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CEO Success Report  -  May 2002

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          CEO Success Report  -  May 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 - "Got Referrals?"
   .. Guest article - "Messy Desks and Chaos"
   .. 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


==========================================================
      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.

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.

As I discussed recently, we switched to a new service for emailing this newsletter so you won't be subjected to the ads that our old service placed at the top and  bottom of each issue. If you have any difficulty with your subscription, just email me at
  Gary@CEOSuccess.com <mailto:Gary@CEOSuccess.com>

What would your business be like if your current customers were enthusiastically rounding up prospective customers for you? Imagine the excitement of talking to people who already know about you and know about your products and services. How difficult would it be to close those sales?

Of course! Selling to those people would be a piece of cake. So why aren't your current customers bringing you referrals? Perhaps it's because you have not instructed them, motivated them, made it easy for them, asked them or initiated the process.

Like most worthwhile endeavors, getting recommendations requires planning and preparation. My Thought-Starter today shows you how to get more and better referrals.

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...

Stability and order were the essence of good management in the relatively static environments of the past. This image is illustrated by the effective executive depicted in most training films who sits behind a tidy desk in a picture perfect room. This person is well planned and organized. He is the master of control and problem solving. Unfortunately, these films fail to inform the viewer of the chaos of movie making. In other words, the real story is one of chaos and bloopers rather than the fantasy of a neat and tidy desk world.

Our guest article this month is from Bob J. Holder. In his article, Bob dispels the myth that suggests that reality ought to be predictable. Bob contends that Nature is filled with and thrives on chaos and he offers ideas on how to best deal with it. Read more about Bob 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


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       This month's THOUGHT-STARTER ===========================================


          Got Referrals?

Ho-Hum. Another day at the office, waiting for a potential customer to call or come in. Hmmmm.

What would your business be like if your current customers were enthusiastically rounding up prospective customers for you? Imagine the excitement of talking to people who already know about you and know about your products and services. How difficult would it be to close those sales?

Of course! Selling to those people would be a piece of cake. So why aren't your current customers bringing you referrals? Perhaps it's because you have not instructed them, motivated them, made it easy for them, asked them or initiated the process.

Like most worthwhile endeavors, getting referrals requires planning and preparation. First, the planning. Start by making a list of all the people who might be a referral source for you. These may include people you do business with, such as your banker, accountant, attorney, printer, consultant, broker, and so on. This list will also include at least some of your existing clients. How about friends, community leaders, previous business associates, and suppliers?

Next, scan the list for the handful of your best current referrers. Chances are, you have a few people who routinely recommend prospective customers to you. Perhaps you also send referrals to them. Start with these potential "Referral Partners". Almost always, you'll have better results by developing stronger relation- ships with a few referral sources rather than shallow relationships with lots of sources.

In order to help your Referral Partners give you good, qualified referrals, you need to get crystal-clear about what you are looking for. What types of people/organizations make the best customers for you? Are there any geographic limitations? How about size or volume requirements?

What problems do your products and services solve? Your Referral Partner will have an easier time of spotting potential clients for you if they (and you) are clear about what symptoms to look for. This also makes it very natural for your Referral Partner to suggest your firm as a way for their colleague to solve a problem.

Don't overlook the desired personal characteristics of potential customers. As you know, the chemistry you have with a customer is a crucial factor in establishing a long-term business relationship. 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 just drain all the life out of you. Which would you rather have as clients? You can surround yourself with people who are pleasant, easy to deal with, interesting and, oh yes, profitable.

When you are clear about describing the recommendations you want, you make it easier for your Referral Partners to identify prospective customers for you.

Now that you have identified several possible Referral Partners and you are clear about the types of customers you want, it's time to create a customized plan for each Referral Partner. Think win- win. What does the Referral Partner get from this relationship? Brainstorm all the various ways in which the Referral Partner benefits from giving you a recommendation. Be as specific as you can. Each person has individual needs and interest, so be creative in discovering ways in which this person gets value from the Referral Partner relationship.

Perhaps one of your current Referral Partners could help you brainstorm this list of possible benefits that come from referring clients to you. Remember, people do things for their reasons, not yours. If you can't articulate the benefits of sending referrals to you, you'll not likely get many.

