CEO Success Report -
March 2002
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CEO Success Report
- March 2002
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Increasing the Effectiveness and Enhancing the Lives of CEOs
and business owners.
Contents of this issue...
.. Welcome - A few words from the publisher, Gary Lockwood
.. Thought-Starter - "Get Better Clients"
.. Guest article - "Leadership And Stories"
.. CEO Resources
.. Quotes to use in your staff meeting this month
.. Humor to lighten up the executive suite
.. Contact the publisher
.. Subscribe and unsubscribe instructions
See past issues of the CEO Success Report at:
http://www.CEOSuccess.com/archives
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WELCOME to this issue of the CEO Success Report!
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Hello again. I'm Gary Lockwood, President of CEO Success.
Welcome back once again to the CEO Success. I know you have
no shortage of material to read and I thank you for choosing to
read our newsletter.
Two years ago this month, we created this newsletter for CEOs who
want to increase their effectiveness and enhance their lives. Over
this period, you have seen a wide variety of articles, information,
funnies, quotes and resources.
We work hard to provide practical ideas, thought-provoking concepts
and useful information for you.
You (and about 1000 of your CEO peers), have honored me by being a loyal
subscriber. For that, I appreciate you.
Over the next 60 days or so, I intend to update the newsletter. You
will see a few formatting changes to make it easier to read. I also
intend to switch to a new method of emailing this so you won't have
to see the ads that Topica places at the top and bottom of each issue.
Here's my request of you. If you have suggestions and comments
about the CEO Success Report, please send your thoughts to:
Gary@CEOSuccess.com <mailto:Gary@CEOSuccess.com>
My Thought-Starter today outlines the process of getting better clients.
I don't mean to sound rude, but most businesses take on any client
who steps up with the money. Consider the cost to you for dealing
with the people you serve. You can surround yourself with people
who are pleasant, easy to deal with, interesting and, oh yes, profitable.
Get started getting better clients today. You deserve it.
May I ask a small favor? Please forward this issue to other CEOs
and company presidents who may be interested in receiving
these messages. Thank you.
And now for our guest article this month...
Notice what happens when people hear the words, "I'm going to tell
you a story." They relax. They open up. They listen. They become
neurologically receptive to new Information and new possibilities.
The result of that state is that people retain more of what they hear,
they internalize it and take it to "usability" more effectively.
Few talents are more important to managerial success than knowing
how to tell a good story."
Our guest article this month is from Ed Konczal. In his article,
"Leadership And Stories", he outlines the hows and whys of having
and telling a great story. Read more about Ed at the end of his article.
I hope you enjoy receiving these articles and ideas to
help you sharpen your thinking about being an effective CEO.
My wish is that you use the ideas in the CEO Success Report to
get the results you really want. If you want some help in putting
them into practice, or if you have questions, email or call.
As you know, our specialty is Increasing the Effectiveness
and Enhancing the Lives of CEOs and business owners.
Enjoy this issue with my compliments.
Sincerely,
Gary Lockwood
CEO Success
P.S. There's still time to register for the One-Day Executive
Conference April 9, 2002 at the historic and beautiful Dearborn
Inn in Dearborn, Michigan.
Success in today's challenging business environment requires
creative new strategies. This conference provides a forum for the
exchange of creative approaches and ideas that underlie sound
strategy in today's changing economic realities.
See and hear what today's winners are doing. Brought to you by
our friends at the Center for Simplified Strategic Planning.
http://www.cssp.com/conference/default2.asp
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
This month's THOUGHT-STARTER
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Get Better Clients
Have you ever noticed that some people make you feel good just
to be around them? These are the people who give you energy
when they are near you. These special people seem to unlock your
creativity and stimulate your thinking. Wow!
On the other hand, there are probably others you can think of who
drain all the life out of you. Which clients would you rather have?
I don't mean to sound rude, but most businesses take on any client
who steps up with the money. Don't get me wrong; we all know
that a paying client is indeed very valuable. My point is that you
consider the cost to you for dealing with the people you serve.
Just for discussion purposes, let's explore the impact that our
clients have on us.
The first type of client mentioned above (let's name this person
Gusto) is the type who is fun and interesting. When you interact
with Gusto, you come away feeling energized. This person will
likely be the type who gives you honest, constructive feedback
about your products and services. Gusto will often even help you
improve your offering. This type of client is instrumental in
growing your business through their referrals.
