Bob Chapman's Leadership Approach

St. Norbert's Schneider Business School recently sponsored renowned businessman Bob Chapman for a day to talk about his excellent approaches to Leadership, and his examples of how they create vibrant organizations of mentally healthy and unusually productive employees.

His counterpoints were severe … that today’s workplaces are centers of high anxiety, that ownership and leadership are “Me-centered”, focused only on shareholder success, seeing employees as functions necessary to ownership success,  that there is an “epidemic of anguish”, with statistics that support this … 74% of employees become sick at work due to anxiety and distress, 88% go home feeling not valued.

Management, he said, is interpreted as “manipulation of others for your success.”

“I watched a group of enthusiastic employees, as their 8 AM start came closer and they had to go into the office, and saw their energy drain out of them.”

“ We aren’t taught how to work with people as people with energy and soul."

Bob Chapman To The Rescue!

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But his messages/approaches/philosophies/bromides are actually wonderful and right on!

And his record of accomplishment is very impressive.  Today, his St. Louis-based Barry-Wehmiller has expanded with 100 acquisitions, mostly manufacturers like Paper Converting here in Green Bay, grossing $3 billion in revenues and 12,000 employees.  Today, he says that Harvard Business School and McKinsey are doctoring their teachings to include his approaches.

One can argue that the application of his approaches is not consistent at his various operations, but chalk that up to the challenges of growth and re-training managers to apply them consistently.

Insights

•  He titles his comments, “The PRIVILEGE of Leadership.”

•  Your job as a leader is to be the steward of the people you are leading, to help them discover, develop and share their gifts.

•  When you hire a person, gather his/her family and promise to nurture those gifts.

•  Our greatest act of charity is not the check you write, but how well you treat the many people you lead.

•  You CAN make work FUN!

•  The foundation of our leadership development is “empathetic listening.”  I thought when you saw a problem, you went and talked it over.  No, it starts with questions and empathetic listening.

•  Yes, we all have to create VALUE …

•  Yes, we need ways to keep score, to know we are meeting daily goals.

•  Every Sunday, we go and listen to our preacher and his/her message on how to act right for an hour.  As Leaders, we have a FORTY TIMES greater opportunity each week to influence people.  We must be intentional in using that opportunity.

•  At a wedding, what the father-of-the-bride is really thinking:  You better continue our efforts to nurture her growth, and health and development that we just spent 20 years at!

•  Parenting and Leadership are identical.

•  You pay people for their hands to do the work, yet they’ll give you their heads and hearts for free … if you can figure out how to do it.

Some Other Thoughts

•  Who they ARE and what they DO ... matter.

•  Listenig is both the most critical leadership skill … AND the most powerful act of CARING.

•  Recognition and Celebration are essential tasks of leadership.

•  Lead like the Leader you want your children to have.

On Making Impactful Social Media Content ... Using It To Sell!

•  On Making Impactful Social Media Content 

Make sure there are people in any photo, using your product.

Show what the product ACCOMPLISHES!

Technique:  Show the Worst Scenario that people experience, that resonates with them … and then the Great Scenario that you provide.  Try to get “feeling” into the photos.

Social Media providers (Facebook, Google, etc.) have their algorithms elevate items with content that is Celebratory, contains Life Milestones, or shows Engagement.

(Source:  Chris Burns, BConnected, Appleton)

•  For Salespeople:  Using Social Media To Sell

First, create Awareness of who you are, where to find you, what you do.

Second, create Micro-Commitments … little opportunities you provide them (an insightful article, a referral to more information, attending a workshop) that stimulate a response of some sort.  Keep these coming; creates positive visibility.

Note:   Whereas most of these are “broadcasts” to your email list, periodically you can send a personalized one:  “Hey, I was just in your business and Tim handled me really well.”  “Ran into this information.  May be grist for a good discussion about your challenge when we see each other next."

Third, create a Logical Conclusion:  Make an offer to talk further about a topic you’re providing information about.  Where your expertise is.  Be relevant to the prospect’s pain.

(Source:  Matt Middendorp, selling consultant to banks and an officer of American National Bank Fox Cities.)

Libraries and "Late Fees" on Books ...

In a recent Wall Street Journal article:
"Libraries battling to retain borrowers in the digital age are ending late fees, a change intended to ease the shame and dread of returning overdue books."

