Weird Weather and Leadership

Posted on May 3, 2014 by chesterman

Weird Weather

It has certainly been a year of unusually challenging weather throughout the country. Between incredible snowstorms, severe tornadoes, and excessive amounts of rainfall, many businesses have been impacted in unprecedented ways. HSN just reported that their first quarter earnings were down partially due to the severe weather. Several of my Vistage members in Florida also faced unanticipated demand reductions this winter due to the snowstorms up north. Weather issues impacted transportation, and many of their customers were unable to ship their products up north, causing delays and reduced demand for my members’ products and services. Additionally, people were snowed in for days at a time, reducing purchases and productivity since they could not get to work.

Just this week, one of my Vistage members reported that they had to shut down one of their offices for a day due to the severe flooding and road closures in the Florida Panhandle. Business may be impacted for several more days as damage is assessed. Thankfully none of my members’ employees were harmed in any of the severe weather events. However, business cash flow and profitability have been negatively impacted due to weird weather. What is a leader to do?

First, make sure you have the appropriate insurance policies in place. Talk to your insurance agent to make sure to have business interruption insurance in addition to coverage for property damage or loss. While it will not cover the indirect reduction in demand for some of my members, if your business is directly impacted it can provide a valuable safety net. Second, you should build contingencies into your business plan. Make sure your net profit margin isn’t razor thin in the first place so that you can handle unexpected downturns. And make sure you have appropriate lines of credit available to help you manage cash flow through unanticipated situations. Third, a disaster preparedness plan is crucial for longer, more severe disruptions. Do your employees know what to do? How to communicate with you and one another in case phone lines are down and electricity is unavailable? How often do you revisit and update the plan?

As a leader, it’s our job to deal with unanticipated situation. The best leaders plan for the unexpected.

Leadership and Accountability

Posted on April 3, 2014 by chesterman

I had an interesting conversation with a top community leader the other day. I had never had a chance to have an in-depth conversation with him before, so I relished the chance to learn more about him and his path to success.

I learned how he had worked his way up in various companies before achieving the position he now holds. He made some tough decisions and had to overcome some difficult situations along the way. I often hear those types of stories, and so I was not surprised at the types of stories he shared.

What I found fascinating was that he admitted that he does not like to be held accountable. All of the executives with whom I work realize that accountability will help them achieve even greater success. Some of them call me “The Accountability Queen.” Yet here I was, talking with an accomplished senior executive who shared that he intentionally avoids situations where he can be held accountable. What I found even more interesting was that when I probed deeper, it became apparent that he attempts to hold his direct reports accountable within his organization. In effect, he is not practicing what he preaches, or he feels he is exempt from his own rules. That’s not the best way to motivate others! Not surprisingly, his attempts to hold his direct reports accountable often fall flat, which frustrates him. He does not seem to understand how his refusal to be held accountable may be negatively impacting the organization as a whole. Sadly, I suspect he will learn that lesson the hard way.

Some of you will tell me that you hold yourself accountable, and that external accountability is overrated. I’m good at holding myself accountable because I have a high goal-orientation. And yet from my experience with my groups, I can tell you that my success rate is much higher when the group holds me accountable than when I rely on myself. I wish the accomplished leader with whom I met would give it a try and see how it would propel him forward and make his organization more successful!

Leadership, Sunsets and Rainbows

Posted on March 14, 2014 by chesterman

Many years ago, I used to work in an office that overlooked a parking garage. It wasn’t much of a view, but I found myself rarely looking out of the window, anyway. I was able to become very focused at work and intent on the task at hand, and block out my surroundings. I moved on from that company and went to another company whose office was on the water. I had a corner office with two walls of picture windows overlooking Tampa Bay and could see all of nature, including beautiful sunsets, dolphins, pelicans, stingrays, and more. It was a gorgeous setting and view. And yet I often found myself once again not paying attention to my surroundings at all. My husband would call me at work and ask if it was raining in my part of town, and I would often have no idea. I’d have to stop and look out the window and say, “Oh, yes, it’s raining, and there’s even a beautiful rainbow that I had not noticed.”

