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Category: Management
The well-kept secret of championship teams
In the summer of 1998, I was suddenly thrust into the role of managing a little league team consisting of kids ages 9 & 10. If I hadn’t accepted the job, my son’s team would have been broken up. I said yes.
As we began with the season, I held a meeting with the parents. I said, “I don’t know much about baseball, but the assistant coaches that surround me do. I do know a little about leadership. Some say that it is not whether you win or lose, you just need to have fun. Others say winning is everything. I’ve got some good news for you…we are going to have fun and we are going to win!”
As I began my coaching, I kept clearly in mind the “secret sauce” that makes a winning team: Building Structural Tension. Structural tension means that each team member is driven by supporting their fellow team member, not the boss. That means that team members encourage one another and don’t put each other down. It also means that they trust and respect each other enough to hold each other accountable. If someone in the outfield is daydreaming, it is fair game to say, “He Steve. Wake up.”
In 2016 the Chicago Cubs won the World Series. They had structural tension. Recently, Athletic magazine wrote an article about David Ross, the Cubs back-up catcher that year. He was a seasoned pro enjoying his final year in the Majors. He would strongly encourage his teammates, and he also would comment when they were falling in to bad habits. They loved him! He knew that top-performing teams have a pact to keep each other on task.
Now back to my little league baseball team: We finished the season 15-3!
Death of a Maverick
Last month I read a headline that made me sad and joyous at the same time. The headline read, “Maverick Founder of Southwest Airlines dies at 87”. Herb Kelleher was a true maverick, and that is an understatement.
Years ago I was on a Southwest flight from Phoenix to Chicago. As the flight began, the flight attendant took to the microphone. She said, “Welcome aboard. We will be serving beverages on this flight, and soon our servers will be coming by. At this time, I want everyone to open up their in-flight magazine and turn to page #29. Got it? OK, now go to the right column. There you will see listed all the beverages we offer. Now I would like you to go through this list, and choose what beverage you would like. Is everybody with me? Good. And remember, we are completely out of, What do you have?”
That’s Southwest. Who else would have the nerve? As I reflected on that moment, I realized that they were following in true order of their values. Here are their top three in order:
- Have fun.
- Love your employees
- Love your customers.
So how come we customers ended up in third place? Herb Kelleher knew that having fun and treating your people right was the way to have a loyal following. Beyond that, he did have a quirky priority: He looked for people who had strong personalities. The whiskey-drinking, cigarette-smoking fellow just couldn’t settle for his folks saying “Have a nice day” in monotone. The Southwest Airlines Crew: They may excite you, they may infuriate you, but they will never bore you. One more thing: In the 20 years he was at the helm, Southwest made a profit every year, and they continue to do so. Are you a maverick?
Say goodbye to the “Wish Book”
Last Monday a major milestone occurred: Sears filed for Chapter 11. While that may not be a striking event for those in their 30’s and 40’s, for us baby-boomers, it was like losing a part of our history.
Growing up in a small down in the 50’s and 60’s, Sears was the place where dreams began. It all started with the gigantic “Wish Book” catalogue that was delivered to our house once a year. It was thicker than “War and Peace”, and in it was everything from clothing to sports to go-carts and motorcycles. At one time Sears even sold houses and cars. (That’s right…check it out)
Then came Sam Walton from his small town in Bentonville, Arkansas. He and his Walmart stores took over America, and they pushed Sears aside to become #1. In doing so, they also created the demise of many small, independent downtown shops.
Now Walmart is being challenged by Amazon, and the race is on. Walmart is increasing their online shopping. Here is what puzzles me the most: Why isn’t Sears the Amazon.com? They had almost all the mail order and catalogue business. That didn’t happen for a lot or reasons. Let’s summarize by listing the five stages of “How the Mighty Fall” as related by author Jim Collins:
- Hubris Born of Success
- Undisciplined pursuit of more
- Denial of risk and peril
- Grasping for salvation
- Capitulation to irrelevance or death.
These are the traps. If we want to get great and stay great like Apple and Disney, we can’t ignore these fundamentals.
A must for on-time delivery
If we want our product or service to be competitive and profitable, we need to deliver on time, within budget, and meet quality requirements. To consistently achieve these objectives, there is one area I am finding increasing frustration: Management of vendors and subs. Since these folks are not on the payroll, we do not have the line authority and control that we do over our own employees.
In my 40 years of coaching and training, there is one business owner that stands out as the best vendor/sub manager I have ever known. His name was John, and he was a contractor. He built homes in the $1 million-plus range and was famous for always finishing the home on time and within budget. He also had customers who were “wowed” and eager to refer him to their friends. John’s recipe was simple: He knew the four steps of project management:
1. Begin with the end picture in mind.
2. List every single task and activity that needs to be done. Prioritize the items and put them in sequence.
3. Plan each task. Negotiate and set deadlines with your subcontractors.
4. Hold your team accountable
As simple as it sounds, it is not easy. John’s strength was in step #4: Holding people accountable. If a sub committed to a time and date, John expected the sub to be there. He was not a harsh man. He simply went by the “Four F’s”: Firm, Friendly, Frank and Fair. I role-played with him in class to challenge him. I played a sub that was trying to re-schedule a date I had committed to. John said to me, “Steve, that isn’t going to work. Here is why: We are a team with a reputation of doing things right and on time. If you don’t do your work here on Tuesday, that will set our job behind. It would compromise our reputation. You don’t want that. Neither do I. I want you to go back to your schedule and work it out, Steve. I am counting on you to be there on Tuesday as we have agreed.”
That’s leadership!
Energize your ideas
You may have heard the story of how “Post-it” notes came about. Many years ago, an employee for 3M was looking for ways to bookmark different areas of his bible so that he could make quick reference to his favorite parts. He developed sticky paper that would come to be known as “Post-it” notes”. And have you ever gotten a cockle burr stuck to your jeans? That gave us the idea for Velcro. Of course, all of these ideas had to be sold, and in order for that to happen, someone of influence had to listen.
Have you ever been excited about an idea that you just knew would improve your company? Was there ever a situation where you tried to sell it and got totally shut down? If so, you were probably frustrated or even demoralized. Companies should not want this to happen. To be innovative, we need idea fluency. We need to present our idea in a way that gives us the greatest possibility of receptivity. Here are some points to consider:
Establish credibility. Be an “eager beaver”. Do you work, do it fast, and do it well. In addition, be the first to volunteer for other projects. Do them fast and do them well. Results will follow, and you will be noticed and respected. When you have an idea that you would like to sell, you will have a much more receptive audience.
Let the game come to you. There are times when the best strategy is to let the momentum come from the other direction. Your idea is probably designed to improve a situation or solve a problem. In your team discussion, those subjects are likely to come up. When they do, there is your opportunity…”Say…here’s a thought…” The channel will be more open since your idea fits right into the discussion.
Be flexible. One of my favorite ideas of all time turned out well because I listening to a critic who had a constructive suggestion regarding how to improve my idea. I was glad I listened!
Ben Franklin once said, “If you don’t get what you want the first time you shop, you can always shop again”. In business, I see too many ideas die before they launch. Stay with it. (My wife can give you lessons on this!)