Equipping Leaders for Life

Recently, I have had the opportunity to read some of Ken Blanchard’s books and share time with a few leaders in one of his organizations.  One of the things which has become quite obvious through my studies is why Ken finds himself at the top of the leadership development community.  From the beginning, with The One Minute Manager and Situational Leadership to now, Ken and his teams have aided thousands of organizations on implementing the principles of what is often referred to as “servant leadership”.

Most recently, I was reading Blanchard’s book Whale Done – The Power of Positive Relationships. This is the story of a man named, Wes, who found himself visiting Sea World to “get away” from his draining corporate job.  During this “get away” Wes encountered a life changing experience.  After observing a SeaWorld show with killer whales, Wes asks the lead trainer, Dave, the question, “What’s the secret?  How do you trick these animals into performing for you?  Do you starve them?”  With much surprise, Dave shared principles the entire team of trainers learned from Shamu, one of the world’s largest killer whales.  Taking it a step further, Dave reveals that these same principles learned from Shamu are principles leaders all around the world are implementing with their teams.

So, what do killer whales have to do with training humans? More than you think!  As the story relates, and has been demonstrated by many organizations adopting principles, Blanchard outlines, “WHALE DONE” leaders and their organizations consistently outperform “GOTca” managers.  WHALE DONE leaders are focused on improving relationships by building trust, accentuating the positive, and redirecting energy when things get off track.  Emphasizing this “power of positive relationships”, Blanchard notes “You can’t punish a 9,000 pound Orca Whale, and then expect the trainer to get in the water with him.  Just as you can’t beat on your work team and expect them to improve their productivity at the end of the quarter.”

While the concepts discussed in this book seem quite simple, they tend to be more complex to implement.  For example:

“The WHALE DONE Response

·         Praise people immediately.

·         Be specific about what they did right or almost right.

·         Share your positive feelings about what they did.

·         Encourage them to keep up the good work.”

Simple…right?  Well, when is the last time you heard your boss, spouse, parent, coach, etc. provide you with this type of WHALE DONE response?  It may have been awhile.  This isn’t a criticism of these folks. It simply is that our culture tends to have been raised by “GOTca” managers.

These are the types of leadership principles and many more like them which we study daily and work with businesses and individuals to implement.  As a matter of fact, we encourage you to stay tuned for an upcoming announcement associated with our recent partnership with two of the world top leadership gurus.  Developing leaders and their teams is clearly our passion and we’re focused on continuing to surround ourselves with the world’s top leaders in order to best support businesses and individuals we serve.

If you would like to learn more about “servant leadership” or High Performance Leaders and their Teams, please contact us.  We would be glad to offer books, CDs, personalized coaching, and strategic consulting services to anyone sharing our passion.

When you go to McDonalds, why do you go there?  Is it for the great hamburgers?  Maybe the great icy coke, thick shakes, sundae’s, or apple pies?  Or, maybe, it’s none of these and it’s really about the “experience”.  The “experience” of convenience, kids playing on the playground, consistency of how the food tastes, clean bathrooms, and more.  So, when it comes to the “experience”, how do you describe this to someone?  Simply put…you don’t! Really, you have to “experience” it for yourself firsthand in order to “get it”.

Well, the same holds true with High Performance Coaching.  You don’t “get it” until you “experience” it. Whether you’re looking to grow profits, create a culture of excellence, learn how to influence people, be a better husband/wife, or improve other aspects of your life, the process is very similar.  And, a key part of that process is having a catalyst, change agent, coach, or non-biased third party to act as a sounding board, maintain a focus on vision, push you for commitment, provide accountability, as well as many other aspects of support.

As an example, we recently had a conversation with an owner who was of the typical, “I don’t need someone to tell me how to run my business” mindset.  After several months of coaching with their Team, this individual admitted that they were initially of this mindset; however, believe our contribution was one of the best things that has ever happened to their business.  We hear this same story over and over once people get past the initial resistance and choose to start to engage in the “experience” of High Performance Coaching.

By the way, we should mention that we also pay for and value this type of “experience”.  While we are continually learning more and more about coaching, success, leadership, and other aspects of personal and team development, we too still need someone or, in our case, teams of individuals coaching and mentoring us as leaders.  We pay as much, and in many times more than, our clients for these types of services which has aided us in seeing revenues increase 31% and profits increase 57% this year.

Arnold Business Advisors LLC provides a wide range of coaching experiences for businesses and individuals. Our client portfolio is diverse and includes international coaching clients. We don’t claim to be the least expensive option for coaching services; however, we do focus on “success” and exceeding expectations.  What this looks like is normally a significant multiple of our fees.

Are you ready to test the waters on this “experience”?  Your one click or phone call away and we guarantee satisfaction.

Have a FANTASTIC day!

Best regards,
Chris

As many of our followers are aware, we are members of Truth@Work which is a non-profit organization founded in 1998. Their focus is to develop products, programs, and services designed to help Christian business leaders integrate their faith into the marketplace.  This past week I had the opportunity to participate in one of my most favorite roundtable discussions.  It is “12 Words That Will Change Your Life & Business Forever“.