In order to instill confidence in your Referral Partner, you need to spell out exactly what you will do when given a referral. Your Referral Partner has surely developed valuable relationships over the years and will be most reluctant to do anything that might jeopardize those relationships. Be specific as to what will happen when your Referral Partner gives you a referral. A simple, step-by -step process that shows how you will represent yourself (and your Referral Partner) will provide assurance that the potential customer will be treated with respect and dignity.

Next, discuss the specific actions you want from your Referral Partner. Do you want them to call the potential customer? What do you want them to say? Would you prefer they arrange a three- way appointment? Often, people want to give you referrals, but don't know exactly what to do or how to do it. Train them; coach them; help them get clear on what's expected of them.

Once you get a referral, be sure to show your appreciation. Behavior that is recognized tends to be repeated. You can show your appreciation in many creative ways. For some Referral Partners, it may be a gift. Others may prefer recognition, favors, events or special support. Showing your appreciation is not only the polite thing to do; it is also a smart way to encourage more referrals.

So far, we've discussed getting recommendations for potential customers. What about referrals to new referral sources? By using the same process outlined earlier, you have the opportunity to develop new Referral Partners. This is a great way to dramatically increase your business without the time and effort of cold calling and cold prospecting.

Bottom line; developing and implementing an effective referral strategy can produce a steady stream of new business for years to come. You can achieve your professional goals faster and easier through effectively targeting referrals. Start today.

Got referrals?

   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
==================================


Adventuring in the Changing Realities of Messy Desks and Chaos by Bob J. Holder

Stability and order were the essence of good management in the relatively static environments of the past. This image is illustrated by the effective executive depicted in most training films who sits behind a tidy desk in a picture perfect room. This person is well planned and organized. He is the master of control and problem solving. Unfortunately, these films fail to inform the viewer of the chaos of movie making. In other words, the real story is one of chaos and bloopers rather than the fantasy of a neat and tidy desk world.

The Myth of Tidy Desk World

What is the source of "tidy desk world"? This image is based on the myth of Newtonian mechanics. This myth suggests that reality ought to be predictable and composed of everlasting patterns as a movie because, as with a video cassette, reality is viewed as a deterministic closed system. Unfortunately, reality isn't a video store where we can easily select the movie that we want to watch. Nature is filled with and thrives on chaos.

Messy Desk Leadership

In an increasingly messy world, the ability to create chaos is displacing the skills of order and stability. The effective leader wants to create chaos and seeks to be a problem creator. He or she recognizes the importance of romancing rather than playing the numbers game. The reason is simple. Chaos, problem creating, disorder, and romancing compose the heart and soul of dynamics - the process of evolving new orders. And, dynamics is critical to creating the competitive advantage.

The benefits of chaos are illustrated by Rational, a German oven manufacturer. Owner Siegfried Meister created chaos by announcing the suspension of its existing product and the devotion of its total energies to a new oven. This created a variety of problems for Meister. Foremost was convincing his associates that he hadn't lost his mind and that the new oven would create a new order in the marketplace. From this chaos arose a new commitment and order to support the new product. When launched, the oven created chaos in the industry. Other firms were unable to compete against the new oven resulting in an expanding market share for the firm.

Chaos and Cloaked War Birds

Chaos also allows a firm to become rather than to be defeated by "cloaked war bird competitors." As in the show Star Trek -- The Next Generation, such firms appear out of seemingly nowhere as do cloaked Romulan war birds to launch a spread of new products and services. As a result of the speed and innovation imperatives, such war birds will be the norm during the 1990s. Says C.K. Prahalad, a university of Michigan professor, "The global and competitive battles of the 1990s will be won by companies that can get out of traditional and shrinking product markets by building and dominating fundamentally new markets." For example, to accelerate the launching and spread of new products, Japanese firms are using a multi-dimensional innovation strategy. Says Peter Drucker, "The idea is to produce three new products to replace each present product with the same investment of time and money." A multi-dimensional team (marketers, engineers, scientists and manufacturers) work simultaneously on three dimensions of innovation. The first dimension involves making improvements to the existing product. The second dimension involves a major jump. The third dimension focuses on creating a true innovation.

