Always Forward

#FirstQuote - Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Leaders don’t always have to be teaching new things.  Sometimes you just need to validate people. – Dave Ramsey 

Thoughts on Quote

As an emerging leader, you can only eat so much, and sometimes you just need to digest.  As leaders, teachers and mentors, we have to remember that our voices are not the only way we teach.  It is okay to live our leadership lessons verses teaching them. 

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#FirstQuote - Friday, May 18, 2012

If you wish to be out front, then act as if you were behind. - Lao Tzu

Thoughts on Quote

Great leaders know that success today does not equal victory tomorrow.  Success is never permanent.  What are you doing to ensure your team is not resting on today's success?

 To sign up for the Southwest Michigan First #FirstQuote, click here, or follow me on Twitter @ronkitchens.

#First Quote - Wednesday, May 17, 2012

Today’s customers aren’t just buying what you are selling; they are buying who you are. – Michael Drew

Team Thoughts

People don’t care about what you do, they care why you do it.  If you don’t believe in your brand, why should anyone else?  What are you doing in your personal and professional life to live out your why?



We invite guests at Southwest Michigan First to post their personal why's on the wall in our offices.  Drop by and post yours!

To sign up for the Southwest Michigan First #FirstQuote, click here, or follow me on Twitter @ronkitchens.

#FirstQuote - Friday, May 11, 2012

A thousand words will not leave so deep an impression as one deed.
- Henrik Ibsen

Thoughts on Quote

You can say a thousand words and say nothing at all.  It is the deeds and actions that change the lives of those you impact. Will that change be for the good? Only you can decide that.

 To sign up for the Southwest Michigan First #FirstQuote, click here, or follow me on Twitter @ronkitchens.

#FirstQuote - Thursday, May 10, 2012

Income seldom exceeds personal development.
What you become directly influences what you get.
- Jim Rohn

Team Thoughts

However you define success, take a look at just two things: your checkbook and your discretionary time. The items in your checkbook are where your priorities lie.  The people you spend your spare time with and the activities that you do will directly benefit the success of your future.  Sometimes, it is not always the most talented people that succeed, it is the most driven.  The greatest investment you can make is in your personal development.

 To sign up for the Southwest Michigan First #FirstQuote, click here, or follow me on Twitter @ronkitchens.

 

I have to admit that I am an “easy cry” …..

Not the first ten words that I thought would be on my first blog posting at ronkitchens.com, but there you go.

When my assistant Katie set this site up for me, I thought it would be easy to post stuff. I have written hundreds of speeches, columns and articles. I have opinions, passions and interests but I could not seem to land on anything that seemed important enough for my very first posting. That is until I got the letter pasted below from Becky Lussier – Tardy who attended Catalyst University our leadership summit held annually in January.

 Take a look at her letter below: 

 Dear Ron:

I am writing this letter to all of you to let you know of a developing success story and to share what you helped to inspire in me by putting on such a great day of learning. I attended Catalyst University (CU) a couple of months ago. When I came to the event that day an idea was rattling around in my head that had not been fully developed.

 My husband, Lewis Tardy, and I will be traveling to Lusaka, Zambia with World Bicycle Relief. There is a lot more to this story but I will keep it brief.  I learned through my research that the schools in Lusaka are in desperate need of textbooks. Textbooks are only $6 and each textbook serves 20 kids. My idea was to try and raise enough money before we go so that we could purchase and deliver to each child in Lusaka their own textbook. When I came to your event this was only an idea and then I heard Doc say, just put one foot down in front of the other (or something like that). The day progressed and ended with Tererai Trent. I discussed my idea with her after the event and she told me “you can do this”. So I decided to put one foot in front of the other. Ron, you were backing up everything that each speaker was saying and really suggesting and motivating all of us to become active. So I did.

 I researched and found a fundraising site. You may have heard of it, fundly.com. Here is my site page:  http://fundly.com/textbooksforzambia. 

The speakers at CU inspired me to take a shot at trying to raise money to purchase enough textbooks for each child in Lusaka Zambia in two different schools. I am happy to report that my fundraising is going quite well. My goal is $6,000. Enough money has been raised so far to supply books for one school and I am well on my way to providing for the second school. My connections in Lusaka are working with the schools this week to order the books from their curriculum. The books will be there and ready for me to deliver personally in May. We are so close to the goal!