It's a way to make libraries once again a "safe place" for them.

About the Power Outage This Past Weekend

We were out for 32 hours … from 11:30 AM on Saturday until Sunday evening.

It’s a wakeup call to how much we depend on electricity being there!

No hot coffee when I woke up.  Only cold water for washing dishes in the sink.  Couldn't wash or dry dirty, sweaty clothes.

When I walked into a darkened room, or went to the basement, I flipped on the switch, and NOTHING!

It was hot and muggy.  But all I could do was sit there … no fan to turn on, no air conditioner to turn on.

No computer … where I do much of my reading.

Couldn’t watch the British Open!!!

Freezing shower!  Quickest one I’ve ever taken.  No hot water.

When I went to bed, completely still.  No fan to get the air moving.  Muggy.

Then, the freezer food and refrigerator food began to melt/heat up.  Spent Sunday afternoon taking food to three friends who had room in their freezers.

And then, five hours later, the electricity went back on.

On FoxConn

I belong to the Independent Business Assn. of Wisconsin, a Milwaukee-based group, and at a recent monthly breakfast meeting they had as speakers on the current status of FoxConn two people from Mt. Pleasant, the municipality in which it exists.  One was the economic development manager, and the other was their hired, very experienced project manager for the FoxConn project.

I wanted insights into what is really happening there, and I think they provided it.

Keep in mind that FoxConn is already assembling TV screens there for a number of customers (not manufacturing them, assembling them).

       1.  Yes, they will no longer make the 65" TV screens there, but rather the ones up to 36”.  The market for the larger ones is slowing, and they already make them elsewhere.  (Note:  There currently are NO manufacturing facilities for TV screens left in the U.S.; this will be the only one here.)

       2.   Mt. Pleasant has purchased the 3,000+ acres that make up the FoxConn footprint … and FoxConn has first option on any purchases.

       3.  They are currently developing a southern 850-acre property, on which the million-square-foot slab has been poured.  They have one building up, primarily used right now to warehouse equipment and product.  They expect to have all their buildings up by late fall, and completed and ready for operation beginning in Fall 2020.

       4.  The project manager meets weekly with every major construction manager to review progress against the timetable.  It includes representatives of the interested state agencies:  DOT, DNR, etc.

       5.  The only water that will leave the property will be for storm and sewer drainage.  All of the water used in production processes, which will also include hazardous metals, will be processed in a self-contained facility.  Some of the materials will be re-used, others will be appropriately land-filled, and the water will be re-used.  The cost is $30 million for the facility, and about $7 million of annual operating expenses to do this.

       — All state and federal environmental regulations are being complied with.

       — Mitigation of wetlands was done at 2X the required amount.

       6.  He cited the incredibly impressive numbers regarding the amount of dirt moved, size of electric substations, and other infrastructure development.

       7.  State ubsidies will be provided only after the agreed numbers are in place.

       8.  While the cost of the subsidies is large, yielding a lengthy payback period, the amount of additional development in Racine County will be very impressive … currently estimated at $750 million.  Example:  Three hospitals are building along Hiway 20 near the project.  Property values are already increasing.

In other words, a lot more positives than we hear in the media.

One other thing:  Be aware that there is no longer a TV screen manufacturing plant in the U.S.  This will bring this type of manufacturing back here.  The rumor is that FoxConn has a huge contract with GM to manufacture at this facility the dashboard screens and panel screens for their cars.

On Succession Planning: It’s NOT Hard, so why doesn’t everyone do it?

One of my Vistage groups has formed a group of their OD/HR people, meeting semi-monthly to share ideas on topics of interest.

At the most recent one, I shared my frustration as to why every company isn’t formally, with a process, doing both Succession Planning and its related counterpart, Employee Development.

So, what’s the trigger to stimulate it being embraced, since it’s not the “obvious rightness” of it?  They said …

  •  Turnover … important leaders and future leaders are leaving.

  •  Outsiders telling the CEO the company isn’t competitive.

  •  Low morale/engagement based on Employee Engagement Surveys.

Another question:  What’s the process for getting Succession Planning started?  They said …

1.  Retain/Appoint someone to be take on administration/championing of Succession Planning as part of his/her job.

2.  Work with the Unit Mgr. and direct reports.  Analyze the current person in each position for “seeable” events like retirement.  Also, think about the organization structure 3-5 years hence … will expansion add additional positions, and when.

