Category: Leadership

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Memorable Decade

Before sitting down to write this month’s issue of Fast:Forward, I re-read each of my previous 119 newsletters. Over the past 10 years, I’ve written about three hurricanes, two inaugurations and one lengthy economic malaise. I embarked on several journeys knowing I would share the experiences with readers, including: booking the first-ever JetBlue flight out of Houston; inviting my favorite author, William Martin – who I didn’t know – to have dinner in Boston; taking up swimming as exercise at age 50. I opened up about jury duty for a capital murder trial and having to decide my position on the death penalty, reflected on the passing of two mentors and described what it was like to be a blind shopper.

My first year-end ‘Lessons Learned’ column appeared in 2007, and the response was so positive I’ve made it an annual endeavor. (Good decision: two of the three Decembers prior to that I had discussed the wisdom of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Marcia Brady.) Other times I shared stories about the seafood restaurant in Ft. Myers that ran out of fish, the formerly homeless young man from our community who is now a budding NBA star and the cleanest bathrooms in America at Buc-ee’s.

The best compliment I received from a reader was: “You have a talent for taking people and events that don’t appear to have anything in common with your point and making it all come together with ideas for business and life.” Emails like that ignite the energy that flows through my fingers onto the keyboard. I’m the vessel; the inspiration clearly comes from elsewhere.

Overall, I identified the list below of 77 people who – in all their human frailty – have appeared in my newsletters as guiding lights of leadership, vision and grace:

Presidents
John Adams
Abraham Lincoln
John F. Kennedy
Gerald Ford
Ronald Reagan
Barack Obama

Supreme Court Justices
Sandra Day O’Connor

Politicians
Robert Gates
Rudy Giuliani (2 times)
Colin Powell (2)

Astronauts
John Glenn
Neil Armstong
Walter Schiarra

Heroes
Baby Jessica
Louis Zamperini
Chesley Sullenberger

Visionaries
Gutenberg
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton
Thomas Edison
Henry Ford (2)
Walt Disney (3)
Warren Buffett
Steve Jobs
Michael Dell
Allan Mullaly
David Neeleman (2)
Bob Parsons
Mark Zuckerberg
Tony Hsieh
Elon Musk (2)

Fiction Writers
Edgar Allan Poe
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Mark Twain
J.K. Rowling
William Martin (3)

Business Writers
Peter Drucker
Stephen Covey (2)
Tom Peters (2)
Jim Collins (3)
Seth Godin (5)
Malcolm Gladwell
Patrick Lencioni (3)
Daniel Pink
Marhsall Goldsmith

Musicians
The Beatles
Mick Jagger
Bruce Springsteen (3)
Michael Jackson
Sting
Bono
Nickelback
Supersonic

Personalities
Will Rogers
Leopold Stokowski
Paul Harvey
Dick Clark
Tim Russert
Merle Harmon

Entertainers
Maureen McCormick
George Lucas
Michael J. Fox
Sandra Bullock

Athletes
Jackie Robinson
Darrell Royal
James Street
Herb Brooks
Bart Conner/Nadia Comaneci
Bill Walsh
Michael Phelps (4)
James Casey
Tim Tebow
Colt McCoy/Jordan Shipley
Tiger Woods (2)
Rory McIlroy
Missy Franklin
Jimmy Butler

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Assess This

One of the approaches we coaches like to utilize as part of our work with clients is a personality style assessment. “Psychometric instruments” date back to Carl Jung and his study of personality typology in the 1920’s. A few decades before developing theories on individuation, the Swiss psychotherapist had several meetings with Sigmund Freud, so there is a lot of history behind these.

Perhaps the widest used tools are Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) and DISC. Chances are good that if you applied for a position and had to ‘take a test’ as part of the interview process, it was one of those. Actually, the word ‘test’ is a misnomer. You don’t get a grade and there is no passing or failing. By asking a series of questions that force you to pick answers describing you from the ‘most like’ to the ‘least like’ – or through similar queries – the logarithms place you in one of four styles quadrants.

While I’m not sure how the behind-the-scenes analysis works, I can confidently say that after taking more than 20 different assessments the past 10 years, every one of them captured me. (No, I don’t believe this is a power of suggestion thing. It’s just something people far smarter than me figured out decades ago.)

The tool of preference for my coaching practice is Birkman, which uses colors. My “Interests” are Blue – I like to plan, think of new approaches and influence directly. Yep! My “Usual” is Red: People typically see me as friendly, energetic and frank. Indeed! My “Needs/Stress” is also Red. I prefer those who encourage group interaction, offer clear-cut solutions and give plenty to do. Correct! Under duress, I can be restless, impulsive and dismissive of other’s feelings. True!

