The Happy Burro

Relationships drive results.  I bet it is not the first time you’ve heard that platitude.  I wrote about this in October 2007 and January 2010.

Following are links to a few kind souls that have helped me drive results, through their words, thoughts, friendship and/or courage.  Get to know some of them, by their leadership, their words, their ideas and inspiration.  You’ll start seeing the results.

Tom Christiansen – Minnesota artist Tom Christiansen has worked in art metal for over thirty years. Tom brings that tactile, robust energy back into our lives. And at the same time, he doesn’t like to take himself too seriously‚ most of his pieces express his sense of humor as well.

Mark Falstad – He is a seasoned veteran of network documentaries and news magazines. Mark has won two national Emmys and earned five Emmy nominations for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Electronic Cinematography.

Valeria Maltoni – She specializes in taking companies to what’s next in their business cycle through marketing communications, customer dialogue, and brand advocacy.  Valeria built one of the first online communities associated with Fast Company magazine.

Alex Pattakos – affectionately nicknamed “Dr. Meaning,” is widely known and respected as a pioneer in transformational thinking.  He is the author of the international best-selling book, Prisoners of Our Thoughts, which is based on the wisdom of (and was encouraged personally by) his mentor, the world-renown psychiatrist, Dr. Viktor Frankl.

Steve Roesler – He has designed and delivered leadership and communication programs for some of the world’s largest organizations and has more than 30 years of contributing to speaking, professional development, and high-level executive coaching.

Seth Godin – Seth Godin is the author of ten books that have been bestsellers around the world and changed the way people think about marketing, change and work. He is responsible for many words in the marketer’s vocabulary, including permission marketing, ideaviruses, purple cows, the dip and sneezers. ___________

Each has in their own inimitable way enriched my life, personally and professionally.  THANK YOU!

- Joe

Joe Raasch :: Apr.18.2010 :: Uncategorized :: 1 Comment »

(originally published July 20, 2008)

Does your organization have values? I mean written, published, communicated values. Ones that extend beyond the mission statement and goals. General Electric professes the values of: curious, passionate, resourceful, accountable, teamwork, committed, open, energizing. Each is linked to one of four actions: imagine, solve, build, lead.

If you’re in the business of making money for shareholders (public), carrying out the mission of the owners (private) or serving the agenda of elected officials (public service/government), why does the leader of your organization have to communicate values? After all, your goals, promotions, even incentive pay, are based on results, right?

Values As Marketing

“The Best Food In Town” , “We’re the dealer you can trust” , “Employees are our greatest asset”. If you have to use basic tenets of your industry or restate a simple customer expectation as a ‘value’, you’re way off track. Have you ever eaten at a restaurant because they their values include “serving a good meal”? Hmmm…no. Values such as Integrity, Trust and other platitudes are what you and your people should be showing up with every single day – and not rely solely on posters, wallet cards or inspiring leadership speeches.

Values As Camouflage

Enron’s values (2001) were:

Communication
We have an obligation to communicate. Here, we take the time to talk with one another… and to listen. We believe that information is meant to move and that information moves people.

Respect
We treat others as we would like to be treated ourselves. We do not tolerate abusive or disrespectful treatment.

Integrity
We work with customers and prospects openly, honestly and sincerely. When we say we will do something, we will do it; when we say we cannot or will not do something, then we won’t do it.

Excellence
We are satisfied with nothing less than the very best in everything we do. We will continue to raise the bar for everyone. The great fun here will be for all of us to discover just how good we can really be.

I bet they had slick brochures, printed wallet-sized cards for every employee, and posters in every hallway. Visible on the outside. Did anyone internalize these values? Was this part of any performance management plan?

Values As DNA

“…a good mission statement and a good set of values are so real they smack you in the face with their concreteness.”

“Clarity around values and behaviors is not much good unless it is backed up. To make values really mean something, companies have to reward the people who exhibit them and “punish” those who don’t.”

- Winningby Jack and Suzy Welch

Communicate, communicate, communicate. Unless you want to have a bunch of faded posters on your office walls that are the butt of several jokes, make the values real. As a leader, model and exemplify them. As a member of your organization, talk about them every chance you get. Make the values part of how you hire, fire, promote, and reward employees. Instill it in every part of the organization and in every action. If people don’t follow the values, call them on it. If you as a leader let values slide, what do you expect your staff and the rest of the organization to do?

___________________

What are the values that guide your organization? Are they marketing, camouflage, or ‘DNA’?

Joe Raasch :: Feb.26.2010 :: Uncategorized :: No Comments »

This is the first in a series of posts on Actions versus Words.

Many of us are familiar with the saying, “actions speak louder than words.”  This essentially means that what someone does is indicative of their beliefs or intent to a much greater degree than what they may say. What happens when actions and words are in alignment, and no one believes it?  Here are some of the possibilities:

Valueless Leadership

If the values of the leader are in question, then words, actions and even silence are taken with a measure of wariness.

“Leaders whose stock-in-trade is glib talk with survey-driven promises are nothing more than beach dwellers who build sand castles instead of possessing the courage to draw a line in the sand.” – Steve Roesler

Beware the grand speech with many fancy graphs and no plan.  Require specific direction with decision points and accountability in the plans.

Rudderless Leadership

If words and actions are aligned, yet change on an all-too-often basis, this can cause even the most ardent of followers to hang back and wait for the next change in the wind.  Saves them a lot of wasted work time getting set for one initiative/direction, when everything changes so fast.

In this school of thought, you say something in order to have said something and what has been said is of little moment. – Michael Wade

Pick an option.  Make a decision.  State your case.  Keep to the subject.

Maybe

Maybe there is more to this action versus words dilemma than previously thought.  Where does trust come to play in all this?  Or results?  Would you work with a leader who is mainly results-focused – but doesn’t necessarily keep to the stated alignment of actions and words?

Joe Raasch :: Aug.09.2009 :: Uncategorized :: No Comments »