Since you like to be around Gusto, you'll provide extra service,
faster turnaround and preferred pricing. Since Gusto is such a
happy client, you'll even refer people to THEIR products and
services. Because Gusto is receiving such great, attentive
service, you get a steady stream of enthusiastic referrals.
You have a terrific symbiotic relationship with Gusto.
Those other types of clients we discussed earlier (let's name this
one Vampire), is the one who complains the loudest, verbally
abuses your employees, and is so very hard to please. Vampire
will often demand extra services, then complain about them.
Vampire will drag out the payments, show up late for appointments
and ask for special favors. It is easy to get angry and frustrated
with this type of person. A few minutes with Vampire leaves you
feeling drained.
Honestly, which type of client do you want around you? Imagine
your SECOND appointment of the day is to meet a very important
prospective new client. Do you want your first appointment of
the day to be with Gusto or Vampire?
I remember riding along on sales calls with a young salesperson
a while back. We paid a visit to one long-standing client who
ignored us for an hour, then curtly said there would be no orders
placed this week. The client then turned and walked away as if
we were invisible.
Back in the car, the young salesperson said "I wish I had 20 clients
like that one." Seeing my puzzlement at this strange comment,
the salesperson explained "I would love to have 20 clients like
this one. You see, I have 100 clients like that right now."
What is the impact on you and your enterprise when you deal with
Vampire? For one thing, Vampire can cause you to be cynical with
new prospective clients. Sometimes, the frustration of trying to
placate Vampire can spill over to your staff, suppliers and your
good clients. While Vampire may be paying for your products and
services, they may be costing you even more.
So how do you upgrade your client base? Let's acknowledge that
even the worst client who pays is still a paying client, after all.
I do not suggest you take that lightly. On the other side of the
balance scale, recognize the opportunities for you if you upgrade
your client base. Before you run off your not-so-pleasant clients,
try training them, and yourself, to recognize what is happening.
Start with being honest with yourself. Is it possible that your
clients are mirroring your own behavior? To attract the kind of
people you want, be the kind of person you want to attract. If you
want them to be pleasant, be pleasant. If you desire to be around
positive, forward-thinking people, take on that role for yourself.
It is not always easy to admit, but often, we are the catalyst for
what is happening around us.
Second, wake up to the fact that you are tolerating more than you
need to. Your boundaries are being trampled, and you are just
letting it happen.
What can you do? The first step is to make a list of the things you
are tolerating. Many of your tolerations are not even conscious
decisions. You have been tolerating stuff for so long that you do not
realize it is going on. To surface and identify these tolerations,
write down everything that you are putting up with, getting by or
making do. If you have less than 20-30 on your list, you are only
kidding yourself. Keep writing.
Look through the list to see which ones are related to clients and
prospective clients. What behaviors are you tolerating from them?
What behaviors are you putting up with just to have them as a client?
Next, examine your boundaries. Boundaries are imaginary lines we
draw around ourselves to protect us from other people's unhealthy
or damaging behavior. Boundaries are about other people's actions.
Boundaries are about what others can NOT do or say to you (or in
your presence).
For too long, we have been vague about where our boundaries are.
We are even more vague about making other people aware of our
boundaries. Think of boundaries as the protective moat around
your castle.
When people step over your boundaries, you have several options.
Generally, you can use these options in this sequence:
INFORM - "Do you realize that you are speaking very loudly?"
INSTRUCT - "I require that you be on time for our meetings."
REQUEST - "I request that you pay your outstanding invoice today."
INSIST - "I insist that you stop using that language in my store."
LEAVE - "What you are doing is unacceptable to me. I am open to
working this out with you when you can do so appropriately and
reasonably. Goodbye."
Make others aware of your boundaries when they are violated. You
do not have to tolerate inconsiderate or inappropriate behavior.
Eventually, you can surround yourself with people who are pleasant,
easy to deal with, interesting and, oh yes, profitable.
Get better clients. You deserve it.
Note: This article is an excerpt from my most recent book, "The
BizSuccess Book: Making Changes That Can Transform Your
Enterprise". Each chapter of this book shows you how to transform
your life and your business. You don't have to settle for making
incremental improvements. You can make quantum leaps -
breakthroughs - in the results you are getting.
Please accept a free copy of my book at
http://www.CEOSuccess.com/freebook.htm
About the Author...
Gary Lockwood is Increasing the Effectiveness and Enhancing the
Lives of CEOs, business owners and professionals.
Get the Free BizSuccess newsletter -
http://www.bizsuccess.com/newsletter.htm
or send any blank email to mailto:subscribe@BizSuccess.com
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Guest Article
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Leadership And Stories
by Ed Konczal
"Stories constitute the single most powerful weapon in a leader's
arsenal." Dr. Howard Gardner, Professor, Harvard University, and
Author of Leading Minds.
