist.

I read a lot. I read blogs, articles, books, etc. I am always curious to benefit from the thinking of people smarter than I am which I have calculated to be about 95% of the population of the world at this point ( if you have any doubts just ask my family).

I see illustrations that kind of make me go huh daily. One that caught my eye today was that the U.S. Postal Service is going to extend the amount of time it takes to move a piece of first class mail to reduce expenses. It seems that a combination of shrinking demand and increasing expenses for operations is causing them to lose more and more money. Their biggest single expense is the cost of retirement benefits and retiree medical benefits. It must have eluded me as to how reducing the level of service you offer is going to address either of these issues.

Similarly I saw that Donald Trump has weighed in again with his thoughts on the candidate pool for the GOP and is once again saber rattling about mounting a third party independent campaign for the Presidency. I ask myself why anyone would look to Donald Trump for leadership advice on anything beyond bad ties and really bad hair. To me at least he represents the epitome of a Wall Street blow hard. He is very critical of everyone else, but I have never heard him articulate anything remotely resembling leadership.

I don’t get why people watch his television show, but I will admit I have never seen an episode of DWTS, Survivor, the Bachelor or Bachelorette or other shows people find fascinating.

Before you write me off as a complete snob I love the original NCIS, followed Law and Order, and even liked most of the various CSI franchises. I am not a snob who only watches PBS.

I watch the political debates and saw the rise and fall of Herman Cain. I know some people feel like the press and the insinuations about his personal life were unfair, but really Herman? Have you ever watched an election process? The People don’t play nice. This is a place where people still insist a current President is a Muslim from Kenya. Did you really think they were going to give you a pass?

I look at a lot of people who feel like the current Administration is accountable by itself for the current economic situation.

We are sitting in a time and place where a recent survey reported 84% of Americans surveyed who had a job would change jobs given the opportunity.

The level of employee engagement, or alignment and satisfaction with their jobs is the lowest it has been in recorded history.

C level compensation has been increasing an average 22% per year while the average person sees pay increases in the 1.6% level if they are lucky enough to receive a pay increase, and it is not atypical to hear about terminated senior executives receiving seven and eight figure severance packages for their performance in driving their organization over a cliff. I guess the positive thing there is that some of them only lasted a year or so. Just think what they could accomplish with more time…

We offer fairly mediocre health care delivery to the majority of Americans, but the good news is we charge more for it per capita than most countries. Studies show that 60% of health care costs are attributable to lifestyle issues, but our efforts to manage health care costs mostly consist of moving the deck chairs around on the Titanic in terms of who pays for health care rather than managing health.

We spend $5 trillion per year on employee turnover, $200 billion per year on the phenomena of presenteeism, where employees show up to work, but we see losses in productivity lost to stress, dealing with personal issues at work, absenteeism, and just general apathy.

What is really intriguing to me is that even with those facts and data in hand we still refer to the management of people rather than things as soft skills, and most graduate business degree programs barely address leadership, communication and interpersonal skills.

A colleague of mine posted a question on Linked In asking if the new reality is doing more with less. My response was no, we need to do something different.

Do we really think that leadership from either political party is going to create a meaningful solution to the issues of how organizations and individuals relate to one another? Really?

We have some deep rooted issues in how we see our personal responsibilities vis a vis society and our responsibilities to ourselves and one another.

Over 100 years ago the average American made a deal with the devil. We exchanged the rights and responsibilities of personal competency that our Founding Father’s embedded in the Constitution in exchange for a promise of codependency from the industrial powers in return for compliance and obedience. We would be compliant and loyal and in return they would take care of us. Then the world economy happened, and technology happened and they didn’t want to take care of us anymore so we turned to the government.

We created an enormous sense of entitlement and we cultivated as long as it was manageable and in the interests of shareholders.

The reality is to me at least an exclusively shareholder model is inherently flawed. Our world is integrated and systemic. Nature has shown us that time and time again. The only thing that is sustainable in the long term is a stakeholder model. In a stakeholder model we all share the responsibilities and the rewards. The rewards don’t have to be distributed equally, but they do need to be distributed equitably.

The good news is that stakeholdership works extremely well. Organizations that embrace it outperform their counterparts by orders of magnitude in every key metric. For those of you that fear stakeholdership is a disguised form of socialism I assure you it is not, there is no codependency in stakeholdership.

So my answer is that the seeds to solving our issue live not in doing more with less, a new administration, or the application of technology; but rather in returning to an old model where the relationships between people is the fundamental measurement of value and efficacy and we measure profit and success based on contribution to the total society not to individuals or groups.

