Ups and Downs
Don't forget, our final two LEADERSHIP Essentials Academies are in Belmont, New Hampshire on September 11-12 and in San Rafael, California on October 2-3. Don't miss this opportunity to work with me in-person. Learn more here or click here to grab a seat before its too late.
How was your week last week? I had some ups and downs. Here is a snapshot of mine for you to compare:
1. Hiring: I interviewed three candidates for Clients. One was a follow-up interview that went poorly because I had been too optimistic. The Client was saved from hiring someone who would have been a disaster, but it was disappointing that I let a recommendation from someone I trust motivate me to overlook early red flags.
REMINDER: Be systematic in hiring and Productively Paranoid (Jim Collins). An unsuccessful hire is worse than no hire.
2. Montana: I traveled to Bozeman, Montana to work with Pine Cove Consulting for a day. Before I arrived we did a full confidential survey of employees about their company culture. Their organization is growing quickly and doing a great job in many areas, yet a review of the survey and discussions with the leadership team revealed ways to develop more of an Ownership Culture that can help them better reach their dreams. They are great people with a bright future.
REMINDER: The best never stop striving to get better. We always have to focus on at least one idea that can help us break out of the pack rather than just run with it. (And face-to-face meetings with candor are incredibly valuable.)
3. Ownership Culture: I spoke with several people about our Ownership Culture program. The first group of five companies will be filled this week and a second group that may start on September 1 may fill-up quickly too. It is really interesting to hear how people I respect want to strengthen their sales management and improve their culture. They realize "ownership" and "control" are different. In our version of an Ownership Culture they retain control, but share ownership of decisions for powerful results.
REMINDER: Think of Zappos, Netflix, Amazon, and managed service providers you know who are growing rapidly. Their employees believe their company is the product (Jack Stack). The difference is stunning. They prove an Ownership Culture works. Your company can AND SHOULD do the same.
It is Monday. ACCOUNTABILITY TIME!
- Did you take Sanctuary time over the weekend to improve your focus?
- How did you do on your 3Strands last week?
- Have you defined your 3Strands for this week?
- By 9:00 a.m. this morning you should have 3Strands emails from each of your direct reports.
Stay on track.