You might think that a degree in business or better yet an MBA is
needed to become a leader - wrong! I have both, but when I got my
first supervisory job, I realized how little I knew about what it took
to be a good leader.
Look at the business leaders cited in the book Lessons From The
Top. A random sampling of ten shows:
**Leader**
Education
Carol Bartz
Computer Science
Jack Welch
Chemistry
Fred Smith
B.A.
Michael Eisner B.A.
Charles Schwab MBA
Larry Bossidy B.A.
Elizabeth Dole J.D.
Martha Ingram B.A.
Lou Gerstner MBA
Steve Case B.A.
Only 2 out 10 have MBAs or business degrees. Of course a business
degree helps but it doesn't guarantee that you will become a leader.
What I do remember from my course with Peter Drucker was his
telling stories about how Alfred Sloane led General Motors to a
transformation. He also told stories about his own development -
when he was a young manager he learned how never to surprise
your boss.
Stories stay with you because they involve people and how they deal
with real problems and issues. Look at the best books in business -
they all include stories or anecdotes about real business issues. As
Thomas A. Stewart puts it, "Nothing serves a leader better than a
knack for narrative. Stories anoint role models, impart values, and
show how to execute indescribably complex tasks."
We think that story telling in business is an effective but greatly
underused technique. According to Charlotte Linde, a linguist at
Stanford University and the Institute for Research on Learning in
Menlo Park, Calif., stories of identity help organizations bring in
New members, adapt to change, and, crucially, define who is "us"
(and who "them") and why we're here. She adds: "Stories play a
big role in institutional memory--they are the principal means by
which groups remember."
Stories are such potent carriers of values and memory and similar
stories sometimes show up in more than one company. For instance,
many companies share the story of the day an underling stops the
boss from breaking a rule. In the IBM version, Tom Watson praises
the security guard who forces him to go back for his identification.
But when a Revlon receptionist won't let Charles Revson walk off
with a sign-in sheet, he fires her. In one company the morale is, we
obey rules; in the other, we obey rulers.
Notice what happens when people hear the words, "I'm going to tell
you a story." They relax. They open up. They listen. They become
neurologically receptive to new Information and new possibilities.
The result of that state is that people retain more of what they hear,
they internalize it and take it to "usability" more effectively.
(Karen V. Bading, Janet E. Crawford and Lisa J. Marshall)
We agree with Michael Hattersley, who in his Harvard Business
Review article says, "Too often, we make the mistake of thinking of
business as a matter of pure rational calculation, something that in
a few years computers will handle better than humans. One hears
this in conference room and corridor: "What do the numbers indicate?"
"Just give me the facts." "Let's weigh the evidence and make the
right decision." And yet, truth to tell, few talents are more important
to managerial success than knowing how to tell a good story."
How Companies Are Using Stories
** The 3M company is currently using stories as part of its business
planning to generate excitement and commitment. Their strategic
stories set the stage, introduce dramatic conflict and outline the
challenges the company is facing, and reach a resolution, which
outlines the organization's approach to the future.
** IBM preps its executives on how to get just the right kinds of
stories to tell and retell.
** Physician Sales & Service (PSS) employees chuckle whenever
their CEO tells a story about a bad bank relationship. And they learn,
or relearn, an important lesson: No matter how badly other people
treat you, no matter how confident you get about your future, never
burn your bridges. The power of this story inside PSS also offers a
lesson about leadership itself: In the new world of business, where
it's every executive's job to make sense of a fast-changing environ-
ment, storytelling is the ultimate leadership tool.
** Noel Tichy in workshops with clients such as Ameritech, Royal
Dutch/Shell, Coca-Cola, and US West. Business leaders, he says,
need "a teachable point of view - a set of ideas about success in the
marketplace and a set of values based on personal and organizational
success." The best way to communicate that point of view is through
a story.
The Corporate Story can be used in a number of ways. Human
Resource Departments can include it in their orientation package,
sharing with new employees all the hopes, struggles, and accomplish-
ments the company has undergone over the years. This gives employees
a sense of belonging, a feeling of being a part of something that has
substance, and that in turn gives them a sense of security and pride.
Corporate stories are also ideal sales and marketing tools, giving
customers interesting, historical background information they might
otherwise never know. In addition, corporate stories are excellent
morale boosters, as they show that the contributions made by the
"elders" of the company continue to be valued to this day. What new
employee wouldn't want to give their all to a company that honors its
past employees in such a way? (Haley & DiMaggio Newsletter,
Volume 1 Number 1.)
