Tag Archives: Values

Tony Hsieh and Delivering Happiness

There will come a time when all servant leaders become conflicted with focusing on profits or people. Tony Hsieh (1973-2020) does a great job of telling all of us how to link profits, passion and purpose. As Jim Collins tells us, it is the genius of the “and”, focusing on profits “and” people and not the tyranny of the “or”, focusing on profits “or” people. If you have not read Tony’s book on Zappos, or have not ever heard of Zappos, pick up a copy of his book “Delivering Happiness”. So many great lessons from the book and a shame that Tony is not around today to continue his journey of bringing happiness to others. All too often, those focused so much on bringing happiness to others have a difficult time bringing happiness to themselves – I also think of Robin Williams.

There is a great section at the end of book where Tony goes deeper on his quest on Delivering Happiness. Tony tells us that, when you ask people what their ultimate goal is (by following a five why exercise), everyone only wants to become happier.

Tony tells us that happiness is about four things:

Perceived control – Tony’s way to do this was to implement a “skill set system,” giving out small raises as each employee learned and mastered each of 20 skill sets laid out by the company. Having clarity and control over their raises made employees happier.
Perceived progress – Tony changed the practice of one large promotion into smaller promotions given on merit every six months. Employees were much happier because there was an ongoing sense of perceived progress.
Connectedness – the number and depth of your relationships. Tony believed happier employees made more productive employees, so Tony was always thinking about how to foster socializing and friendships at work – with initiatives like discounted food and relaxation areas.
Vision or meaning – being a part of something bigger than yourself. As part of this Tony brings in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.

Once you attain happiness, it can consist of three types of happiness:

Pleasure – Shortest lasting and requires constant stimulation.
Passion – Being in the zone – time passes quickly.
Higher Purpose – Being part of something bigger than yourself . This is the longest lasting form of happiness.

What to do if you are able to find true happiness? You need to share it. Your happiness will never decrease by sharing it with others.

Leadership Lessons from Sir Alex Ferguson

Sir Alex Ferguson is not just one of the most successful football (soccer) coaches ever, he is also one of the most successful leaders you can spend some time studying. Take some time and read over the Harvard Business Review – Ferguson’s Formula by Anita Elberse. In 26 seasons under Sir Alex Ferguson’s leadership, Manchester United succeeded in the most challenging football league in the world, the English Premier League. Manchester United won 38 domestic and international trophies, nearly twice as many as any other manager in the English Premier League. In this article, Sir Alex Ferguson breaks down his simple formula, consisting of the following key areas.

Start With The Foundation
Dare To Rebuild Your Team
Set High Standards – and Hold Everyone to Them
Never, Ever Cede Control
Match the Message to the Moment
Prepare to Win
Rely on the Power of Observation
Never Stop Adapting

Start with the Foundation. The foundation of every team is the key to success and consists of the vision, values along with leaders exhibiting those values. Good people will attract more good people.

Dare to Rebuild Your Team. There comes a time for every team to rebuild, taking too long can be detrimental. I tell everyone, from the first day a person joins our team, through every day as a part of our team to the day we say goodbye, treat each person with the respect they deserve.

Set High Standards – and Hold Everyone to Them. We’ve heard it all before, the culture of any organization is shaped by the worst behavior the leader is willing to tolerate. Hold yourself to the standards, and hold everyone else to them.

Never, Ever Cede Control. Observe egos, which can be so destructive to a team. When the focus is on me, I and comparing myself to others – when we believe that other people around us are not as special as “me” – mutual respect disintegrates. Respond quickly when you see a negative influence, maintain control of the team and set the pace for expectations.

Match the Message to the Moment. Some messages are meant to be delivered to the team, some in person. Some messages can be used to recognize achievements while other ones can be used to highlight a situation that didn’t unfold as expected. Take time and prepare for every team communication.

Prepare to Win. Yes, Allen Iverson, practice is important. Not just to run through drills – skills and tactics. Training sessions are used to prepare for the big game when decisions are needed quickly. Help prepare the team to win in those tense situations.

Rely on the Power of Observation. Delegate supervision to others – trust, train and empower – and observe. Coaches need to observe, assess, clarify behaviors – recognize when result are as expected and show how to improve as needed.

Never Stop Adapting – Status quo is never an option – individually or with a team. Always learn and adapt – reflect on experiences, what went right and what didn’t. Seek out experiences from others.

Apologies for the poor quality, the graphic above is a scan of the visual reminder I keep in my office. Whose leadership lessons strike a chord with you?

When to Introduce Values?

Along my leadership journey, I have had the privilege to work at companies at different stages of maturity. I often look back upon my time at the first startup I worked at. There were no more than ten people, passionate about the company, products and the goal of taking the technology to the world.