What a shame that I was so focused on what I was doing, that I lost sight of the big picture and my beautiful surroundings. How many sunsets and rainbows did I miss? As I’ve gotten older, I’ve learned the importance of paying more attention to what’s going on around me. I need to be focused at work, and I also need healthy breaks in the action so the world doesn’t pass me by. I need to occasionally look up, check out my surroundings, and pay attention to what’s going on around me.

What about you – are you so focused on certain things that you are missing much of what goes on around you? Take a step back and look at your surroundings with new eyes and share your observations with others. Appreciate what you have and what you do. Take time to appreciate those sunsets and rainbows in life. It will help you become a better leader.

Photo by: 55Laney69 / Foter / CC BY

Is Your “Busyness” Negatively Impacting Your Business?

Posted on March 4, 2014 by chesterman

Are you a busy leader? Welcome to the crowd! All of the leaders I coach are busy. As a matter of fact, if I come across a leader who says they aren’t busy, I view them with a bit of skepticism!

It seems as if people are getting busier than ever. Just look at kids today vs. 40 years ago. It’s common now for kids to have activities almost every night of the week as well as on weekends. I sometimes wonder if kids are getting enough rest and relaxation. When I was young, there seemed to be more time to just lie in the grass, stare at the clouds and daydream. I have fond memories of being completely relaxed, letting my imagination run wild.

It’s not just kids who seem to be constantly busy. If you are a leader who spends most of your time running from meeting to meeting and performing tasks that you can check off your lengthy to-do list, beware! Your busyness may be negatively impacting your business.

When are you taking the time to dream about the possibilities? To think about the future and how to create the future you desire? To look at the horizon and see what new technologies, competitors and opportunities will be appearing in the next few days, months and years? To make sure that all of the tasks and meetings are taking you in the right direction?

The most successful leaders schedule regular time on their calendar for a “meeting with themselves”. They clear their desks and their minds from distraction, and allow the creative and strategic ideas to flow. The top 1% also encourages their management team to do the same. By making the time for creativity and vision, you will ensure that you are heading in the right direction.

Photo by: David Blackwell. / Foter / CC BY-ND

Top 10 Reasons NOT to Join Vistage

Posted on February 22, 2014 by chesterman

I loved this posting by fellow Vistage Chair Artie Isaac (artie.co), and received his permission to share:

Top 10 Reasons Why NOT To Join Vistage

Some high-potential candidates raise obstacles, rather than applying for membership in Vistage. Here are some of their reasons.

10. “I can’t make the time to join Vistage.”

You think your time is precious? No Vistage member has any more time than any other member. We all have 168 hours each week. That’s it. The question: how do we choose to spend our time?

Vistage members don’t participate in Vistage because they are bored or because they are trying to find some way to spend time. They are among the most productive business people anywhere. They are very conscious of how they invest their time.

Vistage doesn’t take time. Vistage nets time. Vistage members report — within 45 or 90 days — that they stop doing other people’s work, start getting home earlier, and devote more time to the most important relationships in their lives.

9. “I need to wait until I get over this hump (or project or initiative or fiscal quarter).”

Anyone who thinks, “I’ll have more time after I get over this hump,” isn’t accurately predicting the future. There are always more humps to follow this current hump.

Were you humping 24 months ago? 12 months ago? 6 months ago? If so, humping is not the cure for humping. Vistage lets you live without constant humping.

Generally, Vistage members wished they had joined six or 12 or 18 months earlier.

8. “I’m too busy in my business.”

Vistage members report that spending time on their business (rather than in their business) with a group of peers makes them more effective leaders.

Within months of joining Vistage, members are doing more in less time.

7. “I can’t afford Vistage.”

What is your budget for your own professional development? Surely it’s not zero. You must be willing to invest in your own growth as a leader. If your budget allows, Vistage might be your very best alternative.

Vistage members don’t belong because they need to find some way to spend money. They do it for the ROI.

6. “No, really: I have no cash. We’re on the verge of bankruptcy.”

Oh, that’s too bad. We don’t have a persuasive counter-argument for that.