3.  Assign two people as the successors for each position.  Are two available?  Ask them if they are interested in being groomed/developed for that job.

4.  Knowing the Competencies needed for the job, at a performance level of 7-8 on a 10-Pt. scale, develop a Development Plan for each person laser-focused on reaching an acceptable performance level to be promoted to the job.  How many years away from “acceptability” is each person.

5.  At least semi-annually, the Unit Mgr. and direct reports meet to update the chart regarding each person, and to make revisions as needed.  If there aren’t two people in development, begin recruiting.

Some Selling Tips

Tony Hoslet, who owns a Sandler Selling Training franchise in Green Bay, spoke to a Training Camp session of the Packers Mentor/Protege program recently.  

      Sandler has an excellent, detailed, structured process.  Among his points:

  •  Set an Up-Front Contract

We can stop this conversation at any point.

"At the end, let’s decide on the next step:  1.  No next step.  2.  Maybe … I’ll get back to you by (date).  3.  Let’s keep talking … set a date."

Why I’m here:  I’m seeking your pain explanation, your goals, your vision, how you’ll decide on your next step.  We may or may not get to money, to your budget.

Also:  To learn your agenda.  What do you want out of this meeting?

•  Build a relationship … a meeting of shared values, including business values.  Transparency will be a very important result; otherwise, the prospect will hold back information.

Effective Performance Management

UWGB business professor Dianne Murphy, made this point about a key element of effective Performance Management to a recent Packers Mentor/Protege Training Camp session:

A KEY is more frequent use of Check-Ins with each of your direct report leaders, WEEKLY!  “I don’t have time to do it this often.”  “Yes, you do.  This is a key, too-infrequently-used component of Leadership.”

A Check-In is a 5-7 minute informal conversation that goes like this:

Ask:  What are you working on, with emphasis on your three most important objectives?

Ask:  How can I help?

Provide any coaching advice.

AND:  Tell me what and what each of your direct reports worked on last week?  It lets the person know you care and are noticing.

For more, go to:

https://stories.quercusapp.com/how-deloitte-reinvented-its-performance-management-process-7f87be164f84

On Politics: Rise of the Senior Class, Wage Stagnation Fake News

•  In less than a decade, the U.S. population under 30 will be majority non-white. (Source:  University of Minnesota research)

From Phil:  I saw this in spades during a recent trip to NYC … we were clearly a minority wherever we went, except expensive restaurants, where we were barely a majority, and the service crew was definitely non-white.

•  Regarding the mammoth Generation X and Millennial generations that will be voting in 2020, the rising tide, more progressive in their values and more Democratic in their voting habits.  Not completely true, notes a WSJ column.  The old are the future.  The largest increases in voting by age groups in the past few elections have come from those over 65.  In 2016, the number of voters over 65 out-numbered those between 18-34 for the first time ever.  In 2020, it will be by an even greater amount.   And they still vote in larger percentages than do the younger voters.

•  More Fake News:  The Myth of Wage Stagnation

In a WSJ article, a former U.S. Senator and a former BLS honcho said that the contention that wages have stagnated misrepresents the full truth.  Yes, BLS data show that production/nonsupervisory employee average hourly earnings peaked in October 1972 are were at the same inflation-adjusted level in March 2019.  But … the authors contend the effective buying power of the March wages is at least 70% higher.  It certainly feels like that.  5% of the difference is due to additional worker benefits, which comprise 30% of wages and aren’t counted in the earnings calculation.  Most of the rest is due to the higher efficiency and quality of what is bought at the same price.  There have been major increases in productivity value in air travel and the market basket of goods, an additional 27%.  Then there’s the greater value of new products like the smart phones and other smart technological gadgets, or of better medical devices and drugs, or of better houses, or cars, or ....  There are additional factors, too, that get warped by different methods of calculating price increases relative to value.  In essence, they say, what we get for the average wage today is vastly greater than what we got for a comparable wage back in 1972.

