It’s understandable because leaders lead through their leaders/direct reports. Between meetings and working with and through their direct reports, there’s often very little time left over. Plus, most leaders feel like they’re undercutting their leaders/direct reports if they “go behind the leader’s back” and talk to employees one or two levels down the org chart.

On the other hand, this is disastrous because what gives leaders power isn’t their position but the will of “the people”. And what drives the will of “the people,” or what causes them to want to give power to a leader, is their belief that the leader understands them, cares for them, feels for them, “gets them.”

One of my favorite studies on this subject is related to who wins the election for President of the United States. In every election over the past sixty years, the person who won the election has been the person with the highest “likeability quotient.” For example, JFK over Nixon. LBJ over Humphrey. Regan over Dukakis. Clinton over Bush I. Bush II over Gore and Kerry. Obama over McCain. In other words, forget politics and policies, most people, when they’re in an election booth and have to make a choice, tend to vote for whomever they “like” the most.

In other words, whenever “the people” feel like someone “gets them,” they willingly give power over to that person. But whenever they feel that someone is elitist or doesn’t get them or understand them and their issues, power leaves. Putting politics aside, this is one of the major issues confronting our current president, Barack Obama.

President Obama was voted in on a populist platform where people felt like he understood them and their issues. Unfortunately, two years later, his poll ratings are down almost 20 points, with a higher disapproval rating than an approval rating. Why? For a number of reasons, but if you listen to the comments most people make it’s that they feel he’s “out of touch,” he doesn’t “understand them,” he doesn’t “know what matters to them anymore,” he’s “elitist,” etc.

This same thing happens to owners and CEOs of small and medium-sized businesses all the time. As they grow, they spend all their time with senior executives or their top team or with investors or board members, etc. And then they wonder why their people don’t follow them like they used to. Hello?

Great leaders know they have to frequently be among “the people”. This is why Managing by Wandering Around (MBWA) was such a powerful concept. And I’ve watched it literally transform companies and organizations–small and large. There’s something very powerful that happens when the people of a business or organization feel connected to their leader.

In fact, I was just talking to one of my daughters the other day about her former principal, Suzanne Maxey, whom we all loved. She transformed a school. And one of the ways she did it was she was “among the people.” And she didn’t just show up at events, she valued the input of the students she interacted with (as well as faculty). She “got them.”

In fact, one of my daughter’s favorite practices of Suzanne was that she would often get on the intercom and say something like, “Okay, whoever is in the second row, third seat from the front, please report to the auditorium.” The students would file down to the auditorium and then she’d ask them questions and seek their input (i.e. she held randomly selected focus groups). Suzanne led well for a number of reasons, but one of them was that she was “among the people.” Unfortunately, some of the other principals who have come before her and after her, missed this lesson–to the detriment of the school.

At the end of the day, positional power can only get a leader so far (just ask Tony Howard of BP). What makes a great leader great is that they have referential power; that is, power willingly bestowed upon them–not because of position, but because of choice. And what drives that choice? It’s the belief by “the people” that their leader gets them, likes them, cares for them and understands them.

It doesn’t matter whether you’re running a tech company with $15M in revenue or a multi-national consumer products company with $15B in revenue. If you want to lead well, you need to be among your people. And not just physically, they need to feel you value them, hear them, and understand them.

So, how are you doing at this? How much time each week do you spend with people “down the org chart”? How much time do you spend doing MBWA? How much do your people like you? How much do you like them? What are their major concerns right now? How are you addressing them? Do you “get them”? Do they feel the same?

Remember, if you want to lead well, be among the people. You can’t lead well from a distance. If you’re only meeting with your top level people, you’re missing out. You need to be among the people if you really want to enter the ranks of being a great leader.

To your accelerated success!

I remember, shortly after my board coup several years ago, the movie “Rocky Balboa” came out and in the middle of the movie, Rocky made the following comment to his son,

“It ain’t about how hard you’re hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward–that’s how winning is done!”

