Category Archives: Career

Leading by example

Career

Leading by example is probably one of the greatest and yet least taught business lessons in companies today. It is too simple to write a book on. We have more books on business than just about any other topic other than the Bible, and the average book on business has all manner of strategies to grow a company. Sadly, very few of them work. The principles look good and sound good but when put into practice, have very little effect on the trajectory of a company.

There is no greater business principle than leading by example. Just to look at a few random jobs, let’s say you are a mechanic. You lead by doing the job right the first time so the customer is happy. The other people working around you will see this too and they will want to up their game by seeing you as the example. For another example, let’s say you are in sales. People will gravitate to you if you lead the sales board. If you are average, they will find someone else to follow. Another example, let’s say you work as cook. If your work area is clean and food quality is important to you, other cooks will watch what you do and try to emulate you.

This business idea of leading by example can be applied to every job and every business. The truth is we all know this intuitively in our line of work. The problem is many times people want to do as little as they can to get by. It has been my experience that when promotions come, they come to the ones who work as though the business is their own. Think of where you work for a minute. If you treated your job as though the business was yours, it is my guess that you would get noticed and respected.

I remember one time when I was the leader of a men’s church organization. One of the roles was the secretary that would write down the minuets of the meeting and would give a report the next time we met. We had this gentleman acting in that role who came from a law enforcement background and he took the job serious. He was about doing the best he could in his role. The result was that in each meeting when he gave the minutes, it became one of the highlights. He did such a detailed job that it became the example to follow.

In summary, whatever job you hold, if you try as best you can to do the job well, you will be a better person for it and you will feel better about your role in your company. Doing the best you can and leading by example would be a small book to read but would probably be on the best sellers list. KT

Looking back

Career, Family, Life

Sometimes it is healthy to look back at your life. You don’t want to dwell there too long, but looking back in many cases brings a new appreciation to the present.

In my office, I have five little pieces of paper over my desk that were the 90 day goals for the five people involved with our company when I came on full time in May of 2007. I had just left my real job with a large company and loaded up my boxes and came to our little office on the McDonough Square. At the time, it was a pure land sale business, but we had dreams of starting a small hotel brokerage firm. Selling hotels was all I knew, and when I joined full time, we started the process of shifting to hospitality sales. That time was very scary for me, but it was also very special. We met for lunch the first day and I asked each person to list out their personal objectives for the next 90 days.

As I look at those five pieces of paper today, it almost brings tears to my eyes at the humble beginnings of Hotel AG nine years ago. I knew what I hoped the company would look like but getting all the pieces in place was a difficult undertaking.

What I am saying is that to go back and look at pictures or writings of your past can help balance you and can many times give you the needed perspective for your future. You do not want to dwell on the past to the point of losing your hope for the future by thinking all the best of your life has passed. Rather, looking at where you came from to get to where you are today can many times be a healthy exercise. Keep in mind that many of the inventions, start-ups, concepts and business ideas we use today were invented by people later in their life.

Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Dare to live the life you have dreamed for yourself.” KT

No one can imagine

Career, Life

I watched a movie over the weekend about the true story of the Englishman Alan Turing and how he broke the German code during World War II. Fascinating story and also very true. He was a loner and didn’t have many friends because he was an introverted mathematician. He wasn’t popular, didn’t get invited out with the group, spoke quietly and basically had no qualities that indicated he was leader. He had no experience with breaking codes, yet Winston Churchill put him in charge of the unit tasked with breaking Germany’s code. Long story short, he broke the code and saved England from the destruction Hitler had planned. Millions of people then and today owe their live to Alan Turing. Without him, many believe the world today would look vastly different.

One thing stood out to me in the story: Alan had the mindset to hire the brightest minds regardless of race, gender or religion. One of the people he hired was a woman named Joan Clarke who tested far superior than any of the men. He didn’t care that she was woman in a world at the time that was controlled by men. When she asked why he wanted to hire her, his response made me pause because it is so very true. He said, “Sometimes it is the people no one can imagine anything of who do the things no one can imagine.” I have thought about that statement for the last two days.

