Casual Fridays

“A sense of privilege is what motivates us to finish the mission.”
Pastor Paul Taylor, Liberty Church

Do you feel privileged?

Do your employees or colleagues?

Challenging thoughts from Brian at d’bug.

After reading this, ask yourself:

Am I willing to sacrifice in order to have time to be the best?

What do I need to sacrifice?

What do I believe should NOT be sacrificed?

Alex requested I expand on the effects of collaborative communication vs. conspiratorial communication

Collaboration creates teams of teams.

Organizations that encourage collaboration will see greater interdepartmental and interorganizational teamwork. A sense of interdependence creates a desire to involve others in on the work at hand.

Conspiracy creates lines and sides.

Information is held in silos. The grain is harvested, then stored where it simply rots.

Teams do not grow from shared experiences. They fight to steal from each other’s silos of information, recognition and reward.

Conspiracy divides individuals, centering them around lower goals and agendas.

Myopia causes conspirators to focus on self-centered goals which don’t benefit the larger organization(s). Consequentially, they do not rally followers around them because their vision is narrow, short-sighted and low on impact.

Collaboration unifies individuals around a common, higher goal.

By collaborating, individuals and teams discover common goals held across the divide. By broadening horizons, collaborators broaden their vision and hold onto the higher goals that impact the BIGGER picture. Consequentially, collaborators attract followers who desire belonging to something bigger than themselves.

Collaboration stimulates growth.

Individuals must be empowered in collaborative environments. Collaboration encourages delegation as the vision and input of direction is bigger than one person.

Conspiracy stunts growth.

Long-term, conspiracy mindsets eventually stifle growth. Conspiracies may have early growth spurts, but are midgets as adults when compared to their potential through collaboration.

Thanks for throwing down the gauntlet Alex! I hope you and others find this stimulating, and perhaps generate your own beliefs on the effects of collaboration vs. conspiracy.

… the originator of ideas is undervalued.

My family has had a business of somekind in my hometown since 1914. That might be where I get my entrepreneurial spirit. While I was growing up, we had a local grocery store named Staiger’s Grocery. Original, isn’t it? I worked there for nearly five years. Primarily, I stocked the shelves and loaded people’s cars with their purchases.

One day, I was maneuvering a large stack of cattle feed (it was Kellyville, Oklahoma – we had to carry groceries for the livestock as well). The stack shifted and began to fall. I tried to keep it from falling and almost got smashed in the process. My father was the store manager. He saw what happened and warned me, “We can replace the feed, but we can’t replace you. Next time, let it go.” I don’t think he said that just because I’m his son. Dad valued the people who worked for him. Actually, he values people… period.

Ask a manager/boss/business owner about the ideas which have made their company successful and they’ll get excited. Usually, these are the stories they love to tell.

Ask about the people they work with or employ and you’ll hear the horror stories. Oddly enough, some love to tell these stories as well.
Problem is – you can replace the ideas, but you can’t replace the people.

Do you devalue the people you work with? Don’t just look at what you say to them. See what your actions say about their value as well. How and when do you reward? How and when do you correct?

How do you let them know they’re irreplaceable? Do you even believe they are?

This one is just for fun. While shopping at Kohl’s recently, I turned around and my son was gone. I called for him, but he didn’t answer. I stepped out to an aisle and started to walk to another area when I passed a group of mannequins. I stopped, turned and inspected the display a little closer to discover where he had gone.
Smart alec.

This isn’t an ad for AT&T (more bars in more places). This is Lowe’s. They were selling Christmas wrapping paper next to wrapping paper storage boxes. There’s a minor issue here.

Above is a recruitment poster at a Best Buy distribution center. The marketing effort may have been more effective if not for the display of actual employee photos nearby. See below.

Hope you had a great November. I’m glad to be back on my blog. Something is wrong with previous comments. They disappeared. I’m trying to fix it. Is feexed.

During a recent lunch with a friend, he asked me, “What do you believe Dustin?”

I thought for a moment, then his cell phone rang. I was grateful for the time to ponder his question as he took the call.

There’s something powerful that happens when you ask yourself what you believe. The moment seemed filled with mystery and depth.

I realized this: I believe there is incredible, untapped potential inside each person. Most people never reach that potential. They are bound by something. Maybe a hurt, a habit or a false story they tell themselves over and over again.

I believe, at our core, we all desire to see that potential unleashed – yet on the surface it scares us to death.

We’re afraid of reaching that potential and then discovering it wasn’t enough. It didn’t matter. I was rejected. I failed anyway.
We’re afraid of others reaching their potential also. What if he won’t need me anymore? Maybe others will think she’s better than me.

So, we bind them up.

I believe companies and organizations do this all the time. We create rules to a game we don’t even understand. Then we expect everyone else to follow them.

“You can’t move to that square, you don’t have seniority.”

