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People
When was the last time you took a field trip? A time when you stepped out of your office, drove yourself to another company, and just observed. It’s easy to get wrapped up in the daily drama of leading our organizations. It’s tempting to tell ourselves that our methods are the best. Yet, a 90-minute field trip inside the office of another organization can be a major accelerator for your leadership journey.
That’s just what happened last week when we arranged for Stone Brewing Company President, Steve Wagner, to take a team of five employees to visitWD40 President and CEO, Garry Ridge, at the company’s San Diego headquarters. The mission: to learn what role culture plays in creating the WD40brand and performance. The outcome: the ability for Stone Brewing to springboard its own initiative to align its culture and brand integrity.
With a total international employee base of just over 400, Ridge shared insights he’s gained to help WD40 achieve annual sales of over $400 million in 2015 – that’s nearly $1 million per employee. Here are some of the Stone team’s top takeaways:
1. Create a learning environment. When Ridge was promoted from within as CEO, he knew that growth was being held back partly due to deep silos within the organization. “Those who knew the most about how things worked guarded that knowledge, which gave them power,” Ridge said. He immediately set to work to define the concept of learning moments. Over time, he built trust in the concept by showing that no one would be punished for trying something new and sharing knowledge about what worked and what did not. At today’s WD40, knowledge is shared and information moves easily.
2. Personalize accountability and responsibility. InHelping People Win at Work, a book co-authored with Ken Blanchard, Ridge shares the unique WD40 performance review system. Employees develop measurable, achievable goals that will help the company reach its annual strategic targets. They describe what ‘A’ work looks like, rate their own progress each quarter, and review these ratings with their manager. The manager’s role is to help employees achieve all As. Ridge says, “If you help your people get As, your performance management system will ignite them to blow away your customers with outstanding service. Because people who feel good about themselves want to return the favor.”
3. Get your values off the wall. WD40 doesn’t just want good performers, it wants good performers who are also good citizens. Ridge believes that values must be at the core of your business model, not just words engraved in a plaque on the wall. Not only does the company have six, clear-to-understand values, but they are ranked in order of importance. He explained, “Life is about values conflicts. When these conflicts arise, people need to know which value to focus on.” Employees are taught the values at orientation, assigned to ‘tour guides’ to help explain values in action, and hold themselves accountable for demonstrating the values, which make up 30% of their performance review.
In 1 ½ hours, the Stone team saw a company that was candid about sharing knowledge, committed to achieving results, and clear about what it stands for. They gained actionable insights to help them crystallize their values, and cultivate the very best of Stone.
Question: If you were asked to share how your culture is aligned with your performance, what would you share in 90 minutes?
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People, Uncategorized
Culture. What does that word actually mean? Though many have tried, no one has ever landed on a fixed, universal definition for organizational culture. The subject has been vigorously debated from the pages of the Harvard Business Review to the halls of MIT Sloan. What is not debated is that culture is part of the DNA of every organization. Whether your organizational culture is empowering or toxic depends greatly on two factors: shared experience and modeled leadership.
Consider this. When new employees join your organization, they step in on Day 1 with a set of preconceived beliefs based on past experience. They may believe that markets are finite and there is only so much business to go around. They may believe that success happens only when we beat our competitors. That in order to for us to win business, others must lose. Some have been taught that ethics and morals can be bent. Others have relied on the strict dictates of policies and procedures. That makes up the experience half of the equation.
The other half comes directly from modeled leadership. If the leaders of the organization are fixated on business development, channel expansion, and market domination, they are not likely spending any time intentionally trying to shape the culture. Unintentionally, however, they are sending very clear signals about what is important to them. They are the cultural architects of your organization and contribute these three very important things to the culture equation:
1. What is measured. Let’s face it. Culture can be hard to measure. Senior executives tend to shy away from anything with a fuzzy ROI. Yet, whether you measure it or not, your culture is showing up in your bottom line. Skilfully managed cultures can be a performance multiplier. Recent research by the Great Place to Work© Institute found that companies that actively invest in workplace culture yield nearly 2x the return over their competitors. They also typically report 65% less voluntary turnover, saving an average of $3,500 per employee in recruiting and training costs. If culture isn’t part of your KPI mix, you’re sending the signal that it’s unimportant.
2. What is rewarded. A recent study by O.C. Tanner found that employees report being recognized for their work as their most important motivator, over 20 times more than salary. Employees study what behaviors and achievements get rewarded, and naturally modify their work accordingly. Leaders who understand this connection create recognition programs that go beyond passing out paychecks. WD-40 CEO Garry Ridge proudly hosts the company’s annual People Choice Awards. Each year, heartfelt speeches are given by winners of coveted awards like “Best Mentor Coach” and “Best Team Player.” Leaders like Ridge know that coin-operated employees have no passion.
3. What is ignored. Leaders are bombarded with data, hold back-to-back meetings, and field urgent requests on a daily basis. When we need to respond to fast-moving competitive situations, it is tempting to tap only our direct reports for feedback. In his Harvard Business Review article “The Focused Leader,” New York Times bestselling author Daniel Goleman warns that this temptation is dangerous. He recommends that leaders practice expanding their focus of awareness. “A failure to focus on others leaves you clueless, and a failure to focus outward may leave you blindsided,” Goleman writes. What’s worse, leaders who ignore input from those outside their immediate circle are signaling to the rest of the organization that their input is irrelevant.
Leaders are the cultural architects of your organization. The key metrics they pay attention to, the contributions they reward, and range of their awareness directly impact both your organizational culture and your bottom line.
Question: What do you measure, reward and ignore? How is that impacting your organizational culture?
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Purpose
We read a lot about commitments this time of year. According to the Statistic Brain Research Institute, just 71% of people who made resolutions 12 days ago are still keeping them. By the end of the year, only 8% typically succeed in keeping New Year’s their resolutions. If you’re among those who have trouble keeping commitments to yourself, you may be sabotaging your own success.