If you really took the time to look at history from the disciples to modern day success stories, what you will find is that in many cases the very people that have all the capabilities, looks, brains, dress, education, and personality are not the ones who do great things. It is usually the ones no one expects anything from that go on to change the world. I think of the unpopular kids, and in many cases the ones that dropped out of college, that went on to invent Microsoft, Apple, Chick-fil-A, Coke, IBM . .  . I even think about Charles Henry Dow who invented the Dow Jones Industrial average and the Wall Street Journal who had no formal education and left home when he was 16 years old. It’s usually the people no one suspects that change the world.

Just because you may not have all the opportunities or abilities others may have, don’t think God cannot do a great work through you. KT

Deciding what to do tomorrow

Career

One of the greatest business lessons I ever learned was at the end of each day writing out a list of things that need to be done tomorrow and then writing a number of priority beside each one. When I start the next day I look at the written list and I know where to start. I start on item number 1 and get that item either resolved or as far to being resolved as I can. Then I go to item number 2 and so forth.

What this little organization list does, is it prevents me from getting to the office and just doing busy work that does not accomplish the objectives for the day. Examples of busy work is cleaning out your inbox, clutter files, arranging the things on your desk, standing in the hallway shooting the breeze with people and basically doing things that do not help me accomplish the objectives.

I find that the greatest thing I have is my time. I also find that if I want to have a personal life outside of work, I need to leave on time and if I want to leave on time, I need to organize the day so I get started quicker. I read a book years ago by Zig Ziglar and the example he used in the book was of a person that was going on vacation the next day and needed to get everything done before he left. The idea is that it is amazing how much real meaningful work you can get done if you know you are leaving on vacation tomorrow. There is no busy work, talking in the hallways, taking a long lunch etc. In this situation you are focused on the goal and work toward the objective of getting all the things done before you leave.

I have often said that the average person can do three days of work in one if they have a written organized plan. Putting the plan together the day before helps you leave work on time and enjoy your family life. It even helps you sleep better because your mind is not running a flip chart on all the things you have to get done.

This simple business idea of a written plan has worked for many business leaders for many years and it does not involve any technology other than a piece of paper and a pen. Old school at its best. KT

To reduce your fear of failure, redefine it

Career, Life

Our pastor Howard Greer emailed this short excerpt from Rick Warren’s writings to me a couple of weeks ago. I thought was very applicable to business today therefore I am forwarding this as it was presented to me.

By Rick Warren/ Sent to me by Howard Greer (our pastor)

Never forget this truth: Failure probably won’t kill you.

We vastly exaggerate the effects of failure.  We blow the prospects of failing all out of proportion.  Failing is not the end of the world.  The fear of failure is far more damaging than failure.

Proverbs 24:16 says, “No matter how often honest people fall, they always get up again” (TEV).  Even good guys stumble.  They make mistakes, blow it, and stub their toes.

Successful people are not people who never fail.  They’re people who get up again and keep going.  Successful people just don’t know how to quit.

Ever heard of these famous failures?

  • George Washington lost two-thirds of all the battles he fought.  But he won the Revolutionary War and later became the first U. S. President.
  • Napoleon graduated 42nd in a class of 43.  Then he went out and conquered Europe!
  • In 21 years Babe Ruth hit 714 home runs, but he struck out 1,330 times.  He struck out nearly twice as often as he hit a home run.
  • The famous novelist John Creasey received 753 rejection slips before he published 564 books.
  • Rowland Hussey Macy failed seven times at retailing before starting Macy department store.

Great people are simply ordinary people who have an extraordinary amount of determination.  They just keep on going.  They realize they’re never a failure until they quit.

That’s how you reduce your fear of failure.  You redefine it.

You don’t fail by not reaching a specific goal.  Instead, failure is not having a goal.  Failure is refusing to get back up again once you fall.  It’s refusing to try.

On the first day of kindergarten, I got in the wrong line and then into the wrong classroom.  Can you imagine me going home to my mom and dad and saying, “I’m a failure at education!  This school things just doesn’t work”?  Of course not!

You keep going.  If at first you don’t succeed, it’s no big deal.  You’re never a failure until you give up. KT