Success

Success!

I love books and I love learning. I get in these moods when I run to the bookstore and purchase 10 books at a time. I’m not a library guy. I need to possess them! The other day I stopped by the local bookstore and hit the magazine racks. I looked at INC and Entrepreneur magazines and then found one called SUCCESS. This month’s issue has author Jim Collins on the cover. He wrote the number one business book in the world, Good to Great. If you’re looking for inspiration, grab this month’s issue of SUCCESS. I’m definitely going to become a subscriber.

This month’s issue has the following leadership experts: John Maxwell, Mel Robbins, Jim Cathcart and Tony Hseih (Zappos) to name a few. Tony was named SUCCESS 2009 Achiever of the Year. A great choice. Tony started the online shoe sensation Zappos and sold it to Amazon.com for $1.2 billion. Not bad for a few years work! He’s still acting president. His philosophy: Create Fun, Deliver WOW!

Currently Tony is on a quest to better understand the art of happiness. I love it! He says in the article, “The thing we realized this year that sort of ties everything together is that customer service is about making customers happy, and the culture is about making employees happy. So, really, we’re about trying to deliver happiness, whether it’s to customers or employees, and we apply that same philosophy to vendors as well.”

Tony has a culture of Servant Leadership (how I label it). If you like this message, go to the website: www.mondaymm.com  There you’ll find my interview with Servant Leader guru, Jim Hunter. Jim has written books that have sold more than 3 million copies worldwide. He is all about creating a Servant Leadership culture based on leadership and accountability.

Are you out to be a manager or an exceptional leader? If you subscribe to Wisdom On Wednesday, I’m guessing you’re the latter. If that’s true, keep learning and keep improving!

Joe Kiedinger

ACTION PLAN: Get that SUCCESS subscription!

Where is your focus?

I would like to tell you a true story of a bit of wisdom I received from one of my Process Managers regarding a client we’ve been working with for about 16 months. It all began with our Uncovery process, which we used to uncover a lot of gold nuggets for this client. Uncovery is the process of interviewing a good cross-section of employees, management and owners as well as some clients and “uncovering” strengths that are taken for granted by the owners and management team. We take these “gold nuggets,” as we call them, and develop these strengths into a winning strategy for the future. In this case, the strategy was very different than what the owner had surmised going into this process.

We began developing all the tools needed and implemented the strategy. A couple of new clients were brought into their fold and then about a year and a couple of months later a very large client came knocking with a very large order that has since developed into a fruitful long-term partnership. I asked my Process Manager, “So, what was it that led to the sale? Was it the new website, the magazine ads, the trade shows… What?” He responded, “Their focus.”

He reminded me. There is no one thing that determines success. It’s the overall focus of the leadership team and associates who are focused on a particular strategy and doing small things everyday that led to the big hit. It’s so true. Have you ever had business come to you out of the blue that happened to be the perfect client? Almost always that is no accident. It’s because you focused on it.

Ah yes, the great power of focus!

Joe Kiedinger

ACTION PLAN: What’s your focus? Write it down and share it with others. Don’t have one? Open it up to your associates and get ready for an interesting discussion.

Are you a Bucker?

The term “bucker” typically brings to mind someone who is not paying his or her taxes or who goes against the status quo in general. Bucking something, though, is different from being a bucker. The bucker I’m talking about is someone who can be defined as a true bucker. Let me explain.
 
True buckers are people who defy the programming given to them by their fathers while growing up. For example, a child had a father who was constantly belittling and negative in his behavior toward others in the family.  This bad dad disrespected his wife on a regular basis and always put his needs above his family’s needs.
 
At some point, usually around 13-15 years of age, this child identifies this poor disrespect program and says to him or herself, “I will never be like him!” These children say this silently to themselves or directly to the parent. Buckers are some of the most successful people in the world.
 