Kingston Technology is an example. Kingston has created chaos in its "business" through speed, exceptional quality, and creating long-term relationships with its vendors. The firm created chaos and a new order in "the business" with its "ship the product the day it is ordered" strategy. Founders David Sun and David Tu are intuitive thinkers who act on their hunches. They recognize that in messy world an over-reliance on the analysis is like playing soccer with a golf club or baseball bat. The firm also has a culture of fluidity and pays its associates well above the industry norms. Kingston tests 100% of its parts which is an unheard of devotion and commitment to quality in an industry where the norm is 5%.

Messy Desks and Organizational Health

As illustrated by this example, the purpose of chaos creation is to disrupt the stability and order of the status quo. Also, it illustrates that chaos is healthy rather than destructive. In fact, order and stability tend to point to an unhealthy system.

It suggests that managers and associates are more concerned with processes and activity chains, keeping the desk tidy, than with products, services, improvement and renewal. Healthy systems are chaotic because they are in the process of renewing themselves. The story of Pro Fasteners, Inc.'s quest to become a world class enterprise is an example. Pro Fasteners' journey was filled with false starts and missteps. While quality and customer satisfaction dramatically improved, morale collapsed, and management resented employee involvement. Key managers left. Employee involvement teams failed to meet. However, CEO Steve Braccini supported the change and from the chaos, order has begun to emerge. Says Braccini of the experience, "These last two years have been about learning to walk, then trot, then run fast. Now, we're ready to compete."

Playing the Edge

Creating chaos requires a shift from the core to the edge of and beyond the horizon. Most managers tend to focus their attention on maintaining the core: existing products and service. This can lead to an emphasis on cost control and reduction. While important, it can lead to a lack of attention to expanding the organization's boundaries through innovation chaos.

What can executives do to encourage innovative chaos? The following are "clues" for executives and associates to play the edge through the application of chaos.

1.  Scouting the Edge and Bring in the Chaos

First of all, chaos is supported by scouting - sending out "away teams" and creating teams to scout for innovations. (Scouting is characterized as all individual and organizational activities related to scanning the landscape and mindscape for new ideas, practices and information.) Scouting allows an enterprise to play the edge and to gather the intelligence required for transforming chaos into order.

Rational dispatches chefs to scout their peers to discover their needs. In turn, scouting intelligence is used to improve existing and develop new products. Gateway Computers' technology scouting group identifies new technologies to support the firm's strategy of providing customers with low cost state-of-the-art computing hardware. NEC has created a committee composed of middle managers and executives who scout a variety of marketing and technological data to discover new product concepts. As a result, NEC has expanded its core technologies from 27 to 34. MCI has an R&D staff of twelve technologists who don't do R&D. They scout the globe for new technologies. The FI Group uses the "flying squad" to seek out useful knowledge from its project teams to be developed into new products. Stew Leonard's Dairy transports associates to another store to discover new ideas.

2. Creating Creative Space for Creative Chaos

Secondly, chaos can be created through designing or designating a creative space. There is a tendency for organizations to forget their core myth and their innovative origins: creative space. In the beginning, innovation, creativity, and experimentation are the themes of organizational life. With success, bureaucracy, standardization, and management begins to dominate. Esprit de-corps is replaced with the MBA (Masters of Business Acquisition or Analysis) corp. While beneficial and necessary, one result is that core mythical themes are transformed into concrete stones. Innovation, creativity, and experimentation become viruses to be eliminated. To this end, excessive energy is devoted to virus program development and maintenance. One result is the organization becomes as a hard drive filled with virus programs which can't be removed. The hard drive, the current mindset, is protected from crashing; however there is little or no room for new programs.

Creative space is created to continuously evoke an enterprise's innovative origins. It need not be a place. In fact, the best strategy for killing creative space is to delegate to a place such as R&D. Creative space is a spirit that creates its own space. IBM is seeking to create creative space by decentralizing its business units. The hope is that the spirit of innovation, creativity, and experimentation of organizational members will be uncaged and creative space will arise.

3. Visioning, Romancing and Chaos

Thirdly, chaos is created through visioning and romancing. That means, dreaming visions that create the state-of-the-art and that are daring. The Rational illustrates such visioning. Romancing involves being open to excitement, seduction, and irrational attraction. For example, Paul Allen was seduced by computers and a vision of their future. This beckoning led Allen and Bill Gates to create a program from which Microsoft evolved. Says Allen, "What I really find exciting is creating new products or ideas and the opportunity to tie technologies together." Richard Branson, founder and Chairman of The Virgin Group, makes business development decisions based upon whether the business is exciting and funny.