If you want to have a quick brainstorm on ideas for getting out of your cash crunch, call one of the local Vistage chairs. Otherwise, let us know when cash flow exceeds your cost of doing business.

Vistage members need to have the wherewithal to fund productive change.

5. “I already have a peer group.”

Is your current peer group highly functioning? If so, great. If not, does your peer group have a professional, trained chairperson?

Vistage chairs receive hundreds of hours of training each year. Meetings are productive — and members leave with new methods for leading their own meetings back at the office.

4. “I already have a executive coach.”

Executive coaching is an excellent resource. In Vistage, one-on-one sessions with a Vistage Chair is put to the test of a peer group. Peers hold one another accountable more powerfully than a single coach can.

The coaching and peer group combination at Vistage amplifies the call for leadership, maximizing growth of each member.

3. “I already have an advisory board.”

You have friends, trusted advisors, a spouse, and buddies. They all give you advice. But none of them give you agenda-free advice. Their advice always has an agenda: their love and affection for you, their desire to impress, their axe to grind. Their advice might be good, but it isn’t free of some agenda.

Vistage groups offer agenda-free advice. Members give each other their best thinking: take it or leave it. The highest performing members listen hard to what their told at Vistage.

2. “I can’t trust others with my secrets.”

What’s the deal? Are you a loner? Are you on the lam? Can you even trust yourself?

Vistage members learn how to trust by being trustworthy. Groups immediately study how to maintain confidentiality, because that is the necessary ingredient for true sharing.

Vistage members reach adulthood, marked by a developmental milestone: knowing what stories are ours to tell, and what stories are not ours to tell.

1. “I can’t possibly learn from other people.”

Is that your plan: to walk alone into your grave? Rest in peace.

Some Vistage members arrive ready to learn. Others are reluctant to learn. But they all learn that they are not the smartest person at the table.

Every Vistage member will tell you: I have learned fundamental lessons from each person in my group.

Thanks, Artie!

Always a Leader

Posted on February 14, 2014 by chesterman

How often do you use statements that include the word “always”? “I always do the right thing.” “She always gets it wrong.” “That always happens to me.” Extreme phrases of any kind are hard to live up to. I was reminded of that recently when I was honored to receive the Red Scott Award. The award is given to the Vistage Florida Chair who best exemplifies the spirit of Vistage following what Red felt were the real tenets of great Chair leadership: Always putting their member’s needs ahead of their own, always making it a top priority to assist their fellow Chairs, and always putting the organization’s needs and well-being ahead of their own.

Red Scott was a terrific mentor, leader and person – as you know if you have read some of my prior blog postings. He achieved great fame and wealth, and yet was respected as a humble man. I have tried to follow in his footsteps to be the best person I can be. Now that I have received this great honor, the pressure is on for me to do even better.

The “always” statements associated with this award can be challenging at times. It often takes much less effort to put your own needs first, and worry about the impact on others later. Behaving unselfishly can also mean getting rolled over by someone who takes advantage of the situation. When that happens, it’s easy to think, “Why bother?” The answer, of course, is because it’s the right thing to do. Remember, as a leader, you are always being watched by your employees. If you can focus on always trying to do your best, that’s all anyone can ask. Even leaders are human, after all!

Leadership and Texting in a Movie Theater

Posted on January 17, 2014 by chesterman

The shooting that occurred this week in a movie theater between a man who was texting during movie previews and a retired police officer made national news and has generated a lot of discussion. For those of you who have not heard about this event, what has been reported so far is this: A man was texting in the theater before the feature movie began, and an argument ensued between the man and a retired police officer who was seated nearby. The outcome of the argument was that the man who was texting was fatally shot by the other man.

Everyone seems to have a different opinion about what is acceptable behavior in a movie theater. Most people say that talking on cell phones in the theater is distracting and unacceptable. Some feel that any use of a cell phone, including texting or reading emails, inside a theater is rude. Others say that until the feature movie begins, texting is fine – who wants to see previews, anyway? There are dozens of opinions, and while I have seen most theaters include a statement on the movie screen about turning cell phones off, I suspect the policies will become more clearly defined and communicated as a result of this incident.