I immediately put that quote up on my credenza and still look at it to this day. To me, that’s the power of a great quote. In just a few words, it can say so much.

In light of that, over the July 4th weekend, I decided to create my own favorite quote site. As a consultant and professional speaker, I’m regularly on the look out for great quotes. So, rather than horde them for myself, in the spirit of Tom Peters (when you go to the site, you’ll understand that comment), I’ve decided to make them available to everyone.

So, rather than bore you with more content, let me encourage you to go to the site and read some great inspirational business-oriented quotes. I think you’ll enjoy them! Oh, and the URL is pretty easy to remember

http://www.brucequotes.com

Note: I just created the site Saturday evening so some of the topics only have a few quotes, while others have quite a few. But over time, the approximately 400 quotes will grow. The site is still under 48 hours old. Just bookmark it and return to it whenever you either need some inspiration or you’re putting together a talk or training session and need the perfect quote to make the perfect point.

To your accelerated success!

http://www.brucequotes.com

Why? Because it’s a mistake I see a lot of leaders make (i.e. they don’t apologize–or apologize enough–or apologize soon enough) and they all pay a price for that. It doesn’t matter if you’re the President of the United States or the CEO of a global company (BP anyone?) or the Senior Pastor of a large church or the Managing Partner of a large law firm or the Executive Director of a Non-Profit/Association or the Owner of a five person professional services firm. Most leaders don’t get this–and it’s a mistake.

In the post to my daughters I mention that Leroy Jethro Gibbs (the main character on NCIS if you don’t watch the show) is wrong. His opinion is that apologizing is a sign of weakness and you should never do it. I respectfully disagree. Apologizing isn’t a sign of weakness, it’s a sign of strength. And great leaders get this.

In Marshall Goldsmith’s wonderful book on leadership, What Got You Here Won’t Get You There (which is a must read), he makes the following statement,

“I regard apologizing as the most magical, healing, restorative gesture human beings can make. It is the centerpiece of my work with executives who want to get better.”

Now, lest you try to brush past this statement quickly, you ought to know that the CEOs Marshall coaches are Fortune 500 CEOs. On the list of the Top 50 Thinkers in Business, he’s number 14. In other words, when Marshall Goldsmith says that the centerpiece in his work with executives who want to get better is to help them learn how to apologize, that’s worth paying attention to.

For years, I’ve taught leaders this same idea–that they should apologize freely and frequently. Why? Because relationships matter. If you’re confident as a leader, then you have the strength to apologize and don’t need to worry about self-preservation or ego. And the amazing thing is that when you do apologize, relationships get stronger and the problem is usually eliminated right then and there.

However, when leaders don’t apologize everything gets worse. Relationships get strained and often sever (and, frequently, for life). Conflicts increase. Trust is broken. Sides are taken. Commitment decreases. New problems arise. Productivity decreases. Etc. In other words, nothing positive happens when leaders choose to not apologize. I’ve literally watched organizations shrivel all because a leader or group of leaders at the top weren’t willing to apologize for what they had done. Amazing!

But apologizing isn’t only the right thing to do because of relationships, it’s also good business practice. For example, in a study at the University of Michigan’s Health System, when they opened the doors for doctors to apologize for a medical error guess what happened? Lawsuits didn’t go up–they went down–and in half! In addition, awards went down as well.

“Apologies for medical errors, along with upfront compensation, (reduces) anger of patients and families, which leads to a reduction in medical malpractice lawsuits and associated defense litigation expenses,” says Doug Wojieszak, spokesman for The Sorry Works! Coalition.

Furthermore, on a practical level, I’ve watched this for years. It’s always been my practice to apologize as quickly as possible. Now, frequently, the issue isn’t over something you’ve actually done wrong, it’s their perception of what you did wrong. In those cases, you can apologize for what it has communicated to them or how it’s affected them. “I’m sorry that when I said … it communicated … to you. That was not my intent at all. And I am truly sorry that it’s negatively affected our relationship.” Apology made. Apology accepted. Conflict ended.