They are successful because at a young age they had to identify poor programming and rewrite the rules for themselves, usually by simply doing the opposite of what the bad dad would do. Dad disrespects mom, so “bucker son,” as an example, marries and respects and cherishes his wife.
 
Are you a bucker? Did you receive poor programming growing up, identify it and then rewrite the book of your life? Can you share with me your “bucker moment”—the time when you realized you would not accept the current information you were receiving about life? I’d like to hear from you. You’re rare and oh so cool! I have the upmost respect for you.
 
Joe Kiedinger
 
ACTION PLAN: If you wish to learn more about the importance of good parenting and the role a mom and dad play in a child’s life, read Emotional Intelligence.

The Most Powerful Leadership Tool

I am ready to tell you more about my nearly three-year journey of creating a tool to help people lead. Let’s be clear on something first, though: Being a manager is not the same as being a leader. You can manage yourself, you can manage things and you can manage processes, but you can’t manage another person. All you can do is lead other people. This is the biggest misunderstanding in corporate management today. Too many managers are exactly that—managers. They are not leaders.

 I have seen and coached managers to become great leaders, and I can tell you the people in their care were ready for their leadership, starving for it actually. Everyone who reports to you is ready right now for you to become the leader you were designed to be. I say designed because most of you already know the tenants of leadership.

 Bob Chapman, CEO of Barry-Wehmiller, reminded me that being a good leader is no different than being a good parent. We raise our children to think for themselves. We praise them when we catch them doing things right. It doesn’t change in the workplace. In the same way we want the best for our kids, shouldn’t we want the best for our associates too? Of course we do. We just don’t know how to talk to our associates like we do our own kids.

 That’s where my new invention comes into play. People will allow you to lead them if—  and only if—their base motivations are respected and supported. Furthermore, we all have rules that govern our acceptance of any interaction with another person. The problem is there is no tool in America today (or for any other country for that matter) that gives you a peek into another person’s core motivations and rules of engagement. Until now! Please welcome the About Me Card presented by a new company, About Me International.

 We have been experimenting with a process of creating a corporate culture based on acceptance and support. Our early adopters are praising the program. You can download a white paper at aboutmecard.com to learn more. How does it work? Imagine being able to understand a person’s motivations in 15 minutes, along with the individual’s rules of engagement. How would that change how you currently interact and motivate each of your associates? Instead of spending months or years trying to figure each one out, you could understand each individual in 15 minutes.

 We are about to enter our beta testing of the new software and will be holding a major event introducing it to the world in the spring. If you would like to be invited to this World Premiere being held in Green Bay, please contact us and we’ll send you an invitation. It’s been an exciting journey. Are you ready to step up and become the leader you were designed to become? Join me.

Precious lives are in your care

I’ve been humbled. I encourage you to listen to my upcoming interview with Bob Chapman, CEO of Barry-Wehmiller, on my Monday Mastermind show and you will quickly see why. My interview with Bob has truly changed the way I look at leading my people, and I hope it will do the same for you. I’ve found over the years, through your feedback, that subscribers to this publication tend to care about people, so I believe you will find this interview very insightful and even moving.

 I thought I cared about my associates. I give leadership talks every month. I’m averaging about 48 a year and after listening to Mr. Chapman, a successful leader of a billion dollar company, I realized that I have a lot yet to understand. You can never really arrive with this leadership stuff; you can only get better. After interviewing Bob, what truly resonated with me was his intense sincerity for helping people achieve personal and professional enrichment and purpose through the context of his business.

 He calls this approach “People Centric,” and it has changed how I look at leadership. Before Bob’s influence in my life, I thought I understood leadership. I understood it cerebrally. I’ve read all the books so I guess I’m a great leader! Oh boy, was I woken up. The biggest point he made that resonated with me is to look at your employees in the same way you look at your children. Raising a family and raising a business are the same.

 I know that last statement may sound condescending to some with the notion that adults are children. Perhaps some of you translated it from a workaholic point of view with business being as important as family. If you did, you interpreted it wrong.