To learn why, ask yourself these questions from the PULSE© model used by Wellness Specialist Jenny Jacobs:
1. What is your tendency to control or be controlled? In Get Unstuck and Shift That Paradigm, Jacobs says that we all have an internal paradigm that helps us justify what we believe and how we feel. Some people believe that most things that happen in their life – both good and bad – are under their control. Others believe that they have no control and are victims of their world. According to Jacobs, “There are things in life we can control and things we cannot. It is imperative to differentiate between these circumstances to truly achieve a balanced paradigm.”
2. Do your unique strengths need excavating? In Unearth Your Unique Strengths, Jacobs states that every one of us has unique strengths that we may not be tapping into. She writes, “Your life is a series of events that leaves a context. Each layer or event has made you who you are today. The exciting thing is that the strengths and character traits you possess are still present. The precious gifts that lie within you don’t disappear. They may become squelched or hindered but they still exist.”
3. Are you focused on the present? In How To Linger in the Present, Jacobs suggests that we tend to dwell in doubt, fear, and bitterness – none of which have to do with the present moment. She says, “Living in the present is not about making plans for the future. It is making right choices in the present that lead you into the future in a more empowering way. But, it’s not an easy task. You literally have to tell your brain to STOP. Focus on the present. Focus on the sound of your breath. Focus on what is happening now and embrace it.”
4. Are you letting excuses run your life? Jacobs warns in 4 Ways to Surpass that Auto-Pilot Lifestyle not to wait for conditions to be perfect to start making changes. “Don’t wait until everything is just right. There will always be challenges, obstacles and less than perfect conditions. You won’t enjoy your life if you don’t enjoy your challenges.”
5. What is holding me back from experiencing right now? Ever driven home from work and pull into the driveway with no memory of the drive? Do you remember what you had for dinner last night? Don’t allow your life to be an endless stream of unrecorded moments. “Experience your life. Engage in your experiences. Get back in touch with the everyday-ness of your life,” Jacobs says in The Power to Act and Seize the Day.
Jacobs’ PULSE© model is an antidote to the resolution cycle. It’s a way to connect with who you are, where you are, and why you do what you do on a daily basis. When you can do that, you’ll never need to make another New Year’s resolution for the rest of your life.
Question: Do you know someone who regularly keeps their commitments? Are they more in touch with their daily behavior?
Join me and Jenny Jacobs this Thursday, April 14th in San Diego from
5:30-7:30 p.m. for RE:FRESH 2016! We will welcome 2016 in refreshing ways and rethink how we approach New Year’s resolutions. Learn more and register here: https://execexcellence.wpengine.com/refresh2016/
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Purpose
The gifts are unwrapped. The champagne poured. The ball fell. All of the year end holiday celebrations are behind us, and once again we face a fresh new year.
Those who will make 2016 a true success are not focused on their New Year’s resolutions – about what they will start doing or stop doing. Instead, they are focused on their why. They’ve taken the time to connect the dots of who they are with what they do. And that is very powerful motivator. They’ve tapped into how to make and keep commitments to themselves.
This year, get out of the cycle of failure. Don’t be part of the 92% of those who make and break New Year’s resolutions. Take the time to connect with your why. Here are three simple questions to get you started.
1. What did you want to be before the world ‘should’ on you? You know. “You should go into accounting.” “You should take over your father’s law practice.” “You should study medicine.” As Mark Albion writes in More Than Money, “It’s easy to slide into a career that matches your skills but not your deepest desires. When you get good at something you don’t want to do, you feel as if you’re dying a little bit each day – that your soul is being sucked out of you. Worse yet, it takes time to realize what’s going on.”
2. What did you want to do when you were eleven or twelve? In Now, Discover Your Strengths, Marcus Buckingham suggests that we remember our ‘yearnings’. He writes, “Perhaps because of your genes, or your early experiences, as a child you found yourself drawn to some activities and repelled by others. While your brother was chasing his friends around the yard, you settled down to tinker with the sprinkler head, pulling it apart so that you could figure out how it worked. Your analytical mind was already making its presence known.” Your purpose is hiding right beneath the surface of your life. It threads between the major events of your life and opens windows of opportunity.
3. What legacy do you want to leave? Author Michael Gerber takes this idea to an extreme in his book The E-Myth Revisited. He asks that you imagine attending your own funeral. All of your friends, your family, and your business associate are there. Picture yourself lying in the box in the center of the room, then listen. Imagine what your colleagues would say about you. Would they talk about the margins you gained? The deals you closed? The efficiencies you implemented? Or, would they talk about the value you left behind? How you helped them grow? How they are better off because they knew you? Starting today, you have the power to shape these conversations.
Rather than rushing to the gym or buying an organizer, take some time this month to connect with your why. There’s no passion to be found in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living. Find your passion. Connect with your why. Work on purpose.
Question: Do you know someone who is guided by a clear sense of purpose? What differences do you see in their daily behavior?
Interested in finding your WHY?
Watch my recent SUE Talk on the importance of placing significance over success and connecting who you are with what you do.
Letter from the Founder
Happy New Year!
There once was a Pharaoh who went out to inspect the progress of two pyramids. The first pyramid was a mess! The blocks were uneven, the ramps were unstable, oxen were milling about… The Pharaoh stopped a nearby worker and asked, “What is your job?” The worker replied, “I move stones from this pile to that pile all day long.” At the next pyramid, the Pharaoh saw much greater progress. The blocks fit together perfectly. Teams of oxen were moving evenly up the ramps. This pyramid was really taking shape. When the Pharaoh asked a worker, “What is your job?” the worker replied, “I am building a pyramid!”
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