Here's a radical leadership strategy:
Hire good people, and then trust them.
Netflix has done so, even going to the point of eliminating their vacation policy:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/mediatechnologyandtelecoms/7945719/Netflix-lets-its-staff-take-as-much-holiday-as-they-want-whenever-they-want-and-it-works.html
Something to think about.
Friday, September 03, 2010
Saturday, April 17, 2010
One more way greedy leadership hurts the bottom line
TIME magazine reports that Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries is getting paid $4 million to NOT use the company plane for personal reasons.
http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1982247,00.html?xid=rss-nation-yahoo
TIME magazine:
"Through the Great Recession, few brands struggled as much as Abercrombie & Fitch, the company that sells preppy, casual clothes to teens and young adults. While other retailers were slashing prices to attract consumers, the company was still pushing $90 pants, and stuck to its "aspirational" marketing campaigns featuring half-naked models. The tone-deaf strategy backfired: in 2009, the company netted just $254,000, essentially running at breakeven, compared to a $273 million profit in 2008 (and a $476 million take during the heady days of 2007). Same-store sales were off 23% last year; between the beginning of 2008 and the end of 2009, Abercrombie's stock price fell 56%. While the stock is up 41% in 2010, and same-store sales have ticked up during the current retail rebound, Abercrombie & Fitch is still buried in a deep hole.
So it would make good business sense — or at least just require common sense — for Abercrombie & Fitch chairman and CEO Mike Jeffries, who in 2008 received $71.8 million in total compensation, according to research firm the Corporate Library, to plow some money back into his company. After all, CEOs around the country have taken drastic pay and perk cuts to better fit the tenor of these tough times. For the good of Abercrombie shareholders, and the company's battered image, Jeffries, named one of the five Highest Paid Worst Performers of 2008 by the Corporate Library (his 2009 compensation has yet to be disclosed), is one guy who could use some scaling back."
Read more: http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1982247,00.html?xid=rss-nation-yahoo#ixzz0lMaa0MgE
... just one more way CEO greed hurts the bottom line. Just as I pointed out in LEADING PEOPLE THE BLACK BELT WAY.
http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1982247,00.html?xid=rss-nation-yahoo
TIME magazine:
"Through the Great Recession, few brands struggled as much as Abercrombie & Fitch, the company that sells preppy, casual clothes to teens and young adults. While other retailers were slashing prices to attract consumers, the company was still pushing $90 pants, and stuck to its "aspirational" marketing campaigns featuring half-naked models. The tone-deaf strategy backfired: in 2009, the company netted just $254,000, essentially running at breakeven, compared to a $273 million profit in 2008 (and a $476 million take during the heady days of 2007). Same-store sales were off 23% last year; between the beginning of 2008 and the end of 2009, Abercrombie's stock price fell 56%. While the stock is up 41% in 2010, and same-store sales have ticked up during the current retail rebound, Abercrombie & Fitch is still buried in a deep hole.
So it would make good business sense — or at least just require common sense — for Abercrombie & Fitch chairman and CEO Mike Jeffries, who in 2008 received $71.8 million in total compensation, according to research firm the Corporate Library, to plow some money back into his company. After all, CEOs around the country have taken drastic pay and perk cuts to better fit the tenor of these tough times. For the good of Abercrombie shareholders, and the company's battered image, Jeffries, named one of the five Highest Paid Worst Performers of 2008 by the Corporate Library (his 2009 compensation has yet to be disclosed), is one guy who could use some scaling back."
Read more: http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1982247,00.html?xid=rss-nation-yahoo#ixzz0lMaa0MgE
... just one more way CEO greed hurts the bottom line. Just as I pointed out in LEADING PEOPLE THE BLACK BELT WAY.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
More Empirical Support for Leading People the Black Belt Way
Here's more empirical support for Leading People the Black Belt Way. This time, it's from Reuters Health, which reports,
"Poor team spirit at the workplace may do more than drag down morale, it can make people depressed, according to the findings of a new study published in the journal Occupational and Environmental Medicine."
The study also showed an increased risk for anxiety, as well.
So here's how it works.
Emotionally UN-intelligent leaders create emotional disengagement throughout an organization.
Emotional disengagement undermines team spirit.
