The Contented Cow Blog

Building Workplaces That Work

Another of the excellent speakers we heard at the National Speakers Association convention in New York last week was Bill Strickland, President and CEO of Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild and Bidwell Training Center, Inc.

Talk about someone who does meaningful work! His story is much too long to detail in this blog, and I certainly can’t do him justice. Besides, he’s been written about in Inc, Fast Company, and tons of other publications, and you can read about him there.

In a nutshell, Bill Strickland is a social innovator who runs a company to train and give substantive (not empty) hope to poor inner-city kids, welfare mothers, and others in the Manchester area of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He’s taking his highly successful model, which educates people in the visual, culinary, and other arts, and replicating it across the country now.

Here’s just a little of what Strickland said, that stuck in my mind:

• “The only difference between rich people and poor people is that poor people don’t have any money.”
• “People’s behavior is a function of how they’re treated.” (Where have we heard that before?)
• “We have fresh flowers all over the center, because these people deserve to see fresh flowers.”
• When he had his center designed in Pittsburgh, he wanted it to be flooded with light. The people who learn there have lots of darkness in their lives. Strickland knew that light would change their outlook, and their behavior. It has.
• The walls of his center are covered in valuable art. Skeptics told him the art would be trashed within a month. In the 22 years since he started the practice, there’s never been an act of vandalism at the center. Reminds me of a point made by John Houseman in the classic training film, Brain Power, by Karl Albrecht, in which Houseman reminds us, “We get what we expect to get. What are you expecting?”

We heard lots of polished, eloquent speakers at the NSA convention. Bill Strickland was not one of them. It was, instead, his message, not his delivery, that blew me away.

Thanks, Bill Strickland, for being an Extra-Miler.

Richard Hadden is a leadership speaker, author, and consultant who helps organizations improve their business results by creating a great place to work. He and his co-author and business partner Bill Catlette, are the authors of the new book Contented Cows MOOve Faster, as well as the acclaimed business classic Contented Cows Give Better Milk. Learn more about them and their work at ContentedCows.com.

Bill Catlette and I have been at the annual convention of the National Speakers Association this week in New York City. One of the highlights of the convention was a town hall style session with 2 titans of the travel industry, Bill Marriott, CEO of Marriott Hotels, and Dave Barger, CEO of JetBlue Airways.

Bill and I often speak from the platform about these 2 companies, as exemplary companies to work for. Hearing their respective CEO’s speak made it easy to see why we do.

Some highlights, first from Marriott:

• Marriott’s parents, the hotel chain’s founders taught him “take good care of your employees, and they’ll take good care of your customers.”
• One key to the success of Marriott Hotels is training. Training represents an enormous proportion of the company’s time, attention, and money.
• Another key is providing opportunities for advancement. By far, most Marriott managers started in entry level positions in the chain’s hotels, and were motivated by the strong connection at Marriott between performance and promotion.
• Bill Marriott spends a huge amount of time circulating among his thousands of properties to see the people who work there. “I can’t make strategic decisions unless I know what’s going on, and I can’t do that if I’m not there.”

From JetBlue’s Barger:

• Barger recently took a 50% pay cut.  (He was asked about this, he didn’t bring it up. I know the person who asked the question, and he was not a plant.) “We’re going to be flying less, so our people will be earning less. So I should, too.”
• “This is not a fuel business. It’s a people business. What keeps me up at night is not the price of fuel. It’s how we motivate our people to deliver the best product, especially in these tough times.”
• “We don’t talk about ’survival’ at JetBlue; we talk about ‘winning’.”

As much as I was impressed by what these guys said, I was even more impressed by who they appeared to be. I left the session with the feeling that I had just spent 90 minutes in the presence of a couple of guys who were not only brilliant, but really nice, ordinary (though extremely wealthy, especially Marriott) folks.

Richard Hadden is a leadership speaker, author, and consultant who helps organizations improve their business results by creating a great place to work. He and his co-author and business partner Bill Catlette, are the authors of the new book Contented Cows MOOve Faster, as well as the acclaimed business classic Contented Cows Give Better Milk. Learn more about them and their work at ContentedCows.com.