It also means going with intangibles such as intuitions and hunches; and recognizing the limitations of rational analysis. For example, Bob Fletcher, chairman and founder of Fletcher Music Stores was puzzled by stagnant sales of high tech organs. Fletcher undertook an experiment and slowly eliminated non-organ products while becoming more empathic to customers. He learned that older customers were turned off by the design. Fletcher designed an elder friendly organ. He now sells approximately half of the organs sold in the U.S.

4. Self-Organizing

Self-organizing systems or teams are the structural result of visioning and romancing. At Southwestern Airlines, associates self-organized to implement a computing system. The project began during a gathering of associates at a bar. At Digital Equipment Corp. associates self-organize computer conferences to explore common problems. OurTown Television Productions illustrates self-organizing in action. Associates design their own work with CEO Steven Rosenbaum serving as a facilitator. Rosenbaum reports that self-creating work has improved productivity. It has created a workplace where associates really love their work. MacTemp, a temporary help service, is another example. When the firm opens a new office, associates are presented with a model but are actively encouraged to improve on it.

Critical to self-organizing is creating "open space." In Leadership Is An Art, DePree states that giants give the gift of space, "space in both the personal and corporate sense" so that associates can actualize their potential. Great Plain Software is an example of an enterprise that supports open space. Management encourages associates to "push out of the parameters of their jobs." CEO Doug Burgum supports this by letting go of authority and by supporting bottom-up innovation. Another example is Springfield Remanufacturing Corporation (SRC). At SRC, management wants associates to do away with their jobs. Says CEO Jack Stack, "We try to show people they don't have to limit themselves and they do have choices. We try to eliminate the sense of being trapped ... We continuously challenge people to tell us where they want to go, what they want to do with their lives."

5. Harvesting the Fruits of Surprises

Serendipity can also be deployed to support chaos. In a Harvard Business Review article, Ikujiro Nonaka states that high performing Japanese firms use "highly subjective insights, intuitions and hunches of individual employees" for developing new products. Says Nonaka, "Managers everywhere recognize the serendipitous quality of innovation. Executives at these Japanese companies are managing that serendipity to the benefit of the company, its employees and its customers." Tom Peters, in Liberation Management, also emphasizes the importance of serendipity. Peters also warns of the myth of rational science and the illusions of discovering the Holy Grail of risk free and certainty management in chaos theory, and such techniques as visioning, information technology and culture change. Says Peters, "Managing by accident, making friends with happenstance and enemies of dreary plans, is a useful antidote to 'professional" management run amok."

The development of Rubbermaid's Work Manager station illustrates the value added potential of "managing through accident." This product was not developed through analysis or rational decision making but came from Bud Hellman's recognition while touring another subsidiary that its plastic blow-molding technique could be used to develop an inexpensive line of office furniture. Henry Mintzberg also presents an example of success through serendipity. Mintzberg points out that Honda Motors didn't capture the American motorbike market through a grand strategy but through serendipity. Here's the story. Two executives come to the U.S. to sell large bikes. Targeted customers were not interested in them. People were interested in the smaller cycles that the executives had brought for their personal use.

Traveling, scouting and working with customers create a climate for serendipity. Each encourages chance encounters. Says inventor Charles Kettering, "Get going and the chances are that you will stumble onto something." The Bud Hellman story illustrates the value of this practice. At Starbucks Coffee, executives travel to a dozen cities each quarter to conduct open forums to harvest new ideas. They gain insights for addressing environ concerns, improving customer service and associate performance.

Scouting and working with customers on developing new and improving existing products and service can also encourage serendipitous experiences. For example, an Ingersoll-Rand team discovered that workers were taping tools while scouting customers. This serendipitous experience led the team to recognize the importance of tool comfort and to design a new profitable product.

6. Messing Up The Desk and Burning Down The House

Finally, chaos is created by a culture that encourages associates to mess up the firm's desk, and to burn down the house of its existing products and services. Chrysler illustrates how keeping the desk neat isn't good for profitability. Ron Zarowitz wanted to mess up the firm's desk and burn down the house with the introduction of a built in child seat. It took Zarowitz six years to mess up the desk. When Chrysler introduced the seat, it discovered that customers were buying them faster than they could be produced. Because it wanted to keep its desk neat, Chrysler missed this revenue producing opportunity for years.