Apparently this movie theater had a policy of not allowing guns in the theater. Questions are swirling around that policy. Does the policy also apply to law enforcement, retired or active? Was the policy clearly defined and communicated to theatergoers? How is the policy enforced?

Those same types of questions could apply in your business. Do you have written policies and procedures? Have they been clearly communicated to ALL of your employees? What about communication to customers and vendors? How are the policies being enforced? What’s the protocol for disputes or disagreements? Let’s learn from this unfortunate event and make positive changes in our businesses.

Photo by: fd / Foter.com / CC BY-NC

Changes and the New Year

Posted on December 31, 2013 by chesterman

The Bucs fired their head coach and general manager yesterday. While it was no real surprise, it means that the Bucs players will once again be experiencing significant change and a new direction for 2014. I wonder how easily and quickly some of them will adapt to the change. A lot will depend upon who is brought in to lead the team and his style of management and leadership. Sometimes a good house-cleaning is good for an organization. Other times, stability is more effective for long-term success.

What about your organization? Is it time for a good house-cleaning? Are things getting stale and not heading in the direction you desire? Let me clarify: In my opinion, a good house-cleaning doesn’t necessarily mean changing the leadership team. It could just mean doing a thorough analysis of what isn’t working and setting clearly defined goals to turn those problem areas around.

On the other hand, if things are working well and you are achieving your desired results, then perhaps stability should be your focus for 2014. Try to stretch a bit more without making radical changes. Take advantage of your stability and strengths and empower your employees to be all that they can be.

Happy New Year!

Photo by abcnews.go.com

Holiday Season Opportunities To Be a Star

Posted on December 17, 2013 by chesterman

: Be a Star!DaveWilsonPhotography / Foter.com / CC BY-NC-ND

Are you employees distracted at this time of year? Are you? We all have a lot on our plates, between buying gifts, holiday cards and parties galore. And many people try to take some time off at this time of year, both to spend time with families, travel, or to use up that vacation time before it expires. That can put a strain on the employees who are in the office and having to cover for others’ workloads.

So can any work get done in December? Absolutely! It just takes a bit more focus and effort. December is a great time to finalize your planning for 2014, provide feedback to your employees on their performance during the year and communicate goals for next year. And don’t forget to remember and celebrate your achievements during 2013! Reflect back on what worked well so you can replicate it during the coming year.

December can also be a good time for sales. Depending on the type of product or service you sell, many companies have money left in their budget that they want to spend by the end of the year. Additionally, since many people are running errands on their lunch hour, it is often easier to get around the gatekeeper to reach the decision-maker. Your call or visit may be a welcome distraction from the report they are not in the mood to read! Remind your sales people to keep pushing and challenge them to exceed their normal monthly goal this month. See if you can end the year on a high note with your best month of 2013.

Merry Christmas!

Bizarre Headlines and Mixed Messages

Posted on November 15, 2013 by chesterman

Bizarre Headlines

As I was reading the paper this week, I was struck by some bizarre headlines. First, there was the mayor who admitted to using and purchasing illegal drugs and yet insisted that he was a positive role model for kids. Really? How interesting. He was also videotaped threatening to kill someone. He was asked to step down and has refused. He doesn’t sound like someone I’d like my kids to emulate!

Another bizarre headline this week was the announcement by London’s Metropolitan Police that the spy whose body was found stuffed inside a locked gym bag at the bottom of his bathtub, likely died in an accident with no one else involved. Huh? He died accidentally and then locked himself in a gym bag? That’s a trick even Houdini might have found challenging! What does that conclusion say about the judgment of that police department?

These bizarre headlines are just two examples of how we are bombarded with mixed messages from a variety of sources. While these types of stories might make for interesting discussions at the water cooler, they certainly do not increase confidence in the judgment or leadership abilities of the organizations involved.

What are your headlines saying about you? Are you inadvertently sending mixed messages to your employees and customers? If you step away and look at all of your messaging from an objective distance, what does it say about your leadership and judgment? Does it inspire confidence? Or does it just provide additional fodder for those water cooler discussions?

photo by: steve_huison

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