Bob sees everyone as a precious human being. Like a parent sees their children. We raise our kids to be self-motivated and independent thinkers. Then they grow up, get a job and are told what to do every day. That’s not right.

 Please listen this coming Monday or sign up for my free podcast so it comes automatically to your iPod. I am joining Bob in a crusade to create purpose-driven workplaces. Will you join us?

 Joe Kiedinger

 ACTION PLAN: Tune in Monday for Bob’s interview—it will definitely be worth marking in your calendar. I guarantee it!

Emotional fuel… keep their tanks full!

We all know that food is the fuel to keep our bodies going. Water is the oil and food is the gas. You could say these are our essential needs as human beings. At work we’re really good at making sure our employees have everything they need: ergonomically engineered work stations for optimum output, best software and hardware to get the job done, and a bunch of other stuff that corporate America hides behind as meeting people’s legitimate needs.

OK, I admit we do need the “stuff,” which are tools to help us succeed at what we do, but how about appreciation? Appreciation is our emotional fuel. Mother Theresa once said, “People crave appreciation more than food.” Conversely, Henry Ford said, “Why do I get the whole person when all I want is a pair of hands?” Is it any wonder Detroit has ended up where it has? Now let’s look at Toyota. They make cars, too. They have the same equipment and engineers and “stuff.” How come they don’t seem to be hurting as bad as the Big Three?
 
The answer is Toyota realized that they pay for the hands of their people but they can have their hearts and minds for free! How? They call it Lean Manufacturing, but essentially they take the time to ask their people what THEY think could improve processes and operations. They don’t tell their people what to do; they lead them instead.

It’s going to be an uphill climb for me in my crusade to bring inspirational leadership into the workplace. However, I’m determined to keep preaching and teaching employee engagement by creating tools and systems to help bring about the changes that I believe are needed in the world.

It’s been said that employees’ pay is their right but your praise is a gift. Start involving your employees. Ask their opinion and give praise when you see them doing things right.

Joe Kiedinger

ACTION PLAN: Give 3 people honest appreciation today!

How many Susan Boyles do you have?

Last week I spoke to a local health care organization. The topic was on leadership. In traditional Road Show style, the audience laughed its way to learning. We had a lot of fun that day and I did something I’ve never tried before: I accessed the Internet to make a point.

I began the session by challenging the group to be leaders and not managers. There are far too few leaders in America today. The top four attributes of a great leader as stated by employees are: Credibility, Trustworthiness, Vision and Inspiration.

Inspirational leadership should be the goal of every leader. Inspiration has little to do with style. There are quiet and charismatic leaders who inspire in their own way. The rule of inspiration comes from getting to know the strengths of the people you lead. Take an active interest in them and inspire them to greatness every day.

During the Road Show, I shared a real life example of greatness unleashed by Googling “Susan Boyle.” If you haven’t already, please try this. Susan Boyle is a plain Jane who showed up on the TV show “Britain’s Got Talent.” Everyone judged her by her appearance, but when she opened her mouth to sing everyone stopped judging and was blown away.

I shared this with my audience and then asked the question, “How many Susan Boyles are there in your departments?” Talented, wonderful individuals who just need to be understood and supported. How many do you have? Do you judge them from the cover or do you take the time to understand them?

Stop managing and start inspiring. There is no greater feeling than when employees tell you their life is better because you are in it!

Joe Kiedinger

ACTION PLAN: Google Susan Boyle!

What assumptions are you using for excuses?

I think assumptions are used by people to create excuses. It makes me sad to think about the number of brilliant people with brilliant ideas who simply dream and then go to sleep with their ideas. I hear all kinds of excuses using antiquated assumptions. Statements like: I’m too young. I’m too old. No one will like this. I’m too busy. I don’t have the money to make it happen… blah, blah, blah.