References:
Chase, J. (June, 1992). "Quality With Tears." Inc. Vol. 14, No. 5.  pp. 82-84, 86, 90, 92, 95. Case, J. (November, 1992) "The Best Small Companies to Work For in America." Inc. Vol. 14, No. 11. pp. 88-90, 92, 93, 96, 98, 99. Collinson, R. (May, 1991). "Guru Against the Grain." Canadian Business. pp. 70-73, 75. Dumaine, B. (December 2, 1991). "Closing The Innovation Gap." Fortune. pp. 56-59, 62. Finegan, J. (September, 1992). "Taking Names." Inc. Vol. 14, No. 9. pp. 120-122, 125, 126, 129, 130. Kodama, F. (July-August, 1992). "Technology Fusion and The New R& D." Harvard Business Review. Vol. 70, No. 4. pp. 70-78. Nonaka, I. (November-December, 1990). "The Knowledge-Creating Company." Harvard Business Review. Vol. 69, No. 6. pp. 96-104. Peters, T. (1992). Liberation Management--Necessary Disorganization for the Nanosecond Nineties. NY,NY: Knopf. Stack, J. (June, 1992). "The Great Game of Business." Inc. Vol. 14, No. 5. pp. 52-54, 56, 58, 62. Welles, E. (October, 1992). "Built On Speed." Inc. Vol. 14, No. 10. pp. 82-84, 88. Yang, D. and K. Rebello. (November 30, 1992). "Microsoft's Other Pioneer Jumps in Multimedia." Business Week. pp. 106-107.

Bob Holder is an organizational effectiveness and marketing consultant. His St. Louis area based consulting firm works with profit and non-profit organizations and small enterprises. He was a contributor to the book, After Atlantis: Working, Managing and Leading in Turbulent Times.  Bob with Ned Hamson has just published Global Innovation, Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/184112219X/qid=
1015536583/sr=1-3/ref=sr_1_3/002-4391393-2176040

His articles have appeared in ODJ, ODP, Quality Digest, CI Magazine, Journal for Quality and Participation and Quality Journal. Select copies of Bob's articles can be found at http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Delphi/7527/discontinuous.html
or free hard copies can be secure by e-mailing Bob. He has been devoting the last two years to teaching and doing paid and volunteer consulting in Russia. He consults and writes about innovation, strategic visioning and organizational redesign. Contact Bob J. Holder at: Gray Matter Production 620 Roosevelt Dr. Edwardsville, IL. 62025
Telephone: (618) 692-0258, Fax (618) 692-0819, e-mail: HBob372917@aol.com


=============================================
             RESOURCES for CEOs =============================================


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     http://www.StrategyBook.com

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   ---> 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 ========================================================


Finish each day and be done with it...You have done what you could; some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; you should begin it well and serene
       Ralph Waldo Emerson

The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather in a lack of will.
       Vince Lombardi

Two rules to follow: 1) Don't sweat the small stuff. 2) It's all small stuff.
       Robert Elliot

Failing to plan is planning to fail.
       Allen Lakein

I would rather be ashes than dust. I would rather that my spark would burn out in a brilliant blaze than be stifled by dry-rot. I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet.
       Jack London


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           HUMOR to lighten up the executive suite ==========================================================


Colors
 -------
 I didn't know if my granddaughter had learned her colors yet, so I  decided to test her.

 I would point out something and ask what color it was. She would  tell me. Even though she was always correct, it was fun for me, so  I continued asking her.

 At last she headed for the door, saying, "Grandma, I think you  should try to figure out some of these yourself!"

The Sale
 --------
 Our supermarket had a sale on boneless chicken breasts, and a  woman I know intended to stock up.  At the store, however, she  was disappointed to find only a few skimpy prepackaged portions  of the poultry, so she complained to the butcher.

 "Don't worry, lady," he said.  "I'll pack some more trays and  have them ready for you by the time you finish shopping."

 Several aisles later, my friend heard the butcher's voice boom  over the public-address system:  "Will the lady who wanted bigger  breasts please meet me at the back of the store."

Man
 ----
 Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach him how to  fish and he will sit in a boat and drink beer all day!

               ***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




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