Author Archives: Jim

Everyone Needs Their North Star

When I was young my father taught me how to find the North Star. If I was ever lost, I could look up, find The Big Dipper (Ursa Major) and locate the North Star. This was a way to reset, find my bearings and get home if I was out hiking and the sun had set. It didn’t stop there, my father also showed me the Belt of Orion and the Seven Sisters (Pleiades). As I got older, I took a university course in Astronomy and ended up buying an 8” diameter reflector telescope that would allow me to see light years away. Although the telescope helped me to see further, it was always the North Star I picked out on my walks. Not only does it centre me and give me direction on a dark night, it also takes me back to the teachings of my father and the importance of values.

Everyone needs their North Star. You can’t get to where you want to go if you don’t know where the destination is. Every year I take time out to review where I am, what my goals are and I write them down. It took me about 40 years to really figure out where I was headed and how I would keep centred on where I was headed. Now my annual exercise is more on how to reach the goal rather than setting the goal.

Yes, when I walk at night I still look up at the North Star. Every time I find myself walking at night with my wife or my kids, I stop and point out the North Star to them. Last week I was walking with my daughter and her dog. As usual I was walking with my head up, looking at the sky and thinking of my father. This time I was lucky enough to see the Northern Lights and the opportunity to share them with my daughter, the first time she had ever seen them. If you haven’t found it yet, sit down and think about where you are going and what your North Star is.

Let Others Compliment You

I came across a quote this week from Walter Payton that made me reflect on results and behaviours. For those that aren’t aware of Walter Payton, he was a running back for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League for 13 seasons and widely regarded as one of the greatest American football players of all time. Not only was he a great athlete, he was also a dynamic leader, modelling leadership behaviours both on and off the field of play.

The quote that caught my attention was a simple one, “When you’re good at something, you’ll tell everyone. When you’re great at something, they’ll tell you.”

I reflected on the chart that I posted earlier this month. If you are living in quadrant 2 below you will go out of your way to let others know how great you are. If you are living in quadrant 1, others will go out of their way to let you know.

Walter Payton (July 25, 1954 – November 1, 1999)

Performance Management

I just finished re-reading a leadership classic – Winning by Jack Welch. The concept that really jumped out this time was performance management. Jack explains that any proper performance measurement system should measure people on relevant, agreed upon criteria that relate directly to an individual’s performance. Very importantly, not just if the results were delivered but also how the results were delivered. How well did the team member live the values and behaviours of the organization.

Jack Welch – Winning

Zone 1 above is simple – the team member is living the values and getting the results. Promote this team member.

Zone 3 above is also a simple decision – no results and no values. Help this team member find another organization to thrive in.

Zone 4 – This team member has the values but is struggling for results. Give them another chance.

Zone 2 – This can be the most difficult decision. Great results but poor values. If values don’t approve then this is the same as Zone 3 – help this team member find another organization that will tolerate the values.

Status Quo Is Not An Option

The great thing about life is that each day provides us with an opportunity to improve. One time at work, my boss showed up when I was having some challenges and the group results were not as expected and most importantly, not as I had committed to earlier in the year. His simple message to me was “Status quo is not an option!” It also reminds me of the quote from Will Rogers, “Even if you’re on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.” During our lives, we always come to the day where change is necessary. It can be results at work, a health issue or a relationship challenge.

The key is to set goals, chart progress and change before you need to.

Key Goals for Any Business

One day while my son was studying Economics he came home and dropped a question on me. At the time I was a senior executive at a company so I should have been ready. He asked me a simple question – “What are the key goals for any business?”. I couldn’t quickly and clearly summarize my thoughts so he bailed me out. He walked me through the points below.

Key Goals for Any Business

Simple and clear instructions for anyone in a leadership role and I have kept these on my dashboard ever since. I learned two leadership lessons that day – you learn lessons from all directions (in this case from my son) and to ensure all business plans, strategies and plans address these key areas.

Lead From The Front

“I’ll always be the the first person on the battlefield, my boots will be the first boots on it, and I’ll be the last person off. I’ll never leave a body.” Let. Gen. Harold G. Moore

You may have read the book or caught the movie starring Mel Gibson titled “We Were Soldiers”. They both tell the story of Lt. Gen. Harold G. Moore. One of the great leadership lessons Lt. Gen. Harold G. Moore had was to always lead from the front – you lead by example, you demonstrate passion for your job and most importantly never ask someone to do something that you would not do. Lt. Gen. Harold G. Moore set an example for this team, leading his team onto the battlefield and ensuring he was the last one off.