Poor team spirit makes people depressed and anxious, thus driving up healthcare costs and decreasing productivity.
In these tough economic times, can your organization afford increased costs and decreased productivity?
I thought not.
"Poor team spirit at the workplace may do more than drag down morale, it can make people depressed, according to the findings of a new study published in the journal Occupational and Environmental Medicine."
The study also showed an increased risk for anxiety, as well.
So here's how it works.
Emotionally UN-intelligent leaders create emotional disengagement throughout an organization.
Emotional disengagement undermines team spirit.
Poor team spirit makes people depressed and anxious, thus driving up healthcare costs and decreasing productivity.
In these tough economic times, can your organization afford increased costs and decreased productivity?
I thought not.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
New Managers Dealing with Former Peers
In these tough economic times, some leaders are finding themselves being promoted above their peers ... and wondering how to deal with the fall out.
The best way to deal with former peers?
Be emotionally intelligent.
By using emotionally intelligent leadership skills, new managers can successfully transition from employee to manager.
*****
How do you handle friendships if you're now the boss?
Talk it through with your former peer. If you're interested in maintaining the friendship, be clear about when you're being "the boss" and when you're being "the friend."
Be willing to listen to what the experience of having a friend who is now a boss is for your former peer.
********
How do you respond to requests for special treatment?
Be honest. Say what you are able to do ... and say what you can't do.
If your former peer keeps pushing, adopt the "broken record/CD" strategy. Listen to what the person is saying, but continue to repeat your position in a non-defensive way ... "I'd like to help you out Bob, but I'm not able to do that for you."
*******
How do you manage the former peer without creating resentment,
especially if there is a performance problem?
Be pro-active. Don't wait until a problem develops. One of the first items on your agenda as a new manager should be to meet individually (if possible) with each of your former peers. In that meeting, have specific conversations about your interest in not having resentment in the department over your promotion. Then listen.
*******
Are you a new manager who wants to know more about how to handle former peers at work?
Email or call me for a consultation.
The best way to deal with former peers?
Be emotionally intelligent.
By using emotionally intelligent leadership skills, new managers can successfully transition from employee to manager.
*****
How do you handle friendships if you're now the boss?
Talk it through with your former peer. If you're interested in maintaining the friendship, be clear about when you're being "the boss" and when you're being "the friend."
Be willing to listen to what the experience of having a friend who is now a boss is for your former peer.
********
How do you respond to requests for special treatment?
Be honest. Say what you are able to do ... and say what you can't do.
If your former peer keeps pushing, adopt the "broken record/CD" strategy. Listen to what the person is saying, but continue to repeat your position in a non-defensive way ... "I'd like to help you out Bob, but I'm not able to do that for you."
*******
How do you manage the former peer without creating resentment,
especially if there is a performance problem?
Be pro-active. Don't wait until a problem develops. One of the first items on your agenda as a new manager should be to meet individually (if possible) with each of your former peers. In that meeting, have specific conversations about your interest in not having resentment in the department over your promotion. Then listen.
*******
Are you a new manager who wants to know more about how to handle former peers at work?
Email or call me for a consultation.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
President Obama & the Black Belt Way
It's still early in the process, but from all accounts, President Obama seems to have a leadership style very similar to the Black Belt Way.
In his first formal television interview, given to an Arabic-language TV network (Obama's choice of network speaks volumes right there), Obama said that he instructed former Senator George J. Mitchell, the U.S. envoy to the Middle East:
"What I told him is start by listening, because all too often the United States starts by dictating," Obama told the interviewer.
Change the words "the United States" to "American business leaders", and you have the common stance of leadership in America.
Leaders ... want to succeed during these difficult financial times? Take a lesson from President Obama.
Listen.
In his first formal television interview, given to an Arabic-language TV network (Obama's choice of network speaks volumes right there), Obama said that he instructed former Senator George J. Mitchell, the U.S. envoy to the Middle East:
"What I told him is start by listening, because all too often the United States starts by dictating," Obama told the interviewer.
Change the words "the United States" to "American business leaders", and you have the common stance of leadership in America.
Leaders ... want to succeed during these difficult financial times? Take a lesson from President Obama.
Listen.
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