In the early days, we didn’t think of defining the values of what was needed to be a successful member of the team – we were like minded people, spending time inside and outside of the office together. A funny thing happened along the way, we grew to be four hundred people and one day it became clear that we had lost something along the way. This showed in our results as well, as we had the painful part of the journey where we had to downsize as we could not sustain the results. It wasn’t until we started to rebuild that we formalized our vision and values, looking back to the early days to codify what values those startup team members had.

So, when to introduce values? Introduce the values as soon as possible, looking within your team to understand the behaviours and characteristics that will be needed to be successful. Doing this exercise may prevent the painful lesson of downsizing, or even worse ceasing operations.

This not only applies to business. Take some time out as a family unit to discuss what will distinguish your family from others and what your families “DNA” will be.

3 Gates for Feedback

Before you speak, ask yourself if what you are going to say is true, is necessary, and is kind. If the answer is no, maybe what you are about to say should be left unsaid.

Three simple gates to pass through before you provide feedback.

Law of Conservation of Energy Part 1

The First Law of Thermodynamics states that energy can neither be created or destroyed – only converted from one form of energy to another. Sometimes this law is also referred to as the Law of Conservation of Energy. While we can visualize the transfer of energy if we add a flame to an ice cube, the application of this law can be much broader.

We emit energy every day through our body language, the words we speak, how we treat one another, and it is possible to convert negative energy to positive energy. What are the results of positive energy in the workplace?

Helps to get you through tough times. The Power of Attraction tells us that whatever you focus your energy on will come back to you. Call it karma, call it good vibrations but they all come back to the theory that positive thoughts bring positive results into a person’s life.
Influencing others. Energy, excitement and enthusiasm helps others to feel more energized. This is how we maximize the potential of others.
Pulling a team together. Getting a team innovating and practicing the behaviors of Yes, If vs No, Because (see earlier blog).
Positive energy will carry you through a tough situation. Negative energy results in challenges being magnified and feeling worse and worse.
Positive energy results in generally happier people and happier people are more productive. Negative energy builds resentment and tension, stifling creativity.

How can we convert negative energy to positive energy?

Focus on what is in your control. We can not control what life is going to throw at us, be we can control how we react. Mindfulness practice helps to extend the time between stimulus and response.
Start a gratitude practice. Be grateful for the positives that you do have in your life.
Reframe and change your perception of things.

The Power of Gratitude and Marty McFly

For many people it is the time of year to be grateful for all we have, sharing moments with family and friends that you may not have seen for some time. For others, loneliness sets in, bringing with it feeling of sadness, anxiety or depression.

As per Harvard Health Publishing, there is documented evidence that focusing on gratitude helps people feel more positive emotions, relish good experiences, improve their health, deal with adversity, and build strong relationships. There are many ways to practice gratitude:

Saying thank you either in-person or in writing. Even in this day and age, who doesn’t love to see a Christmas Card in the mail.
- Sending positive thoughts to others and keeping them in your mind or prayers if they are going through challenging times.
  - Keeping a formal gratitude journal where your regularly take time to write down what you are grateful for.
    - Practicing mindfulness meditation, focusing on the present moment and focusing on what you are grateful for.
  - If you do believe in God, or a higher power, take time out to pray and give thanks for all the positives in your life.

It may be challenging at times to find those small things to be grateful for when we are going through difficult times. Recently I was reminded how powerful gratitude can be. We all know Michael J Fox and the challenges he is going through. Michael J Fox’s acting career changed when he weas diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease at the age of 29. I can still remember Alex Keaton in Family Ties, Scott Howard in Teen Wolf and Marty McFly in the Back To The Future movies. Who doesn’t want their own Flux Capacitor?

It was a recent interview that really caught my attention. Michael J Fox reunited with his Back to the Future co-star Christopher Lloyd and detailed how he has had a “really rough year” but still remains “grateful”. ”Well, in the last year I’ve broken my cheek, my eye socket, my hand, my elbow … my shoulder. I had a rough year of getting beat up. But that was really cool because it made me realize … with gratitude, it’s sustainable. If you can find something to be grateful for, if you can find something and say, ‘Well, that’s good,’ … It’ll always get better… I’m very optimistic.”

If you are going though tough times or if you aren’t, continue to take time out to be grateful for those small blessings in your life.

Election Time

It is election time in Canada. So often we are caught in that decision – I love the person but not the party. Case in point, Jack Layton had this fantastic quote before he passed away too soon. No one can argue with these words and the sentiment behind them.

“My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we’ll change the world.” Jack Layton

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.

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.

Learning To Lead

Learning to lead is a life long journey