I just read in our local paper about a 13-year-old girl who raised $5,000 in a few weeks. Her cause was to help families build farms overseas. Amazing! If you haven’t heard about Johnny the Bagger… Google him. You will discover a young man with Down syndrome who transformed the experience at a grocery store.

Men and women, young and old, are doing exceptional things in ordinary ways. They simply take action and do something small each day to reach their goal. They do it with a shoestring budget, they do it with kids at home, they do it in retirement – they do it, they do it, and they do it! See a theme here?

So what idea or dream do you have? I learned a healthy exercise from a colleague of mine: Create an Action Plan and start by making a list. On the top I want you to put your idea or dream. Then I want you to list all the excuses and assumptions that you have told yourself as to why you can’t begin working on it today. When your list is complete, find the nearest shredder and SHRED IT! Then create a new list with a timeline of what you CAN do today to push your ideas forward.

There is no adventure in waiting. Do it now and let the adventure begin!

Joe Kiedinger

ACTION PLAN: Shred it!

I’ve been humbled!

If you’ve been following my philosophies for a while, you know I’m on a crusade to drive tension out of the workplace. All of us Prophiteers work very hard to maintain a healthy corporate culture. I’ve been training companies on Servant Leadership for about five years now, but I must admit that I recently had an eye-opening experience that has fully changed the way I explain the benefits of such a program within an organization.

I recently had an opportunity to interview Bob Chapman, who is CEO of Barry-Wehmiller, a holding company for a variety of successful companies, mostly manufacturing. Bob and his team have created an empowered, purpose-driven culture for all who are employed in their care.

Before this interview, I would tell business owners that companies with a strong corporate culture always outperform their non-culture rich competitors. I would tell them they should engage because not only will their people be more efficient but as companies they’ll make more money! Mr. Chapman, however, put me in my place. He shook my tree!

Bob explained to me that many leaders have visited their company to find the solution. Barry-Wehmiller practices an approach called Lean. Bob told me he always asks his visitors why they are interested in creating this type of culture. He said, “If they tell me it’s to make more money, they will surely fail.” He further explained, “Executives who are successful launching Lean do so because they feel a moral obligation to enrich the lives of all associates.”

I was blown away. He began telling me stories of how proud their associates are to work there. I certainly believe that taking a sincere interest in others is key to being a great leader, but I’ve just realized it’s the key to a great life.

I believe there are few things more satisfying in life than when you support self-motivated individuals who contribute ideas and processes of improvement that focus on a single goal. That’s often called “purpose.” What’s your purpose in life? Is what you do fulfilling?

Bob told me that Newsweek did a poll on employment pride in the workplace and only 10% of American workers are proud of where they work. Can you imagine! It’s time to begin a movement of engagement and enlightenment in the workplace. Will you join me?

Joe Kiedinger

ACTION PLAN: Are you enriching other people’s lives?

90% of Success Is Just Showing Up!

I’ve written on this topic before. Just showing up is often 90% of why a person is successful. When it comes to sales, successful sales people will tell you “never stop calling and reaching out.” That extra call often turns into sales. I was reminded of this fundamental truth while having lunch recently with a stranger at a Society of Animal Welfare Administrators conference, which I had been invited to speak at.

The gentleman I sat next to sold large operating systems for animal shelters. Products that cost a lot of money and last a long time … 20-30 years. They do not have the luxury of repeat business. So I asked him, “How do you market yourself? Booth space, hand shaking and walking around?” His response was, “Both.”

He admitted that it was very difficult but he found that continuing to show up can lead to unexpected connections that can result in sales. So why do we often get busy making excuses as to why we’re not reaching to meet our potential? Is it fear that holds us back? The fear of being wildly successful? I may sound a little sarcastic, but Nelson Mandela believes that what people truly fear is success.

You are a uniquely talented individual who has the right to be wildly successful. If you find you are limiting yourself or making excuses as to why you can’t, instead focus on making a plan as to how you can!

Joe Kiedinger