Quotes from TEC/Vistage Guru Pat Murray

Nothing happens without taking risks

People never resist their own ideas

Look into your assumptions when it’s not going right

To assume you know what’s best for someone else is insulting

Coaching without permission is abuse

The chief cause of problems are (previous) solutions

Most people can only see what they already know

If you want clarity, be slow to understand

One thing to remember in managing risk, never ever violate yourself

Phil's January 2019 Blog ... A Bit Too Much??

It’s been awhile since I last created a blog … primarily composed of interesting things I’ve heard and read … and sometimes a comment on a political view trend.

Here’s an update:

From TEC/Vistage speaker Holly Green, on FOCUS:

Winning in business requires focus … for ourselves and our organizations. Start each morning by asking, “Of what I plan to do today, what will get me closer to my definition of winning?” Then, organize your day around the tasks and activities that move you closer to your goals, while letting go of those that are less valuable.

To keep the organization focused, make sure all employees know:

THEIR THREE primary objectives for the week/quarter/year.

How they will have succeeded at the end of these periods.

How their job responsibilities support the organization reaching its destination.

Our world may be driving to new levels of chaos and uncertainty, but that doesn’t have to get in the way of achieving our goals. By pausing, thinking, and focusing, we can manage our innate need for certainty and closure in a way that doesn’t prevent us from winning.

Tom Foster’s Blog

Do you get this? He hits me several times a week with VERY QUICK model dialogues about problems with supervision. I think they’re great, and on the mark. Great for forwarding to your management team!

Consider it:

Read example blogs: http://managementblog.org

To subscribe for free: http://managementblog.org/mailinglist/

Health System Insights
Therese Pandl, CEO of Hospital Sisters hospitals in N.E.W., made these interesting points in a talk to the Bay Area Community Council recently:
•  Who are the Payors, the reimburses for HSHS:  Medicare 43%, Medicaid 14%, Insurers 34%,

                  Self-Pay and Other, 9%.

•  Today, after making considerable efficiency initiatives over the years, the hospitals operate

                  break-even at Medicare reimbursement levels.  They have to make more than that to 

                  have dollars for technology investments.  Medicaid reimbursement is still 35% below

                  actual costs.

•  U.S. spending on the medical system is still very high at 17% of GDP, well above the next

                  highest developed country, France, at 12%.  Most other developed countries are in the

                 10% range.  We still have a VERY LARGE problem/opportunity. But:  Whose ox do 

                 we gore?

•   Research on why and who from Single Payer (i.e., government) For All is being suggested:  

                 From the 12% still uninsured, the 16% insured but can’t afford it, and general confusion 

                 on how the system works (actually, doesn’t work).

•  Community Efforts should be:  (1)  Improving Personal Health Lifestyles, and (20)Stopping 

                 the Opioid/Meth progression.

Quickies:

•  Brought to me by Anna Steinfest, head of the Packers Mentor/Protege program:  “You are not 

                paid by how hard you work.  You are paid by how hard you are to replace.”

•  Three Ways to Start a Speech, by Conor Neill:

3.  With a question that matters to the audience!

2.  A factoid that shocks!     “There are more people alive today than have ever died."

1.  (Same way you start a story for a child):  “Once upon a time, …”  The person leans 

                         forward and engages.  It’s a story!!

    A story from your own life about why this topic/point is important for you!

A Little Political

U.S. Representative Mike Gallagher’s great article in The Atlantic, where he explains why Congress is ineffective, and three suggestions for making it much more effective … which won’t happen, of course:

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2018/11/gallagher-congress/575689/

What We’re Watching ...

TEC/Vistage resource Gustavo Grodnitzky talked to us three years ago about dealing with Millennials (Generation Y) … but he also projected that Millennials will be the generation that sets the U.S. straight again.  For particular reasons.  

He might now add Generation Z, the students who are jelling to rail against the intransigence/gridlock of legislative leaders and want to bring rationality and action back to the governing process.

His logic was that the last generation to spawn truly effective U.S. presidents, who dealt successfully with the problems of the times, was the Silent (Great) Generation (born 1925 to 1945), which spawned seven generally effective Presidents.  No other generation has done that since.