So as you look at your work place and relationships, are there some relationships you need to restore with a long overdue apology? Or is there a decision that you’ve made that has had a negative impact that you haven’t owned up to? Just apologize. And from this point forward, make it your policy to apologize freely, frequently and fast. You’ll be amazed at the impact. Plus, you’ll have just made, “the most magical, healing and restorative gesture a human being can make!” Who can argue with that?

To your accelerated success!

P.S. Yes, there are a few instances where you haven’t done anything wrong and you shouldn’t apologize, but, in general, your default position should be to take responsibility and restore relationships whenever possible.

I’m not talking about lying (hopefully, you didn’t do that). I’m talking about telling the whole truth. For example, did you tell your boss what you thought your boss wanted to hear or what you thought needed to be said? Or when your boss asked, “Are we all on board?” were you willing to risk saying to your boss and the rest of your team, “I’m not really in agreement!” Or when you heard that other people in your organization expressing some frustration with your boss, were you willing to tell your boss, “Hey, I think you’ve got a problem!”

If you’re like the vast majority of people, your answers to the above questions were, “Not really.” If that is true of you–and you have leadership capabilities, why would you ever think that your people are always telling you the truth?

Now, this may seem self-serving (it’s not intended to), but this is one of the main reasons why you should regularly hire outside consultants. I’m always amazed at what employees tell me when I do my initial rounds of interviews with new clients. Some of what they say is predictable–but not always. Frequently, CEOs are surprised to find out what their people really think.

For example, we may think that we’re being a great boss by giving them lots of freedom, but they may be interpreting it as, “He doesn’t really care.” Or we may think that when we took the time to create, as a group, a new mission, vision and values statement that we did a great job. But they may be thinking, “This is just window dressing so she doesn’t have to deal with Joe and Judy and their lack of performance.”

Or we may think we’re doing a great job coaching our team because we give them lots of ideas and feedback, but they may be thinking, “I can never do anything right for him. He never says, ‘Great idea. Run with it!’” Or, we may be completely unaware that our non-verbals are communicating loud and clear, “I’m not listening to you.”

Throughout history, very few people have been willing to speak into power. It always has been and always will be. Though you and I will occasionally find some senior staff who will tell us the truth, most won’t. So don’t be surprised.

As you may know, one of the first steps toward creating change is facing reality. But to get there, you’ll probably need someone from the outside to help you get there. It’s no different than asking your customers to tell you the truth. Some will, but most will simply tell you what you want to hear. To get the real truth–and that is what you want–you’ll probably need someone from the outside to help you get there. So, choose wisely!

To your accelerated growth!

P.S. This should go without saying, but that someone should possess great relational skills, be able to bond quickly, and have impeccable integrity.

I’ve never been a big trekkie fan (though I did think Jean luc Picard was a phenomenal leader) so I wasn’t in a hurry to see this latest Star Trek movie. However, the reviews have been so positive (Rotten Tomatoes has it at 95%, which is incredibly high for a major distribution film) that I finally caved in and went to see it this past Saturday, July 4th (and was amazed, like others, at how good it really was–even if you’re not a Star Trek fan).

And while there are a lot of great leadership lessons in it, the one I think you might find quite useful is found in the development of James T. Kirk’s character. If you haven’t seen the film, it’s basically a prequel to the series, starting with Kirk’s birth (and if you don’t know who Kirk is/was, he was William Shatner character back in the 1960’s).

When we first meet up with Kirk in this film (post birth), we see him as a young teen racing a car before he’s old enough to. Then we see him in a bar fight. Then we see him gaming the system. Then we see him in trouble–again and again and again. In other words, he’s a young, self-assured, rebellious, cocky, somewhat funny, anti-authoritan, and thrill-seeking kind of guy!

Now, if you were getting ready to hire a candidate for your business (let alone for a leadership position), how likely do you think it is that you would hire young Mr. Kirk? Probably between zero and nilch. And yet, by not hiring him, you’d miss out on hiring the very person you want, the next James T. Kirk, commander of the USS Enterprise, the leading ship of Star Fleet.