** Hewlett-Packard is a company that recognizes the power of stories.
Most everyone at HP has heard about the time that Bill Hewlett found
the door to the supply room locked, snapped it open with a bolt
cutter, and left a note reading, "Don't ever lock this door again."
It's a great lesson in prizing trust as well as order. Or about the
Time that Dave Packard toured an HP factory, saw a cheap, thin
Prototype for a new product, twisted it into a mangled ball, and
declared it "a hunka junk." It's a great lesson in prizing quality as
well as cost. (Fast Company.)
** At Patagonia, an outdoor-sports apparel company in Ventura,
California, customer storytellers surf at the "Point," right outside
The front door of headquarters. Founder Yvon Chouinard, who
spends at least six months a year at the ends of the earth testing
his company's gear himself, has made a point of hiring several of
these customers so they could share their war stories in-house.
He refers to them affectionately as his "dirtbags," people who spend
so much time outside that it shows under their fingernails.
** Honest Tea in Bethesda, Md., is a purveyor of loose and bagged
teas. It differentiates itself by exploring its roots at its web site.
The "Our Story" section of the site describes how the company
came up with the idea and started the business. "We know from
our market research that people want to know more than just about
a product, they want to know about the story of the company," says
co-founder Seth Goldman.
** A positive example of corporate story telling is one where the head
of British Airlines took over a few years ago. One of the first things
he did was go to the airport and take a flight. The first-class area
was full and the reservations staff was going to move someone out
of first class to give him a seat. He said, "No, no. These are people
that have paid for tickets. Give me whatever's available." The only
available seat was one in the last row that did not even recline.
He took it.
The former CEO would never have done something like that. When he
was on board, the flight attendant rushed back to him with magazines
and said, "Well, we've got a few magazines." The CEO said, "Give
it
to the paying customers first. If there's anything left, I'll take it
at the end." Of course, there was nothing left. That story went
through the company in seconds. It was recounted over and over
as if it had happened last week. What kind of message does that
give? Obviously, that the customer comes first. This story accentuated
all of the communications the company was doing.
How To Tell Stories
Here are some guidelines from Stephen Denning who is with the
Storytelling Foundation International.
..Stories should be told from the perspective of a single protagonist.
..Stories with multiple protagonists are more difficult to win
sympathy for than stories with a single protagonist.
..The story should have a degree of strangeness or incongruity for
the listeners.
..The story must, in a sense, violate the listener's perceptual
frameworks in some way. It should arouse their curiosity.
..The story must not only be strange, but also eerily familiar.
..If the story is too exotic, it will fail to spring the listeners to
a new level of understanding of their own situations.
..The story should, to the extent possible, be a true story.
..Where the story is true, there is greater credibility that it is
worth listening to.
..The story should be told as simply and as briefly as possible.
Michael Hattersley, in his Harvard Business Review article The
Managerial Art of Telling a Story, offers these guidelines -
.. Opening Strategies - Getting Their Attention.
Demonstrate that there's a defining value at stake. Begin with a vivid
concrete image. Avoid too much detail or you will lose your readers.
Put the familiar in a new light. By creating a new perception of the
situation, you signal that you're setting out on an adventure that the
audience should want to join.
.. Building Strategies - Holding Their Attention
Convey a clear sense of direction. Once you've defined the central
thrust of your argument, identify the issues you'll need to cover to
reach a conclusion.
Overcome obstacles - confronting and then overcoming obstacles to
the achievement of your common goal can inject the excitement of an
adventure story;
Maintain suspense - by vividly defining the challenge to be met, you
can generate suspense about how it can be resolved.
Portray character in action - audiences usually identify more with
people than they do with abstract ideas, which means that sometimes
it's most effective to describe a proposal or situation in terms of
its effect on a particular individual
.. Concluding Strategies - Driving the Point Home
A successful conclusion feels expected, complete and inevitable.
Respect the audience's expectations - make sure you've condensed
your argument into the minimum number of words possible without
wandering or being too abrupt.
Draw the lesson or moral - when your audience realizes you're about
to finish, their attention level goes up. Take advantage of heightened
audience attention to drive your main point home, preferably in
language as vivid as you used in the beginning.
Point to the next steps - most business communications carry with them
a call to action. Once you've convinced an audience of the merits of
your proposal, outline for it the specific actions necessary to reach
what, by now, should be your common goal.