Let’s stop the insanity. We can do this……

By Mark Herbert | Posted in accountability, action, anger, balance, BNET, Change, character, choice, clarity, collaboration, commitment, communication, compentence, competence, congruence, dance, decision making, definitions, direction, dissatisfaction, economy, education, effort, empathy, employees, employment, engagement, excellence, financial crisis, foundations, Founding Fathers, future, health care, hiring, imagination, independence, individuality, initiative, Innovation, involvement, Leadership, leading, lifestyle, LinkedIn, loss, management, MBA, measurement, motivation, myths, nemawashi, Obama, paradigms, performance, personal competency, productivity, progress, purpose, recession, relationships, respect, responsibility | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (0)

Defining Moments

November 28, 2011 – 4:46 pm

As a student of both history and leadership I am always intrigued and captivated when I see or hear about defining moments playing out.

I don’t know that I or for that matter  any member of the public will ever know what truly transpired at Penn State with Joe Pa and other leaders of that institution, but they did not handle the situation well and now have a stain on their reputation that fairly or unfairly will define them for some time to come.

I have studied leadership and been given the privilege to lead others and even on occasion to teach the theory, concepts, and practice of leadership to others. My own leadership style is I like to believe clear, but situationally appropriate taking into consideration all of the facts, the context and the people involved. I also try to be sure that I consider not only what is correct, but what is right.

I am not trying to be adroit with words here; I think anyone who has advanced beyond middle management has been confronted with these choices and nuances. When we hear words like precedent, consistency, policy, and phrases like …fulfilled our legal obligations, I think we are usually hiding behind what is correct. I think to an extent that is what Penn State has done. They are finding that our constituencies or followers expect more of us than that. They want us to do the right thing, and when we err; and we will, they want us to own it and correct it. They expect more of us, and they should.

One of the key aspects I have had to learn about true leadership is that it is a trust and a gift bestowed on us by others, it doesn’t come with an office or a title. It is in the words of one of my favorite quotes – “A moral contract between those who aspire to lead and those who agree to follow.”

Back in Oregon I am watching with great interest a leadership experiment play out.

Dr. Richard Lariviere was hired as the successor to President Dave Frohnmayer, a man I personally knew and respect enormously. I say succeed, because for me and many of his admirers he could never be replaced.

I haven’t had the chance to work with President Lariviere personally, but observing from a distance I have seen him accomplish some formidable tasks

  • · He has won the respect of his academic constituency who maintained a respectful, but not always harmonious relationship with President Frohnmayer.
  • · He has garnered the support of the local business community, many of whom hold political and societal viewpoints considerably divergent from the academic community.
  • · He has gained the support and admiration of the student population.
  • · He has reached out to the community to begin creating a symbiotic rather than parallel relationship that I personally always perceived between the University and surrounding communities.

I have heard him described as bold, visionary, and engaging.

The State Board of Education for Oregon has apparently determined in closed session not to renew his contract. The primary reason appears to be that President Lariviere has issues with being compliant.

The Dean’s of the various colleges have given him an unqualified vote of confidence and endorsement as has what appears to be a plurality if not majority of the community leadership. I will be honest and say that compliance and obedience are not characteristics I ever personally cultivated as a leader or built into my training for emerging leaders. In fact I always said if you are not coming into work every day prepared to be fired for doing the right thing you should not seek a leadership role. Even though President Lariviere and I don’t know each other it appears we might share this conviction.

I have to say that based on what I have seen play out in the press I am especially disappointed in the actions of Governor John Kitzhaber. Governor Kitzhaber has indicated his tacit support of the decision because it is in conflict with his instructions and agenda.

I find it particularly ironic coming from this Governor who prides himself on being a maverick, driven by principle. He evidenced this multiple times as both a legislator and his previous terms as Governor defying the legislature. As recently as the last few weeks he declared a moratorium on all executions during his time in office because he personally believes them to be morally wrong, although the voters and state law have upheld the death penalty in certain cases.

It is interesting to me that a leader who prides himself on commitment to a personal code of ethics and integrity would dismiss another person of conviction for failing the obedience test.

The State of Oregon and the financial support for public education at all levels is in jeopardy and has been for some time. It would seem to me that before we dismiss someone who seems to have been capable of building a foundation of trust between communities as diverse as the academic leadership and the business community  and just might be bringing  something  truly meaningful to the table that we evaluate carefully before we dismiss them for the sin of hubris or worse yet, vision and creativity.

Visionaries don’t always play well with others all the time. Sometimes they show the courage to do what is right rather than what is correct.

Obedience has never been successful in creating and sustaining meaningful change. Great leaders listen when constituencies speak. They might not be compelled to act differently, but they at least pause and reflect in my experience.

Oregon and indeed our country need more leaders and less posturers. We aren’t going to get where we need to be by following precedents.

As a student and stakeholder I will be curious to see how this defining moment ends for all involved….

By Mark Herbert | Posted in accountability, action, authenticity, balance, character, choice, college, commitment, community, competency, compliance, congruence, decision making, economy, education, empowerment, engagement, example, flow, foundations, Frohnmayer, integrity, Leadership, leading, learning, linchpin, management, paradigms, people, personal competency, reflecting, relationships, respect, social contract, transparency, trust, vision | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (4)

Our Longest Mile

November 21, 2011 – 5:02 pm

I had an opportunity last week to do a couple of things that might seem very incongruent to others, but not so much to me.