In other words, one of the great lessons you and I can glean from Star Trek is that we shouldn’t expect 40 year-old behavior from 22 year old “kids.” It’s the driving, wild, often reckless behavior of youth that creates the potential for real leadership. If we take that away, the people who don’t possess those kinds of pasts never seem to become great leaders.

When it’s all said and done, leadership requires taking risks, making bold decisions, trusting your gut (often against the data and others), being confident, having the strength to not be afraid when others are, being willing to charge ahead when others want to flee, etc. All of which are qualities that are often born out of “young, self-assured, rebellious, cocky, somewhat funny, anti-authoritan, and thrill-seeking kinds of guys (and gals).”

So, the next time you’re thinking about hiring someone (young, that is–by age 40 they should have these issues under control), you may want to add in some candidates you would normally toss out. The non-conformist you’re tempted to pass over just may be the very one who will help lead (or possibly save) your company–at least, that’s what the entire universe learned in this latest installment of Star Trek!

To your accelerated success!

If you don’t regularly read Business Week, you ought to at least peruse the back page when you’re near a copy–if for no other reason than to read what Jack Welch has to say.
This week’s edition (3/9/09) was one of those weeks that every leader should read.

In fact, I thought his subtitle, “Leaders are actually supposed to change their minds when the winds shift,” was perfect.

What set the stage for his comment was a discussion about President Obama’s decision to add 17,000 troops into Afghanistan, which is a guerrilla style war. Putting politics aside for a moment, Jack’s comment was that he hoped our President would reconsider his position. And then he brilliantly said,

“We hope, that he doesn’t fall prey to the dynamic that affects virtually every leader who has ever stood up to make a bold and defining strategy pronouncement, as he did with Afghanistan on the campaign trail: Call it fear of flip-flopping.”

Brilliantly stated. He then goes on to say

“It is the essence of leadership to have the self-confidence to admit that a strategy has gone off-course or a position has become outdated. And it is the responsibility of all leaders in such a ”predicament“ to revise their direction swiftly, widely communicate it, and move on without undue pandering or emotionality.”

Absolutely! Leadership is not about perfection. It’s about making a bold choice, taking action, evaluating the results and then making mid-course corrections until the desired result or outcome is achieved.

In the military, the old adage is, “No plan survives first encounter with the enemy.” This doesn’t mean a leader shouldn’t plan because the power of planning is not in the plan itself, but in the thinking that has to be done in order to create the plan.

There is a time and place for sticking with a strategy, even when the short-term prospects aren’t looking favorable. But there’s also a time and a place for changing a strategy mid-course when it’s clear that the winds have shifted“ (to use Jack’s phraseology).

How do you know which to do? That’s what leadership is all about. And the only way to learn how to make the right call is to make the wrong call a couple of times.

Being ”pigheaded“ and determined are essential qualities of entrepreneurial leaders, like you and me. However, changing your position (”flip-flopping“) isn’t necessarily a sign of weakness. In many cases, it’s a sign of strength–and quite often, the right thing to do.

So as you look at the strategic decisions your business needs to make this year, which ones do you need to stick with? And which ones do you need to change direction on? Whatever you decide, make sure you base your decisions on the what’s really happening–and not on some fear of being labeled a flip-flopper. As Jack says,

“Leaders are actually supposed to change their minds when the winds shift.”

To your accelerated success!

Now, this isn’t meant to be a final predictor of who’ll win in the fall. Who knows how the race will shape up and who will come off being the more likable (for example, who would have thought six months ago that McCain would be more likable then Romney), but the track record of likability is pretty consistent. Why? Because at the end of the day, we all like to do "business" with people we like.

In fact, just recently I was interviewing a lawyer for a speaking engagement I’m doing in May. During our interview he mentioned to me that he has to train the lawyers he’s hired to learn that most people will decide within four seconds if they’re going to do business with a lawyer. Four seconds! And what can someone decide in four seconds? "Do I think I’m going to like this person?"