I think we hire, promote and fire people for the wrong reasons.

I believe we condition people to be something they’re not… then reward them for it.

The word ’standardize’ makes me want to puke!

I believe there’s a way for people to be set free…

…and I believe it is worth the effort. Every bit of it.

In his popular ‘06 TED talk, Sir Ken Robinson makes an inspiring, and entertaining, argument that we are educating the creativity out of our children.

It’s not hard to see how corporations are on creativity killing sprees as well.

Here are the top 10 signs you’re killing creativity:

1. You Preach ‘Safety First’
If you are always opting for the safest decision, you’ll never approve the truly creative ideas. Creativity almost always includes risk. Eliminate risk and you eliminate creativity.

2. You Lease Decisions Instead of Selling Them
Employees must own their decisions, but if they have no real authority then they will only do as told. They fear returning the car with any scratches or dents, because it’s not theirs. Once again, fear rears its ugly head. You squelch the creativity of your employees by not giving them ownership (see Mike Wagner for more on the benefits of ownership).

3. You Relentlessly Pursue Efficiency
Sorry, but the creative solution is not always the most efficient. It hardly ever is. Why? Because creativity requires experimentation. Experimentation requires you to try something that may fail.

4. No Rest for the Weary
Is ‘downtime’ a dirty word in your office? If people are always busy with tasks, when do they have time to be creative? They never have time to question whether or not this is the best way to do their job. Maybe that’s the way you like it though (tsk, tsk).

5. You Expect Perfection
Do you reward risk or results? I’m not saying you should create a daredevil mentality in your workers, but what if you rewarded small risks? Many times they won’t entertain creative solutions because they’re unsure of the results. Encourage them to try something different even if it isn’t ‘perfect’.

6. You Protect the Status Quo
Do you find yourself saying “That’s not how we do things.”? Now envision Dirty Harry holding his 44 Magnum up to your face. That’s how your employee sees you. “I know you feel creative, but you have to ask yourself one question, ‘Do I feel lucky?’ Do you feel lucky, punk? Well, do you!?!”

7. You Settle for the First ‘Good’ Idea
People naturally gravitate toward the path of least resistance. Creativity fights through the resistance to find the truly brilliant ideas on the other side.

8. Creative License = Business Card
Some people have no creative latitude because of their title. Is the word “executive” on your business card? No? Don’t bother trying to be creative then. Ironically, those with a license to be creative end up being the least likely to do so.

9. You Give Short Answers to Deep Questions
Someone asks, “Why do I need authorization from Joe in order to give a refund?” The short answer would justify the procedure because of inventory control or quality management. But responses like this invalidate the opinion behind the question. Instead of a short answer, try responding with another question. “Is this causing issues? Do you have an idea of how we can improve our process?” You may be surprised how many good, creative solutions come from the front lines.

10. Fill in the Blank_________________.
I don’t know all the signs and I don’t want to kill YOUR creativity. Maybe you have an idea that belongs on this list. Feel free to share it.

My brother-in-law and I had an interesting incident over Memorial Day weekend. We were having a party for my son’s first birthday. So, we went to Albertson’s to pick up my son’s birthday cake and some propane for my grill.

After we paid for everything, the clerk tells the grocery bagger to help us exchange my empty propane tank for a full one.

Bagger: (Blank look) I don’t know how to do that.

Clerk: Ask Suzie.

Bagger: (Blank look)

Clerk: Suzie? Can you help him exchange propane for these customers?

Suzie: Sure. (pulls out and holds up keys) Here are the keys, you know where the tanks are.

Bagger: (Blank look) I don’t know how to do that.

Suzie: (Scary look) You’ve got to be kidding me. They just gave me these keys this morning and I’ve been doing it all day.

Bagger: (Blank look)

Then Suzie helped us.

Wanna hear the REALLY ironic part?

The baggers name was “Will”.

I think his middle name is “Not”.

Update: Looks like Mike Wagner at Own Your Brand ran into his own “Will” recently. He’s asking for suggestions to overcome the “$30,000 Toothbrush Scandle”.

Maybe we can volley suggestions back-and-forth on how brand managers can overcome issues like Albertson’s Will and the Mike’s Toothbrush Nazi.

Over at Businesspundit, Rob points to a research project that claims employee satisfaction efforts do not bear the fruit we anticipate. Read Rob’s take and let me know what you think.

It boils down to whether we hire happy people, or we try to make our employees happy. Is job satisfaction and performance tied into your employee’s personalities or the environment you create?

Bonus Question

Does the environment you create attract employees of the proper personality?

One of my favorite posts (that I’ve written anyways) was Ideas vs. Opinions. I don’t know that it was 100% accurate, but I think the message was right on.

I’d like to expound on this idea some more. So here’s a new comparison chart. I hope you find this helpful.