The death this weekend of Tony Snow, former Fox News editor and White House Press Secretary, leaves another void, as did the recent death of Tim Russert, in the ranks of honorable American journalists.

Of course, the passing of Tony Snow, a Committed conservative, and former spokesperson for a highly unpopular president, will be mourned less audibly by the mainstream media than was that of his contemporary, Russert. In fact, I’ve been watching CNN on the plane all morning, and Snow’s death has not been mentioned. There are, after all, more important things to keep us apprised of, like the birth of Angelina Jolie’s twins.

Tony Snow had the ability to communicate, report, opine, and engage with others without the mean-spiritedness that we see in so many in the political and journalistic arenas. He was clearly George W. Bush’s best press secretary, and maybe the best holder of that job we’ve seen in a long time. With his death, and that of Tim Russert, we’re left with the likes of Wolf Blitzer, Bill O’Reilly, and David Gregory, to grind their axes in an ever decreasingly civil discourse.

I admired Tony Snow’s willingness to tell his boss he was wrong. A clip aired this weekend by Fox News, where they knew Snow best, and respected him most, showed the press secretary in a lively spar with President Bush. “I’m not going to say that,” he said to the president. “That’s BS.” The two laughed, and Snow prevailed.

We could all probably benefit from those we lead telling us when we’re full of it. So, here’s an assignment: Have a one-on-one with someone on your team. Challenge them to tell you something you’re absolutely wrong about. Something you think is golden, but that they know is bunk. Make sure they know they can tell you the truth safely, and then act on what you learn.

It would be a fitting tribute to Tony Snow.

Richard Hadden is a leadership speaker, author, and consultant who helps organizations improve their business results by creating a great place to work. He and his co-author and business partner Bill Catlette, are the authors of the new book Contented Cows MOOve Faster, as well as the acclaimed business classic Contented Cows Give Better Milk. Learn more about them and their work at ContentedCows.com.

When I first started my consulting business in 1989, a good friend gave me a Harvard Business Review reprint of what he described at the time as a classic article on time management: “Management Time: Who’s Got the Monkey?”, by William H. Oncken and Donald L. Wass. I enjoyed the 1974 article’s entertaining style and highly useful content, and it has had an influence on me for lo these many years. Since then, this one article has become HBR’s #1 best selling article reprint ever.

When Bill Catlette and I wrote our latest book, Contented Cows Moove Faster, last year, we assserted that a leader can’t hope to inspire Discretionary Effort (Oomph!) from people until that leader has first gotten himself or herself squared away, including learning to manage the priorities that demand time and attention. To that end, we included a recommendation in the book to get the article (re-released by HBR in 1999), read it, and apply it. Since then, both Bill and I have made that recommendation countless times from the speaking platform and in the training classroom. And I suggest that if you haven’t read it - do so. You can buy it online, from harvardbusinessonline.com for $6.50. From the home page, type “Management Time” in the search block. 

Several months ago, I was booked to speak for an organization called TEC (The Executive Committee) in Dallas. Over the past 10 years, I’ve spoken for dozens of TEC groups, made up of the CEO’s and senior executives of small to medium sized (and some larger) companies. About 2 years ago, TEC changed its name to Vistage, but a few groups (in Dallas, Florida, Wisconsin and other places) have retained the TEC brand. The chair of this particular TEC group in Dallas, I was told, was a fellow named Dr. Don Wass. Dr. Wass’s office made arrangements for the engagement, and yesterday, I flew to Dallas to make today’s presentation.

While I never forgot the classic “Monkey” article, frankly, I did forget the name of the alphabetically second-listed co-author. I always referred to the article, saying “by William H. Oncken.” As the alphabetically second-listed co-author of two books, I know these things happen.

So imagine my surprise this morning when I showed up to speak for this TEC group, met Don Wass, and discovered that this gentle, thoughtful, smart TEC chair, with a PhD in psychology, was half the duo who had penned this classic piece of management literature 34 years ago.

This evening, I had dinner with Don Wass and his wife Helen. I learned that, sadly, William Oncken died several years ago. But his friend and co-author, Don Wass is very much alive and well, and he and Helen, with whom he’s traveled to all 7 continents, are enjoying their adult children, their grandchildren, and Don’s life as a TEC chair in Dallas.