Gustavo’s analysis looks at what circumstances formed the experiences and outlook of the adults of each generation, looking in particular at two formative periods … growing up (birth to 18 or so), and responsible early adulthood (18+ to 40).  In the Silent Generation’s case, their growing up (1924 to 1942) involved deprivation, chaos and instability … and their responsible early adulthood (1942 to 1964) involved slow growth, low aspirations, but commitment.  They knew the needs they had to fix, and went about doing it.  Subsequent generations haven’t, with their focus on self and aspiration.

He contends that Millennials have experienced similar formative period impacts:  Born between 1982 and 2001, their growing up period (1982+ to 2000) has involved social chaos and unraveling of social structures … and their responsible early adulthood (2000+ to now) has involved slow growth, low aspirations, and a frustration with the way things are.  Thus:  They will do something about it.

Project that to today’s student-inspired marches that are a catalyst for multiple generations rising to the gun control challenge.  If successful, it will energize massive youth-inspired initiatives aiming to fix other challenges.  And the trend of more women running for office, and succeeding.

Is a not-very-quiet revolution emerging?

I think so.

Gun Violence Cause Studies

If we’re to create initiatives aimed at reducing gun-related violence, where do we aim?  Is it truly the people who wield the guns to create the violence (mentally ill)?  Will raising the age for purchase, or lengthening the waiting period, or banning fast-action guns … do the trick?  (Probably not)

Of interest:

•  Gun violence research by the federal government was actually sharply reduced by an NRA-sponsored amendment (the Dickey Amendment) back in 1996.  It aimed at prohibiting advocacy, but had the effect of reducing research as well.  The Amendment was inspired by a CDC report that said gun ownership in homes actually reduced safety, not improved it.

•  Two independent studies have appeared recently that, based on sophisticated regression analysis of gun violence causes over a bunch of years and many countries, say the primary driver of gun violence is … the number of guns … their availability.  Not mental illness.  Not regulations.  Not …, etc.

The U.S., of course, has more guns per capita … by far … than any other country.

My interpretation:  It might suggest that banning certain types of guns, such as the fast action ones, and requiring guns stored in homes to be under lock-and-key (with the owner responsible if a gun is mis-used) … might be viable improvements?  These logically would reduce the volume of deaths in mass violence events, as well as haphazard killings … while not impugning the Second Amendment yet allowing the responsible use of guns in all the practical ways that happens in America.

On the “Conservative Supreme Court for Decades” concern”

We are a nation of laws, uniquely on our planet a nation of laws.  The Supreme Court is the final stop in insuring that we stay that way.  To encourage it to make decisions not based on law is to erode this critical balance.

The furor over Judge Kavanaugh raised this issue again.  

Conservative in judicial parlance isn’t a political term.  It means that you interpret the Constitution (called “originalism), or the laws/statutes of the U.S. (called “textualism”).  You try to interpret what the creators of the Constitution/laws/statutes “mean”!  Not what they “ought” to mean now.

The concept that the Constitution should be a “living document”, interpreted by the justices as a group based on an upgraded set of values or insights … is false. That’s the responsibility of Congress, the representatives of The People. They should give the Court new laws to interpret. Justices shouldn’t.

The contentiousness that has arisen and now become incredibly political is a result of appointing judges who think and act based on their sense of evolved morality. As one writer said, women didn’t get the right to vote (an evolved morality) because of a Supreme Court decision. Rather, because of the 19th Amendment. On the “overturn” of Roe v. Wade: Maybe Roe v. Wade is an example of justices thinking their evolved morality should settle an issue. If that’s the case, then another set of justices might think differently with a new evolved morality. A big fear by many today, and a hope by others. So, let’s find some justices who will fit “my” evolved morality. 

No!

Lawyers are trained in interpreting the law. Their value judgments aren’t superior to anyone else’s.

Let’s put pressure on Congress and state legislatures to do their jobs. Their job is to reflect our “evolved morality."

Trump’s Salary

There is a partially false claim out that President Trump donates his entire $400,000 salary to maintenance of military cemeteries.
Not quite true. Here’s what he does, according to Snopes.com:
Every quarter, he has donated his after-tax salary as follows:
2017
National Park Service’s maintenance of a Civil War site.
STEM program for children overseen by the Education Dept.
Opioid addiction public awareness program of Department of Health/Human Services.
Infrastructure program overseen by Dept. of Transportation.
2018
Mental Health caregiver support program within Veterans Affairs
SBA’s “Emerging Leaders” program to help veterans adjust.