 I have multiple purposes for this email, I would like you to: 

1. Please take a look and let me know what you think of my site
2. Allow me to be the vehicle for your gift (even if it is $6, that’s one textbook)
3. Pass along this link so that others can participate
4. Thank you for the encouragement and the inspiration at Catalyst University 

I have been drumming up new attendees for next “semester”. You might have to find a larger venue or a new way to get all of the people in who would like to participate.  

Thanks again and warm regards,
Becky Lussier - Tardy

 

Wow!

Here are my three suggestions/requests/pleas: 

1. Go to the link for her cause, http://fundly.com/textbooksforzambia and buy a book, it cost less than lunch, but changes the lives of 20 kids.
2. Forward Becky’s story to your 3 F's – friends, followers and family - asking them to participate.
3. Send a note to Becky becky@welshandassociates.net, encouraging her with your prayers, kind words, good karma, whatever your tradition.
4. (Ok, I know I said three but...) Send me your story on how leaders have inspired you to change the course of someone else’s life.

 Don’t worry about the “easy cry” thing, I buy Kleenex by the case.

 

Mandarin Oranges

First, I guess I should tell you a little about my early life and how a simple can of mandarin oranges changed my life. My mother and father we married when she was 14 and he was 16. My father was the son of a former migrant worker who had become sick and died when my dad was only 11, leaving him to quit school to support his mother and sisters. As you might expect, it was not long before my brother and I came along. When I was four, tragedy struck our little family, my father was killed in an accident at work, leaving my mother as a nineteen-year-old widow with two sons, age four and a two.

One of my earliest memories is of a Christmas a few years following my father’s death. It is a memory that I share with many people who grew up in poverty, it is of a basket of food being delivered by a group of men we did not know, who were members of a church we did not attend.

In an effort to save money so that my brother and I would have Christmas presents my mother had skimped on groceries that month and because of that we had been eating pinto beans for lunch and dinner for more than a week. When that food basket came I can remember looking at each can and package with a sense of awe and anticipation that to this day still brings tears to my eyes. But on that day there was to be another significant happening that would change my life forever: a can of oranges.

You see in that basket of food was a can of mandarin oranges, just a simple small can that probably cost less than a quarter. But you have to understand that in 1970’s in the Missouri, Ozarks, tropical fruit canned or not was rare and special. In truth, none of us had ever seen them before.

Because of how special that can of oranges was it was placed in the kitchen cabinet and was to be saved for a special occasion.

That can of oranges was placed in the kitchen cabinet and was to be saved for a special occasion. I did not know then what that little gift would mean to my life.

For many years that can of oranges sat in the cabinet of the many different homes we lived in, being saved for an occasion that was special enough to justify its consumption. Between my brother and me, the oranges became an often-discussed symbol of the Christmas where the food had miraculously appeared.

That can eventually become bloated and was thrown away which left not only a hole on the shelf but also in my sense of security.

After apparently lamenting my loss one too many times, my mother pulled from her grocery bag a new can of mandarin oranges. But this time those oranges were not to go into the kitchen cabinet but were as she instructed to be put into my desk drawer as a reminder of the cost of a lack of education.

That can of oranges and its successors have been in every desk I have called my own from that day forward. They were there when I graduated from high school. They were there for my college years. They were there when after college I could not find a job and I spent my days as a day laborer unloading trucks and my nights sending resumes.

Now that I have achieved more than I ever believed possible for a poor kind from the wrong side of the tracks, that can of oranges has become more than a symbol of education and escaping poverty, it has become my daily reminder of the responsibility to serve.

Look In The Mirror

One of the great things about the work we do is that we get to work closely with some incredible leaders. What has become abundantly clear, even more so in tough times, is that effective leaders know that leadership is not only a gift or talent they are born with. Rather, it is also something they must practice every day if their organization is going to thrive.

As we observe great leaders all around us, it has become abundantly clear that there are five key elements of effective leadership that continue to be the bedrock of high performance organizations. They are:

1. People work to their talent not to remediation. When your child brings home a report card with grades of six A’s and a C, what is your first reaction? In a great organization, it would be to celebrate the A’s and then eventually talk about whether a C is reasonable or not. Reality is that most of us would jump on the C first and talk about how we remediate that performance.

Great leaders celebrate success. They understand what their team member’s talents are and how they can use and further develop those talents to ensure the ultimate success of the organization.

2. Everyone understands their contribution. Every member of the team knows and can articulate what their role is in the organization and how that impacts the entire team’s success. At times, it is easy to believe that only those at the top of an organization provide real impact. In truth, ultimate success is a function of the work of the entire team.