These are guidelines are meant to get you started. Not all stories
need to cover each guideline item but expect that any effective
story will need cover the majority of these guidelines. Perhaps one
more guideline should be added - have fun writing your stories.
Here is a story telling technique that you might want to use at your
next group meeting. I found it on Fast Company Magazine's website -
thanks to Michael Buschmohle Here's a four-part formula for telling
or analyzing stories.
1) Somebody...(a person, actor, group)
2) wanted...(what this person sought, desired, yearned for)
3) but...(complication, obstacle, conflict)
4) so...(resolution, climax, outcome, learning)
This makes a great learning tool in a group: ask one person to create
a "somebody," next person add a "wanted," and so on. Lively
stories
and high energy emerge.
Some final thoughts - before human beings settled into farms and
cities, and began lives of relative predictability, they gathered at
night around campfires and told stories. Through those stories they
learned from one another. They learned the signs that might tell them
where the game hid, they learned of places where roots and tubers
might grow, they learned where fresh water was to be found and
where honey bees hid. And they learned, as well, of triumphing
through cunning and courage, or sacrifices made by parents for
children, of the power of love, of overcoming fear.
Millennia later we find ourselves in the era of the New Economy. We
struggle with complex work and life issues. Telling stories is once
again a powerful technique to help us cope.
About Ed Konczal.
Ed Konczal spent most of his career working in a large Fortune 100
company. He is co-founder of Generation 2000 InSite Management
Consultants (www.g2insite.com). This article is a selection from a
forthcoming e-book, "Simple Stories For Leadership Insights", by Ed
and his partner Jeannette Galvanek. Contact Ed Konczal by e-mail
at mailto:ed1kon@ix.netcom.com
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
RESOURCES for CEOs
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
The BizSuccess Strategy Book
http://www.StrategyBook.com
** Are you doing the RIGHT THINGS at the RIGHT
TIME? **
Why are some people successful in their business AND they
don't work all the hours you work? How do they do it?
---> The BizSuccess Strategy Book reveals the secrets
The BizSuccess Strategy Book will help YOU grow your business,
make more money and have more fun.
Click to http://www.StrategyBook.com
for details
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
QUOTES to use in your staff meeting this month
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
"Experience is not what happens to you; it's what you do with what
happens to you."
Aldous Huxley
"Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that
something else is more important than fear."
Ambrose Redmoon
"What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters
compared to what lies within us."
Oliver Wendell Holmes
"Everyone is kneaded out of the same dough but not baked in the
same oven."
Yiddish Proverb
"You can tell whether a man is clever by his answers. You can tell
whether a man is wise by his questions."
Naguib, Mahfouz
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HUMOR to lighten up the executive suite
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
A young man, hired by a supermarket, reported for his first
day of work. The manager greeted him with a warm handshake
and a smile, gave him a broom and said, "Your first job will
be to sweep out the store."
"But I'm a college graduate." the young man replied
indignantly.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know that," said the manager.
"Here,
give me the broom, I'll show you how."
Your Order
-----------
"May I take your order?" the waiter asked.
"Yes, how do you prepare your chickens?"
"Nothing special, sir," he replied. "We just tell them
straight
out that they're going to die."
Tidbits
-------
The citrus soda 7-UP was created in 1929; "7" was selected
because
the original containers were 7 ounces. "UP" indicated the
direction
of the bubbles.
Mosquito repellents don't repel. They hide you. The spray blocks
the mosquito's sensors so they don't know you're there.
Dentists have recommended that a toothbrush be kept at least 6 feet
away from a toilet to avoid airborne particles resulting from the
flush.
The liquid inside young coconuts can be used as substitute for blood
plasma.
American car horns beep in the tone of F.
No piece of paper can be folded more than 7 times.
Donkeys kill more people annually than plane crashes.
1 in every 4 Americans has appeared on television.
You burn more calories sleeping than you do watching television.
***excerpts from: http://www.joker.org/
***
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
CONTACT CEO Success
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Gary Lockwood is the publisher of the CEO Success Report.
Email: mailto:Gary@CEOSuccess.com
Office: (800) 272-1575 (USA) * (909) 984-3344
Fax: (909) 494-4314
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Your Comments, please?
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
I appreciate feedback, corrections, and comments about the
CEO Success Report. Please send your thoughts to:
Gary@CEOSuccess.com <mailto:Gary@CEOSuccess.com>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Subscribe and unsubscribe instructions
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Visit http://www.CEOSuccess.com/newsletter.htm
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