So, what are those “12 Words” that could be so instrumental in turning around your business and have been so impactful in the lives of many?  Well here they are:

“Nothing to Lose.
Nothing to Hide.
Nothing to Prove.
Nothing to Fear.”

In the content, which can be viewed in Truth@Work’s sample curriculum link, Ray Hilbert, CEO, Truth@Work challenges business owners to “imagine living a life and running/leading your business/organization leveraging these ’12 Life and Business Changing Words.’”

“How would your relationships be different? How would your family be different? Your marriage? Your interaction with employees, customers, vendors, prospective clients, even your competitors?”

If you’re like most, you wrestle greatly with these words. How could anyone imagine running their business with a mindset that they have “nothing to lose” when dealing with “employees, customers, vendors, prospective clients, even your competitors?” And then there is “Nothing to Hide” — You want me to share and disclose everything to my customers?  And, “Nothing to Prove” – How do I differentiate myself without promotion?  By this point some may say “this is absolutely ridiculous.”

In the video, Ray discusses an analogy of living “closed fisted” versus “open handed.”  Imagine you’re living “closed fisted” or “attempting to control” circumstances in your life or business.  How are these control issues manifesting themselves in circumstances?  When we’re living “closed fisted”, we do have “perceived” control of the employees, customers, marriage, finances, etc..  However, what happens if someone comes along and wants to make a contribution to these circumstances?  Living “closed fisted” doesn’t allow for others to contribute. Stating it another way for those who have a belief in God, living “closed fisted” and attempting to control our circumstance doesn’t allow for Him to bless our business/lives.  Vice versa, if we live “open handed” or “palms up”, we do run the risk of others “taking” things away; however, we also have a much greater opportunity for others to contribute and bring possibility to the circumstances.  Working with High Performance Leaders and their Teams as well as knowing many Truth@Work members, I could share numerous stories of where people have made the shift from living “closed” to “open” and have seen remarkable results.

Still having a hard time believing?  Well, let me share a personally story. In October 2008, I was downsized after having an extremely successful career in Corporate America.  It was shortly following that I met Ray Hilbert and heard him share these “12 Words”.  Most that knew me at the time would likely say that I had a huge heart; however, I attempted to control situations fairly regularly.   It was during that same meeting where Ray discussed “What is holding you back?  — Fear” which can be seen in an earlier blog post. It was at that point that I made a conscious decision to truly focus on living my life “open handed” with a servant leader heart and launched Arnold Business Advisors LLC. I enrolled in a non-faith based transformational workshop at Zarvos Coaching and Consulting which further allowed me to get conscious of control issues in my life and a lack of trust in His provision.

Like most start-ups, we wrestled in the first couple years.  Revenues in 2010 were $3K beyond our target which we find interesting that they would be so close not having a clue at the beginning of the year as to how we would achieve them.  YTD 2011, our revenues are up 24% and profitability is up 57% over the same period last year.  Our revenue target for 2011 is 20% greater than 2010, and we once again do not have agreements in place coming close to supporting these types of numbers.  That being said, the numbers I have shared are the numbers and, to date, the calls, agreements, and payments have always come at the right time.

Adding to this, we won’t get into all the particular at this point; however, a couple months ago, there was one last piece of the puzzle that we were attempting to “hold on to” which our Truth@Work group challenged us on.  The next couple days, we made a conscious decision to start living “open handed” with this area as well.  The very next day was when I received a phone call which has now developed into a business opportunity for my wife, Lisa, and I to jointly launch an additional leadership development business in the very near future. In parallel with this, our clients have similar stories and are seeing remarkable results when leading their organizations with more of an “open” mindset.

Regardless of your spiritual beliefs, we strongly encourage you to wrestle with these “12 Life & Business Changing Words”. We also want you to know, you can’t do this alone! Find yourself a group like Truth@Work or a coach/mentor which will look you in the eye and have those tough conversations.  The benefits are truly PRICELESS!  As mentioned above, we’re still looking for that next client and would love to discuss possibilities.

As always, we appreciate your support.  We also hope that you have enjoyed this new newsletter format as it was formulated from last months survey feedback.

Thanks again, and have a FANTASTIC day!

Best regards,

Chris

PS…Want to learn more about Truth@Work and/or being a Chapter President?  Click Here

Yes, it takes a lot to admit it; however, it’s true.  Mom always told me if I couldn’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.  Well, I have since learned that words spoken with the intent of building others up is a good thing and these words are offered with this intent.

We haven’t come across a leader or team who isn’t dysfunctional.  What we do see in a lot of situations is that leaders, and their teams, are not “conscious” of these dysfunctions.

A great book in aiding in the identification of some dysfunctions is Patrick Lencioni’s, The Five Dysfuctions of a Team.  “This gripping fable centers on Kathryn Petersen, an old-school CEO who comes out of retirement to accept the monumental task of transforming a dysfunctional group of high profile, egocentric executives into a cohesive and effective team. With an amazing gift for building teams, Kathryn forces her colleagues to confront the behavioral pitfalls that destroy most teams and adopt the five characteristics of a truly cohesive one.” You may view a summary of the five dysfunctions by clicking here.