I think the biggest “challenge” to challenging is knowing how to do so without patronizing.

I know two people who can’t share ideas with each other. They don’t trust one another, so every comment is met with skepticism, which breeds indignation and ultimately… anger.

I know others who have been trained, like one of Pavlov’s dogs, to not speak up when they disagree with an idea. It’s too risky because they’ve been burned too many times.

There are still others who won’t even share their own ideas… no matter how great. They’ve been told they’re not creative (or simply never told they ARE creative), so they discount any contribution they could bring to the table.

I’ve come to the conclusion that there is no such thing on earth as “a free exchange of ideas.” Every transaction involving an idea is weighted with some amount of risk. Risk of pain, embarrassment or validation of a perceived reality.

There’s risk attached to sharing ideas. I think we all realize that. What do we do to address it though?

We open up people for criticism all the time and paint it as an opportunity to “voice your opinion” or “be heard.” We may even try to reassure by saying, “There’s no such thing as a bad idea.” Sure there is. We need to quit lying about it.

Quit lying to our employees.
Quit lying to our audiences.
Quit lying to ourselves.

What do we do to communicate how much we value ideas? Do we reward risk-taking or simply reward results? Do we reward ideas we agree with, or ones that challenge us?

I don’t have the answers. But I am searching for ideas here.

Management Impact
Wednesday, Feb 28th 2007
BMA Tulsa Luncheon (11:30 -1:00)

Jack Hayhow of Opus Communications

Focusing on the four key activities of all great managers, Jack will show how great managers provide employees what they need to increase productivity and profit.

Jack and his book, Wisdom of the Flying Pig, were featured on Brand Autopsy exactly one year ago today. (what are the odds?)

If you’re in the Tulsa area, RSVP for this event.

The Overlooked Marketing Edge
Thursday, March 1st 2007
2007 Entrepreneur Day Tradeshow (2:30 PM)

Dustin Staiger, Beyond Marketing & Advertising

I’ll be speaking during Entrepreneur Day at the Claremore Expo Center next Thursday. I’ll cover how businesses (especially small businesses and startups) overlook an important channel when addressing their marketing. Everyone knows about it, but few know they can affect it.

If you’re interested in attending Entrepreneur Day, contact Rick Reimer at (918) 671-3011.

If you’re in the areas of Tulsa / Oklahoma City / Kansas City / Bentonville, AR / Springfield, MO… you’ll want to attend this annual seminar:

BMA Tulsa’s Annual Seminar

Business Coaches Clinic: Winning as Individuals and Organizations
Friday March 30th
9:00 AM – 4:15 PM
OSU-Tulsa

Mark your calendars for March 30th!

We’re very excited about the 2007 BMA Tulsa Seminar, featuring Dr. Jay Kent Ferraro and Michael Wagner. The catered keynote luncheon presentation will be given by Rick Couri of KRMG.

The Engaged Organization

Mike Wagner , White Rabbit Group

Mike Wagner is Founder & President of White Rabbit Group – an organization committed to help groups find innovation and new possibilities from an unlikely source… themselves! Mike will give some great coaching tips for your business team to break out of the rut, get unstuck, and see how far they can follow the “white rabbit.”

Mike also authors a marketing blog – Own Your Brand, and regularly contributes to MarketingProfs, an online “webzine” of marketing expertise.

The Emotionally Intelligent Leader

Dr. Jay Kent Ferraro, Empowerment Technologies

Dr. Jay is the Founder of Empowerment Technologies – a national executive coaching, training and consulting firm in Tulsa, OK. Dr. Jay’s expertise in Emotional Intelligence is being used in Fortune 500 companies across the country. He will share how emotionally competent people create success for their organizations. It’s no longer about how smart you are (IQ), but how you are smart (EQ).

Registration information will be available soon. Contact me for more information.

We’re on the lookout for wolves.

You know… back-stabbers, saboteurs, spies and just plain evil-doers.

We suspect they’re among us. The wolf in sheep’s clothing.

But there’s something much more dangerous in our midst, also masquerading as sheep.

This “silent killer” of companies is much harder to find than the wolf. He wears the disguise well, even fooling himself. Her mission is so well embedded, if she doesn’t kill the company she most surely kills herself – her future.

This assassin might be you.

It is not the wolf you should fear, instead you should be looking for the PEOPLE in sheep’s clothing.

These are the people who are sheepwalking (thanks Seth) – mindlessly staying in line and feeling as though they’re “doing their job.” This is the cashier at Walgreen’s telling me I can’t purchase a giftcard with my credit card, but not knowing why. Worse yet, it’s the manager telling me the same thing – “It’s just our policy. That’s what they [corporate] told me.”

It’s the pilot not fighting orders to keep passengers on the tarmac. Even after he realizes he is close to having a mutiny of passengers on his hands. He knows they’re much less likely to fly his airline next time, but he’s just “doing his job.”