Here’s a bit of invaluable wisdom shared from a very astute man, John Williams (actually Ron’s great-grandfather). John Williams served as a City Councilman in Ozark, Missouri. One day, a young, impressionable little boy (actually Ron Kitchens) approached John and told him how impressed he was by his importance. John’s response was that of a high performance leader. He replied, "If I don’t do my job for a few days and the man who turns on the water doesn’t do his job, which do you think people will notice first? That tells you who is important."

As a leader, it is your job to make sure all team members not only feel important but understand that, without their contribution, the organization would be dramatically diminished.

3. Knowledge is king. In a world where success is, by in large, no longer determined by geography, natural resources or tradition, it is those organizations that embrace the constant pursuit of knowledge that will succeed. We believe this speaks well for our region and the nation. Consider if you will, that over the last five years there have been thirty Noble Prizes awarded to Americans while the Chinese have received one. The United States still represents 49% of all patents globally. This is not by accident; this success is due to the conscientious decision of leaders who value knowledge.

4. People are held accountable. Great organizational leaders are clear about expectations and hold everyone, including themselves, accountable to those expectations. They build an expectation of accountability that drives not only the results of the organization but also drives day-to-day operations.

A great example locally is Graphic Packaging. The company operates on the belief: "We keep promises. Each person is empowered to make the organization succeed and is 100% accountable for his/her actions."

5. We are family. Even in these tough economic times, people will not give their all, heart and soul to a job or an organization without soul. They will only commit themselves to leaders and a family of team members who are organized around aspirational goals. People also no longer want to be part of a "staff" but instead think of the people they spend their days with as "family."

Enlightened leaders understand that to meet the needs of those around them they must focus on creating an environment where groups of self-directed team members can not only succeed but thrive.

For example, take Apple, Inc. To acknowledge its best employees, Apple created the Apple Fellows program recognizing those who make extraordinary technical or leadership contributions; Apple doesn’t focus on the C’s. At Apple, everyone understands their contribution and the company holds itself accountable. Ever had your iPod go bad? After some quick phone diagnostics, a new one often arrives in your mailbox to replace a defective one. Knowledge is king: Apple’s entire focus is the transfer and sharing of knowledge at lightning speed – information (the Mac), your personal life-line (the iPhone), music (the iPod), and, now, books (the iPad) – with the brand of their products transcending the products themselves. Finally, the company operates like a family. From the beginning, Apple bucked the corporate culture and created a flat hierarchy dressed in casual clothes.

The "fruits" of Apple’s success are shown not in its 2009 worldwide annual sales of $42.91 billion but, in its being named the most admired company in the world by Fortune magazine in 2008, 2009 and 2010.

How do you like those "apples" – the results produced by effective leadership in a high performance organization. Go ahead, take a look in the mirror…

Hire Those Who Share Your Passion For WHY

Be selective about your storytelling. A few great stories are far superior to a score of good ones. Some stories may deliver the right message but do so in dull or ordinary ways. Hunt down stories that will stick in people’s minds because they’re so dramatic, humorous, or unusual. Some stories may really be memorable but tangential to your brand. Avoid them as well. The most effective kind of story will reflect your first, only, faster, better, or cheaper statement. – Nancy Lublin

Simply hiring people with a solid resume or great work ethic does not guarantee success. The best engineer at Apple, for example, would likely be miserable if he worked at Microsoft. Likewise, the best engineer at Microsoft would not thrive at Apple. Both are highly experienced and work hard. Both may come highly recommended. However, each engineer does not fit the culture of the other’s company. The goal is to hire those who are passionate for your WHY, your purpose, cause or belief, and who have the attitude that fits your culture. Once that is established, only then should their skill set and experience be evaluated. Shackleton could have had the most experienced crew money could buy, but if they weren’t able to connect on a level much deeper than their ability, their survival would not have been a foregone conclusion. – Simon Sinek

In the 1970’s, Southwest Airlines decided to put their flight attendants in hot pants and go-go boots as part of their uniforms (hey, it was the 1970’s). It wasn’t their idea; Pacific Southwest, the California-based airline after which Southwest modeled itself, did it fist, Southwest simply copied them. Unlike Pacific Southwest, however, Southwest figured out something that would prove invaluable. They realized that when they recruited flight attendants, the only people who applied for the job were cheerleaders and majorettes. That’s because they were the only people who didn’t mind wearing new uniforms. Cheerleaders and majorettes, however, fit in perfectly at Southwest. They didn’t just have a great attitude, their whole disposition was about cheering people on. Spreading optimism. Leading crowds to believe that "we can win." They were perfect fits at a company that was the champion of the common man. Realizing this, Southwest started to recruit only cheerleaders and majorettes. – Simon Sinek