Now, lest you be tempted to think that likabilty isn’t relevant to business growth, just review the people you do business with. Yes, you may endure a cranky business owner from time to time, but most of the time, you choose to do business with people you like. Now, occasionally you get stuck in a place where there isn’t much of a choice and neither option is likable. But whenever there is a choice between doing business with someone who’s likable vs. someone who’s not, likable wins every time (and in most case, you’re willing to pay a premium for the likable option–which is another good reason for taking likability seriously.

But it’s not just about you being likable, it’s every person in your business who has contact with any customer being likable. That means that the front desk person has to be likable. The bookkeeper or accounts receivable person has to be likable. Your VP of Marketing has to be likable. The cashier has to be likable. Etc. You pick the position. But whatever the position, the person in that position better be likable. Why? Because if they aren’t I can almost guarantee you that you’re not making as much money as you could.

So as you look through your business, grade your people on the L-Factor (as Tim Sanders calls it in his book, The Likability Factor). Who are your A players when it comes to likability? Your B players? And then your C and D players? Next, make a game plan for ensuring that you (and they) are all moving toward being A players when it comes to the L Factor. And finally, talk about likability frequently–especially with your managers and leaders. Why? Because you (and they) only have four seconds to win a customer over–and most people, when given the choice, prefer to do business with people they like.

But what most of us don’t see is all the work he does in secret. For example, after winning Wimbledon each year, he goes down to Dubai–so he can practice in the HEAT. He calls up organizations like the USTA and asks for them to send him a few young men he can practice with–in Dubai. For hours, he’ll be out on the court. The young men will rotate in and out because of the heat, but Roger stays out on the court the whole time, hitting against "fresh blood," young up and coming players who have lots of energy and speed–hour after hour.

All you and I see is Federer on center court at Arthur Ashe stadium winning match after match, where he looks so calm in the midst of 100 degree days and intense pressure. However, for Roger Federer, those moments of greatness have all been formed in secret, when he’s been willing to push himself harder and farther than his competitors have–out on the practice courts.

That same principle holds true for you and me as well. Nothing is remarkable if it isn’t executed well.  And the key to successful execution is found in the practice and preparation that’s done in secret–long before the moment of execution arrives. The speaker who writes out his speech, word for word, and then practices it several times until it feels natural, wows the audience with how "extemporaneously" he speaks. The executive who prepares for hours before a board or staff meeting, appears to be "brilliant" during discussions. The salesperson, who seemed so calm and well prepared for every question you threw at her and who slowly led you to buy–only got there because she had spent hours in private preparing answers for those questions so that they appeared "natural."

It really doesn’t matter what the subject is, remarkability doesn’t just happen. It’s built over time, in secret. So, what are the things you know you need to do–in secret, away from the eyes of everyone else–to get you to the next level? Do you need to practice some responses? Do you need to learn a new skill? Or a new language? Do you need to hone an existing skill? Do you need to practice some more? Do you need to take an additional course? Do you need to hire a coach? Do you need to listen to some audio programs? Etc.

What do you need to do, in secret, to get you to the next level? Whatever it is, do it. And maybe someday, just like Roger Federer, someone will be writing about you and your extraordinary achievement (and hey, an extra $2.4 million for your achievement wouldn’t be that bad either :-)

For example, yesterday I was in a discussion with a few people about an upcoming event. As inevitably happens, cost issues came up (which isn’t a problem, from my perspective, because I’m a strong advocate of sound fiscal management). However, whenever cost issues arise, one of the normal patterns of behavior/discussion for most people is, "Well, if we do x, it’ll be good enough." After a few of those comments, one of the participants in the conversation noticed I wasn’t thrilled with the direction the conversation was going and said, "Oh, it just dawned on me, I’m trying to plan an event with the Make it Remarkable guy!" Bingo!