The benefit to the individual is to better understand how you see the world and how others see you. That’s why I pull my Birkman report out every few months and read it again. There’s nothing like a gentle reminder of who I am to keep me focused on who I desire to be.

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Global View

Over the past two weeks, I completed 40+ interviews about four senior executives at an energy firm with their CEO, peers and direct reports. Two things struck me while working through each person’s list:

1) Some people are better at giving feedback than others. Whether this is lack of experience or simply a hesitancy to provide comments about someone they work with, having interviewed more than 700 people for these reports over the past six years, it’s clear many folks struggle to constructively praise and provide guidance to others.

2) Energy firms truly are global organizations with international workforces. I spoke to people based in Houston who are English, Irish, Scottish, Dutch, Indian, Mexican and Polish. They called me from as faraway as Singapore and Nigeria.

Thomas L. Friedman nailed it in “The World is Flat.” Each day we move closer together – and not just in the energy industry. It’s true in many areas where future jobs will be: technology, medicine and automobiles, for instance.

So, if you want to be relevant in 2025 – that means everyone currently under age 50 – it would be good advice to study other cultures and languages. That person sitting next to you most likely won’t have grown up in a neighborhood like yours.

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Envelope Please

As a child, I watched the Academy Awards every year with my parents. Back when there were four TV channels, it was a big treat to stay up late and see the stars in all their splendor. I recall George C. Scott and Marlon Brando refusing to accept Best Actor Oscars for their performances in Patton and The Godfather. I remember Bob Hope returning after a 10-year absence to host the 50th ceremony and Johnny Carson doing an outstanding job hosting five times from 1978-1983.

The tradition continues with my family. Kathy and I always have enjoyed watching during our nearly quarter century of marriage. Our eldest daughter is a big film buff – and since she boomeranged home after graduating from college, we had the pleasure of watching the 85th edition with her. The glamour and glitz displayed Sunday night – from ‘Who are you wearing?’ questions on the Red Carpet, to the many musical production numbers, to the appearances of legends like Jane Fonda and Barbra Streisand – continued the long history of celebrating the magic of Hollywood.

One thing that dawned on me as I watched is how much emphasis we, as a society, place on winning. Getting nominated isn’t good enough – and the ‘non-winners’ are quickly forgotten. Want proof? In 2009, Slumdog Millionaire received the Oscar for Best Picture: name one other film nominated. OK, that was hard. Here’s an easier one: The San Francisco Giants won the World Series last October – who did they beat?

Competition is great. Awards are important. Victory feels terrific. However, Vince Lombardi might have been wrong when he said, “Winning isn’t everything; it’s the only thing.” Perhaps commitment is what we should celebrate. So the next time you want to motivate employees, don’t create a competition to reward whoever finishes first. Focus on the effort.

By the way, when Jennifer Lawrence stumbled on her dress while ascending the steps to accept her Best Actress award, you may have noticed only one person in the audience jumped out of his seat to assist her. That gentleman displayed the humility and realness of a regular guy, not some Hollywood elitist – which is why I’ll be rooting for Hugh Jackman to win his first Academy Award the next time he’s up for an Oscar.

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Natural Selection

Yesterday I wrote about the great work Angel’s Lawn Service did sprucing up our shrubs and plants. The business lesson of that tale is the importance of taking a look at your organization with fresh eyes – and there is no better time than the beginning of spring, which comes to Houston far earlier than most of the country… much of which is currently in a deep freeze.

Angel’s crew left two of our pieces of greenery untouched at my instructions. One is the Knockout Roses in the backyard. I always cut those back on Valentine’s Day (because it’s easy to remember) and they grow and bloom throughout the year. The other is the evergreen vines that cover a trellis outside our kitchen window.

These are über vines. During growing season I trim them twice a month… as it seems they add two inches a night. A few weeks ago we were standing at the sink and I told my wife it looks like someone took a machete and hacked away at the top. Suddenly, a squirrel poked its head out and we realized she had chewed through to clear space for a nest behind the wood.

Now the cut vines are turning brown and dropping leaves. I realize the wise thing to do would be to clear the nest. (Assuming, of course, I don’t get bitten in the process.) However, I decided to let nature take its course, so sometime in the next 45 days we’ll have squirrel babies… each, one inch and one ounce. After a few months they’ll venture out on their own and play many games of chase in our trees this summer.

So, what’s this business lesson? Simple. Sometimes it’s best to leave things alone. Being a change agent doesn’t mean you have to change everything.

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