What a far cry from Southwest’s interpretation of the golden rule:

Treat others the way you want to be treated

Answer every letter
Call back
Bend the rules
Do the right thing
Find ways to say yes
Treat with respect

This is an excerpt from a wonderful luncheon presentation I recently attended. Kris Holt and Scott Moore of Southwest Airlines came and spoke to our marketing association in Tulsa, OK.

Look at that list again.

Bend the rules? Find ways to say “Yes”?

Are you doing that?

Better yet, are you building a culture that encourages it?

Stop pulling the wool over your employees’ eyes. Stop pulling it over your own.

I missed blogging last week. There’s a story behind that.

I play basketball at 5:45 AM every Tuesday and Thursday. It may sound crazy to play basketball that early, but it allows me to do something I enjoy without interferring with my family time in the evenings.

Last Thursday I didn’t feel very well after basketball. Maybe fatigued because I stayed up to late Wednesday night, or maybe I was dehydrated. Either way, I didn’t do anything about it. Business as usual.

By Noon, I had developed a bad headache so I took a 20 minute nap. It didn’t work. By 3:00 PM, I had a migraine. Then I felt nauseated and began to have cold sweats. I pulled off my sweater since I was wearing my button-down shirt underneath. My hands started trembling and I felt very light headed.

I went to my partner’s office and told her what was up. She looked worried. “You have no color in your face. Are you OK? Do you need to see a doctor?”

My doctor was out of town and the other physician in his practice was booked tight. They recommended minor emergency care.

At this point, the whole office is involved. Prodding me to drink fluids and rest. They all seemed very concerned and I was actually a little embarrassed about the office coming to a halt because of me. Still, it was nice to know they cared.

I opted to take another nap in my office instead of going to minor emergency care. I woke up an hour later, a little groggy but without any migraine symptoms.

There’s more to this story than just the reason I didn’t blog last week. There’s more than just bragging on our staff and their compassion.

I think we all have moments like this. We have a nagging sense that something’s wrong (physically, emotionally, spiritually), but we go on with business as usual. The nagging sense develops into a headache – an argument with our spouse – mounting financial issues – and we try to handle it quietly, acting like everything is “fine.” If we’re unfortunate (or maybe we’re truly fortunate in the long run), our problem manifests into something debilitating. Knocking us out of our rhythm. We can no longer ignore it. We want go on with business as usual. We ask for help. Hopefully we receive it.

Where are you right now? Do you have that nagging sense? A headache? Maybe you’re on the verge of a minor emergency. Business as usual won’t cut it. Don’t be afraid to be honest, be real, ask for and receive help.

You’ve probably heard of the prodigal son, and you probably also know it originates from a story Jesus told. (you can read it here)

What you probably don’t think about is how it relates to your company.

Oh boy, does it.

Here are lessons from this story that we can apply to business today:

1. The son wanted instant gratification.
‘Father, I want right now what’s coming to me.’
It’s part of human nature. We want what’s coming to us NOW. Employees are no different. Don’t expect them to easily embrace long-range goals and rewards.

2. The father let his son make a mistake.
“So the father divided the property between them.”
We spend so much time, energy and other resources saving people from their mistakes or preventing them from failing that we keep them from learning the lessons that come along with the experience.

Counter the question, “Can I afford for him to make this mistake?” with “Can I afford for him to not learn the lesson?” Mistakes are investments.

3. The son knew he could return.
“I’m going back to my father.”
We join this story in the middle of life. The father has raised his sons with a knowledge of who their daddy is. He is not unforgiving. He will let them return.

Do you instill that same confidence in your employees? Do you dispense grace or punishment?

4. The son was greeted before he got to the door.
“When he was still a long way off, his father saw him. His heart pounding, he ran out, embraced him, and kissed him.”
In the culture of Jesus’ time, someone like this prodigal son would be shamed as he tried to re-enter his home town. The father knew this. He beat the accusers to the punch by running to his son before they could judge him.
Do you leave your employees to the wolves when they make a mistake? What if you beat the accusers to the punch? Show acceptance before they can judge.

5. The father did not demote his son.
“Put the family ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.”
If we assign someone to a role in our company, does one mistake (even a huge one) mean they would perform better in a lesser role? Like lesson #2 states, maybe they learn from the mistake. Maybe now they’re even better suited for the role they’ve assumed.

6. The older brother was embittered.
“The older brother stalked off in an angry sulk and refused to join in [celebrating his brother's return].”
Be prepared. Forgiveness may upset competent coworkers. Those who feel they don’t need grace may not be happy when others receive it.

7. The return was celebrated.
“We’re going to feast! We’re going to have a wonderful time!”
Do you celebrate the lessons learned? Do you celebrate risks taken? Mistakes do not necessitate failures. Celebrate growth. Celebrate the community that stimulates growth.