It’s the most amazing thing, whenever you or I have a standard of excellence or remarkability, it changes everything we do. Phrases like, "that’ll be good enough," or "Eighty percent is good enough, then move on," or "who’ll notice the difference," or "what did we do last time?" will be eliminated from your vocabulary and mindset. Instead, you’ll look at everything you do as an opportunity to do something more remarkably than you did last time.

It won’t matter if it’s an event you’re planning or a product you’re designing, a meal you’re preparing or a letter you’re writing, a project you’re completing or a proposal you’re submitting. It won’t matter if it’s a customer service initiative you’re creating or a web page design you’re submitting, a talk you’re going to give or a patient encounter you’re involved in. Nor, will it matter if it’s a vacation you’re planning or a room you’re designing. If your standard is excellence or remarkability, you’ll perform at a higher level.

Why? Because we always move in the direction of our currently dominant thought. If the standard we have for ourselves is "good enough" then that’s the image we have in our minds (and we will move toward that). However, if the standard we have in our minds is excellence or remarkability, then we’ll move toward that. In essence, it’s all about what’s in our minds. Or as I like to say, "The cognitive behavioralists are correct." If we want to see a change in behavior, the change must first begin in the mind.

So as you look at your mindset, what is your standard? Are you okay with "good enough" or "ordinary"? Or do you want something more? Do you want excellence or remarkability? What is your standard?

You see, trying to change behavior and performance apart from changing mindset is almost always fraught with failure. So if you want to change your performance (or that of the people you lead), start by raising your standard (or helping them to raise theirs). Eliminate words and phrases like "good enough" and "okay", and aim for excellence and remarkability in everything you do. My guess is that you’ll be surprised at how powerful the impact of such a simple change can be. Standards do matter!

P.S. If you want to change the standard of the people you lead, make excellence or remarkability one of your core values. Then begin a deliberate campaign to make that value part of your culture. Talk about it. Reward it. Cast vision about it. Tell stories about it. Create systems to sustain it. Demonstrate it. Etc. Once your people realize this isn’t the "flavor of the month," they’ll begin to own it. And once they own the value, the change will be dramatic.

As I reflected on that comment I thought, "Now, isn’t that interesting. Here’s someone who’s had a remarkable career. And yet the one thing he chose to use to explain why he’s had a remarkable career is his ability to follow through and complete the assignments given him." In once sense that sounds so . . . unremarkable. But in another, it’s not. Think about it.

• How many times has someone promised to send you something, and hasn’t?
• How many times has someone said they’d complete a project by x date, and they haven’t?
• How many times has someone promised to make an introduction for you, and they haven’t?
• How many times has someone said they’d meet their plan or objectives in time, and they haven’t?
• How many times has someone promised to raise their game to the next level, and they haven’t?
• How many times has Sears promised to get your appliance to you in a two hour window, and they haven’t?

In other words, in a world full of people (and companies) who don’t follow through well, the person (or company) who executes well is, by definition, remarkable. When a job needs to be done now, this is the person of whom everyone says, "Get me Joe. He’ll get it done!"

Being a metaphor kind of person, I immediately began to think of the image of Jean-Luc Picard (played by Patrick Stewart) from "Star Trek:The Next Generation." If you never watched the show, that’s fine–but what you missed out on was watching a great leader in action. And one of enduring lessons about leadership that you would have picked up from Jean-Luc Picard was his favorite line, "Make it so!" Frequently when he would issue an order (or affirm someone else’s decision) he would follow it up with a three word command to execute well, "Make it so!" In other words, don’t think about it. Don’t deliberate about it. Don’t put it off for another day. Don’t do something else. Just, "Make it so!"

So, as you look at your performance in your company or organization, are you a "Make it so!" kind of person? Are you a Jean-Luc Picard? Have you established yourself as the go-to person when a job needs to be done? Do your people or clients or friends know that your word is your bond, that when you promise to do something it’s as good as done? I hope so. However, if not, don’t worry. Today’s a new day. Go ahead and Jean-Luc Picard it! Become a "Make it so!" kind of person.  It’s taken my friend to the upper echelons of a global company. Who knows how high it might take you in your organization?