As leaders we need to keep the same rule. Whether sacrificing work/life balance temporarily to meet a deadline, admitting that you made a mistake or having a difficult discussion with a team member, never ask someone to do something you would not do.

The Gap Between Stimulus and Response

“It’s not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters.” – Epictetus

We hear it over and over again – we can only control our response to things outside of our control. My journey has included a focus on extending the zone between stimulus and response. Rarely do we need to react immediately – typically life saving moments only – and in these cases the time between stimulus and response shrinks and becomes an impulsive reaction. Impulsive reactions can happen out of anger, anxiety or habits – good and bad.

I remember walking to a parent/teacher interview one evening with my wife. It was about a 15 minute walk and when we sat down with the teacher he went on to tell us how disruptive our son was in class and that he needed to bring more focus each day. Sounded strange but he did use my son’s first name when giving us an example of a situation. That 15 minute walk home went by pretty fast. When we arrived home, we started lecturing our son only to find out it was another student by the same name in his class causing the disturbances. We turned a 15 minute gap into a impulsive situation.

At work I make it a point with my teams to never worry about bringing bad news. I tell them it is neither good or bad, it is just news and we will react accordingly. Earlier in my career when confronted with issues I was very impulsive with my reaction. I was known for swiftly fixing problems but learned one day when one of team members challenged me – Give me a chance to deal with this! I did and a better solution resulted.

What do we do? A number of years ago I had a friend recommend a local Mindfulness class. It was one of the best decisions I made and practice Mindfulness Meditation to this day. The time between stimulus and response is my time and I am in full control of how I will react. Use the time between stimulus and response, think over solutions, get advice, investigate and respond when you’re ready.

The Comfort Zone

I came across this graphic one day and it really hit home for me. You hear the suggestion over and over again – you need to get out of your comfort zone. It is true, to learn new skills and to have new experiences, we must all escape our comfort zone. I worked at the same company for twenty five years, promoted through many roles until I became President. I knew every process, I knew the products inside and out and I felt in control.

The day came when another opportunity was in front of me, a new challenge to lead another company where I did not know any of the processes. I was not familiar with any of the products and had no connection with the team. In my previous twenty five years, I had built my skills and confidence. I left my comfort zone, went into the learning and growth zones. I had confidence from previous experiences and the culture of the company was one that promoted team members to obtain new skills.

Not everyone has confidence when leaving their comfort zone. In life or business, our role as leaders is to help others through the fear zone. Eliminate the fear zone by creating a safe zone, a zone where it is ok to try new things and sometimes stumble. A safe zone does not mean there are no rules, rather it means the rules are very clear and we will all abide by them. These can be values, behaviours or a code of conduct. Humiliation, mockery and other demeaning behaviours can not exist in a safe zone.

Run a meeting, if it doesn’t achieve the desired results you can try again tomorrow. Try a new form of dance or a new sport, if you are not passionate about it you can try another. If you enjoy it, set goals, practice and improve. So while it is important for all of us to get out of our comfort zones, as leaders or parents our work is to create safe zones where people can grow and achieve their dreams.

Leaders Need to Model The Behavior

We are in funny period with our fight against the pandemic. It is very clear that the spread of the virus 🦠 is reduced when we reduce our mobility and congregating in large groups. Our leaders are frustrated with the public and how they will not adhere to the rules. Pause and look at what our leaders are doing. The first step in changing behaviour for any leader is to model the desired behaviour- whether you are a parent, government leader or manager. I find it almost comical that our public leaders in both government and our health industry are travelling outside of the country to visit their vacation homes or to get some time on the beach. The easiest and most important step for any leader is to model the desired behaviours. Walk the talk.

The Passion of Wayne Rooney

Wayne Rooney, the football (soccer 😀) great has now retired from professional competition and will focus on coaching. Previous posts have discussed the importance of passion for what you do. Wayne Rooney has been one of those unique athletes who gave his all for his team while on the field. He played multiple positions as the team needed but his greatest accomplishments were up front, banging in goals. No one is perfect and Wayne Rooney had his rough patches like all of us – asking for a trade from Manchester United and also some personal troubles. Take a look at some of his highlights and see the passion in action on the field. I had the pleasure seeing Wayne Rooney play live later in his career and he still commanded a presence. Now Wayne Rooney transitions to coaching and trying to ignite the passion in others. He did learn from the best, Sir Alex Ferguson, but it is not always an easy transition. Best of luck Wayne Rooney and thank you for showing me what passion for sport looks like in action. Find your passion, do your best every day and obstacles become very small. Enjoy the journey.