Foundational to Lencioni’s “five dysfunctions” is the “absence of trust”.  We typically see “trust” issues in every organization which is why our role as an independent, non-biased coach is important. Some say trust is built over time.  Our experience is that this process can be greatly accelerated with the right assistance.

In addition to trust, we have experienced the fruits of team’s getting “conscious” of all these dysfunctions and developing strategies to minimize these dysfunctions on countless occasions. Our core competency is in accelerating the “getting conscious” process and bringing practical solutions for minimizing these dysfunctions resulting in the manifestation of High Performance results.

In their book, Lead Like Jesus, Ken Blanchard & Phil Hodges provide “lessons for everyone from the greatest leadership role model of all time”.  One of these lessons centers around “EGO”.

Yes, we all have one and we all likely could use “The Twelve Steps of EGO Anonymous” discussed in this book.

Whether in a biblical setting or aiding businesses and individuals in a secular setting, our High Performance Coaching process is fundamentally rooted in the characteristic of servant leadership.  In order to be a servant leader, one of the first steps we need help in is the acknowledgement that we have an EGO problem.

So you say, what’s an EGO problem?  My experience is that it primarily involves my pride, wants, needs, and drive for “success” negatively impacting those whom I have been given the opportunity to influence. I will also note that as much as I value being a servant leader, my EGO gets in the way routinely which is why I surround myself with other servant leaders and coaches who provide insight and accountability.

Is it time for you to enroll in a twelve step process?  We’d love to discuss further.

Arnold Business Advisors LLC prides itself in aiding businesses and individuals in truly defining what “success” looks like and building strategies to achieve this “success”.

With this being our mission, it’s not uncommon for us to engage in discussions with those sharing our beliefs on how biblical principles apply to “success” in the business.  These generally are some enlightening conversations.

“John D. Beckett, chairman of the privately held R. W. Beckett Corporation in North Ridgefield, Ohio, wrote one of the leading books on living out Christian faith in the marketplace, Loving Monday (InterVarsity, 1998). Now Beckett, 68, has written a sequel, Mastering Monday: A Guide to Integrating Faith and Work (InterVarsity, 2006). Senior associate editor Stan Guthrie recently sat down with him.” Click here to read Guthrie and Beckett’s article.

Once you review, we’d love to hear your prospective.

With Valentines Day just behind us, we were recently inspired by the topic of the “Heart of a Leader”.  In his book, Heart of a Leader, Ken Blanchard discusses many key characteristics of a servant leader.  In an introduction to his book which can be viewed here, Blanchard comments on one of his favorite sayings:

“The key to developing people is to catch them doing something right.”
Ken Blanchard and Spencer Johnson
The One Minute Manager®

Blanchard comments, “I always recommend that leaders spend at least an hour a week wandering around their operation catching people doing things right.”  He further comments that this praise needs to be specific and not a generalized “great job”.

In addition, while presented in the context of a business, Blanchard as well as myself would be quick to point out that we’re all leaders in areas of our lives.  Thus, as owners, executives, managers, parents, coaches, teachers, ministry leaders, etc., we all should take time to catch people around us doing something right.  In doing so, we’re giving a gift from the heart which most will see as one of the greatest gifts they ever could receive.

Thanks for our continued relationship and have a great day!

What are your biggest challenges in 2011?
What’s keeping you up an night?
What’s that “elephant in the room” you’re avoiding?

In speaking with a client this past week, we were discussing the challenges around sharing “pain” within businesses.  While most experience some type of pain within their business daily, the natural tendency is not to readily admit it.  Whether it’s a matter of pride, a sign of weakness, or some other pay-off, it’s simply not in our human nature to admit our struggles.

High performance teams and individuals readily admit their “pain” and actively seek possibilities to move beyond.  We’re interested in better understanding your pain and connecting you with the “right” resources to help.  Please contact us to further discuss.

How are you doing at asking for feedback?
Are you truly getting authentic feedback?
How do you know?
Have you ever received feedback which surprises you?
Is feedback the truth?
What are you doing with the feedback?

Feedback is critically important in relationships.  Unfortunately, many are poor at giving and receiving feedback.  Even worse, are the situations where we believe we are getting authentic feedback and truly are experiencing a facade.

When we ask for feedback from our clients, one of the top areas they tell us we have aided their organization is in area of authenticity and “not holding back”.

“The Cause”, “Our Mission”, “What Matters”, “Making a Difference” — Is it important that your organization have a “mission statement”?

Some tend to dismiss the importance of “mission statements”; however, we have been reminded over the past month of their importance.  We believe that deep rooted in all of us is a desire to “make a difference” and “do something that matters“.  Being able to see how our daily work ties to a greater purpose brings an increased level of energy, excitement, and passion to our lives.

An example we would offer is the story of ELANCO.  It’s at the point when their organization made the connection to “The Cause – Feeding the World” that they started experiencing one of the most impressive cultural transformations we’ve seen in an organization.  We encourage you to read more of their story.

While the mission, or purpose, of each of our businesses may not seem to be as significant as solving world hunger, we challenge you to pause and ask yourself, what is “The Cause” and start to connect with it daily.