Over the previous weekend I had a chance to read the book, The Four Purposes of Life. It was an interesting book, similar in some fashion to the Spark, the Flame, and the Torch. Both books explore the concept of what I refer to as our longest mile, even though neither author uses that language or specifically calls it that.

To me our longest mile is the one that most of us don’t take, where we have to decide what our real priorities are and whether or not we have the tenacity to follow through on it.

I think failure to launch or follow through manifests itself in a lot of different ways. I can say with a high degree of intended honesty if not accuracy that probably less than 3 out of 10 people I meet are really doing what they want to do. I am not saying that in a judgmental fashion and yes, I realize there is a recession going on, but I don’t mean stuff like playing sports or music professionally, or becoming a commercially successful artist, I mean it even more routinely than that.

Many of the people I know in that space are quite successful by conventional measurement. They enjoy commercial or professional success, they make a good living even in this economy and they enjoy the respect of their peers and colleagues. That defines success, right?

Many of them use their success to fund or attempt to fund their goals and dreams, but they don’t really find tremendous fulfillment in what they do. A lot of them can be very articulate about why they don’t pursue those other things; ranging from family obligations to practicality. I don’t judge, I just observe.

I think the longest mile is one of the foundational issues with leadership and engagement. When you enter any discussion about leadership you hear the age old debate about whether great leaders are born or taught, about the differences between leaders and managers; and I think these are real, and other related philosophical perspectives.

In the Western economy, especially the U.S., I think we primarily like to discuss leadership in the context of technical competencies or ethereal qualities. We still consider qualities about relationship building, creating context and alignment and related relational abilities as soft skills. There are even debates about whether women are genetically programmed to be better leaders than men because of the feminine and masculine attributes assigned to relational skills.

There is still a lot of buzz these days about servant leadership. I am not sure I buy into servant leadership. I serve a purpose and I follow societal norms and have crafted a set of my own values and personal boundaries, but I don’t feel I was necessarily put here to serve others. Perhaps I am not smart enough or deep enough to appreciate true servant leadership.

I don’t think my ideas and values or methods are particularly the best in the world. My experience has taught me that they fit me and I am most comfortable and performing at my best when the goals of an organization or individual are not incongruent with my personal values.

To me that defines the essence of engagement. If I am working in a setting where the values of the organization are congruent with mine and I see how there is mutual interest in fulfilling their goals and objectives as a vehicle to fulfill my own I don’t have to spend a lot of time being pissed off and trying to build that alignment for myself because no one has shown me or reinforced it.

A colleague and I were discussing the Duh factor today. He was telling me that a potential client told him he thought it premature to define the culture or values of the organization at this stage of the organization’s development because they were in the process of making too many key hires…My colleague and I were scratching our head at that one. I see a lot of companies doing that.

We lose trillions of dollars every year because of poor hiring and management. Most of those trillions are lost because of poor fit between individual and organizational values that could have been discovered up front or inconsistency between stated values and practiced values.

We spend trillions on technology, training, and other systems, but we avoid things like congruency.

I think we avoid it because that requires us personally and organizationally to reexamine our longest mile. We have not yet designed a software program that can ensure absolute alignment, so we substitute for that with programs and technology.

During the Industrial Revolution we convinced people that trading off your congruency and personal competency for security was a good deal, but then we found out proving security is time consuming and expensive so we don’t want to do it anymore. We still want compliance; we just don’t want to provide security.

I am not a big fan of codependency in any form so I am not a fan of that model

I have come to the personal conclusion that highly successful organizations and individuals have journeyed that longest mile. They have a set of values and goals that fit them and they do a great job of ensuring there is alignment between their personal and professional selves and the organizations and people they work with.

So maybe the answer is to go back to what the Founding Father’s called personal competency and rather than “take care of” people we should focus on helping each other understand the concept of personal and professional congruency and to complete that journey for themselves.

As organizations we can ensure that we understand our values and be consistent and articulate about them and reserve invitations to join us to people who are aligned with them.

I am a believer in cultural diversity, but I think if your values diversity is too disparate it is very hard to overcome. I think we can evolve, but recognize that is a journey as well.

Maybe my journey hasn’t been long enough or spiritual enough or deep enough. I wonder….

By Mark Herbert | Posted in accountability, action, authenticity, autonomy, best practices, brand, Change, character, choice, clarity, commitment, communication, competence, education, effort, empathy, engagement, fit, flow, happiness, hiring, individuality, initiative, involvement, leading, lighthouses, Maslow, motivation, paradigm shift, paradigms, people, productivity, purpose, quality, recruitment, reflecting, relationships, respect, retention, selection, small business, social contract, soft skills, staffing, training, transparency, turnover, validation, values, whole people | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (1)