Consider the story of two stonemasons. You walk up to the first stonemason and ask, "Do you like your job?" He looks up at you and replies, "I’ve been building this wall for as long as I can remember. The work is monotonous. I work in the scorching hot sun all day. The stones are heavy and lifting them day after day can be backbreaking. I’m not even sure if this project will be competed in my lifetime. But it’s a job. It pays the bills." You thank him for his time and walk on. About thirty feet away, you walk up to a second stonemason. You ask him the same question, "Do you like your job?" He looks up and replies, "I love my job. I’m building a cathedral. Sure, I’ve been working on this wall for as long as I can remember, and yes, the work is sometimes monotonous. I work in the scorching hot sun all day. The stones are heavy and lifting them day after day can be backbreaking. I’m not even sure if this project will be completed in my lifetime. But I’m building a cathedral." WHAT these two stonemasons are doing is exactly the same; the difference is, one has a sense of purpose. He feels like he belongs. He comes to work to e a part of something bigger than the job he’s doing. Simply having a sense of WHY changes his entire view of his job. It makes him more productive and certainly more loyal. Whereas the first stonemason would probably take another job for more pay, the inspired stonemason works longer hours and would probably turn down an easier high-paying job to stay and be a part of the higher cause. The second stonemason does not see himself as any more or less important than the guy making the stained glass windows or even the architect. They are all working together to build the cathedral. It is the bond that creates camaraderie. And that camaraderie and trust is what brings success. People working together for a common cause. – Simon Sinek

Years ago bank tellers were trained to detect counterfeit one-hundred-dollar bills. Trainers put the tellers in a room and showed them the genuine currency. They held classes and seminars to teach the tellers about the almost indistinguishable, almost imperceptible patterns in the real article. The tellers would smell the genuine bills, run their fingers across the fiber and the ink, almost taste them. Then when the trainers thought the tellers were ready, they tested them. They put the tellers in front of a conveyor belt loaded with genuine bills. A supervisor, without being seen, would occasionally insert a counterfeit bill onto the belt. The tellers would immediately look at it, pull it off, and say, "I don’t know what’s wrong with this one, but it’s not genuine. Something’s not right. Nope, this one looks funny." How did they realize the counterfeit bills so quickly? Is it because they studied the fakes? No, it’s because they took a long time to study the real thing. – Wayne Cordeiro

What All Great Leaders Know

Good leaders know that they are not the smartest person on their team, they are just the leader. Great leaders know that not only are they just the leader, to really lead they must serve the members of their team. This may seem a bit counter intuitive to those who see leaders as the lone authoritarian who is gives orders and everyone jumps. Real leaders know that shared power produces maximum results.

But how to share power of influence is the question? In my experience the great results are produced by great teams that focus on the following:

• High performance teams are well read. It has been said that those who do not read have no advantage over those who cannot, I could not agree more. It seems 25% of American adults do not read a single book over the course of a year. If your team is to thrive, they must continue their education through active learning.
• Great teams are high energy. Your team is either Tigger or Eyor. Let the competition hire the Eyor’s they will suck the life out of a great team and eventually a great company.
• Relationships are a critical component of teams. As a leader it is critical that you promote strong interdependent teams that work as a unit. Great teams compete with your completion not with each other.
• Great leaders love their teams and treat them with the respect that goes with that. People will put up with long hours, high pressure and tough conditions for a leader who cares about them and they care about. But what is worse is highly talented people will flee from a company and a leader that does not treat them like family.
• It is not about the money with great teams. Sure money is important and a great way to keep score but great leaders know that high performance teams are driven by their need to be part of something great that is valued externally and internally, much more than driven by the dollar. If someone tells you it is just about the money for them, run don’t walk. These people are toxic to any organization.
• Succeed or Die Trying! Great teams are driven with every fiber in their bodies to succeed not just for the reward of success but also because they have committed to their fellow team members that they would.
• Honesty is critical to great teams. Great leaders cannot allow a cancer of mistrust and passive aggressive behavior to invade their teams. Transparent honesty is not only critical to your teams success but to the organizations ability to survive.
• You must have the moral authority to lead. The headlines are full of people who had great promise but only to see their lives and the lives closest to them destroyed by their bad behavior. Great teams require a leader with a very clear moral compass.

As our economy comes back to life after a very long winter of financial malaise, it will become critical that as we prepare to compete with do so the complete understanding that the only real completive advantage we have is the quality commitment of the team that we engage for success.