Who knew?

Richard Hadden is a leadership speaker, author, and consultant who helps organizations improve their business results by creating a great place to work. He and his co-author and business partner Bill Catlette, are the authors of the new book Contented Cows MOOve Faster, as well as the acclaimed business classic Contented Cows Give Better Milk. Learn more about them and their work at ContentedCows.com.

Tim Russert was not only a highly respected journalist, as a Vice President at NBC News, he was a manager, and a real leader. And by all accounts, he was the kind of leader who did a remarkable job of inspiring OOMPH! from those who called him “boss”.

During all this weekend’s tributes to Russert on his and competing networks, I’ve been struck by the descriptions of the man, not the journalist. He listened to the people entrusted to his leadership. He cared about them as human beings. He recognized that they had lives outside their work, because he had a life outside his work. And he spent time finding out about what was important to his employees.

When you’re gone, or retired, or have moved on to another phase in your career, will people talk more about the quality of the work you did? Or the quality of the person who did the work?

It has been less than a half-day since his passing, and the world is already a less friendly, less authentic, less informed place. Tim Russert will be missed by all who value decency, professionalism, and candor.

Memorial Day in the United States is, technically, the day set aside to honor those who gave their lives in military service. I’m also thinking a lot today about my father, Louie Hadden, and my father-in-law, Jim Prentice, who served in World War II, and, thankfully, survived into their 80’s.

My dad was a Motor Machinist Mate on a couple of supply ships in the South Pacific. Born in 1926, he was only 15 when the US entered World War II, but a year later, he fudged his age on the application, and joined the Navy. After the war, with the help of the mechanical training he received in the Navy, he became a typewriter repairman, and later ran his own office machine company until he retired.

My wife’s father was a Sergeant Major in the Gordon Highlanders, a Scottish regiment of the British Army. He was a tank commander, and fought for more than three years on the ground in Burma, the present-day Myanmar that we’ve heard so much about in recent weeks, since the May 2 cyclone devastated much of the country.

These are just two of the millions of people worldwide, who have served freedom-loving countries in modern times. Some of these were drafted, but their service is no less heroic or appreciated. Others, like my dad and Jim, volunteered, went above and beyond what was required, because they wanted to serve.

These two - the sailor and the soldier - are rarely out of my mind. I see and hear reminders of them all around me. But today, especially, I remember them, for what they chose to do in service of their respective countries. Take a minute and remember, and be thankful for, someone you know who’s done the same.

Richard Hadden is a leadership speaker, author, and consultant who helps organizations improve their business results by creating a great place to work. He and his co-author and business partner Bill Catlette, are the authors of the new book Contented Cows MOOve Faster, as well as the acclaimed business classic Contented Cows Give Better Milk. Learn more about them and their work at ContentedCows.com.

Yesterday, one of our favorite organizations, Prosperity Bank of St. Augustine, Florida (also our bank, and a valued client), held its fourth annual Prosperity Bank Foundation event, designed to raise funds for the bank’s charitable foundation. It was my honor to be one of the speakers at the event 2 years ago. This year, the featured speaker was Dr. Ben Carson, a noted pediatric neurosurgeon from Johns Hopkins, and author of Think Big!

As a speaker, I’m always eager to hear others speak from the platform, but, I have to admit, I often approach these things as a reviewer, ready to evaluate style, content, and the other things I pay attention to when I’m on the platform.

For the first few minutes of Dr. Carson’s presentation, I found myself in that mode. But I was quickly transformed into simply being a listener, receiving his simple, positive, straightforward message, and being inspired by what I heard.

His style was far from theatrical. No flash. The only time he strayed from simply having a conversation with the audience of 500+ was his rather amazing description of the neuromuscular processes involved in his asking us to raise our hands, and our doing it. With this exception, he didn’t say much I didn’t already know. His message wasn’t particularly prescriptive. In other words, I didn’t leave there with pages of notes of things I could go out and do differently right away that would make a difference.

And yet I left the presentation feeling like I had spent an hour or so with a really good man of admirable character, a genius, a doer, someone who shares my values but has done a better job than I of putting those values into action.

One simple piece of advice he did encourage us to enact was to simply “Be Nice”. I heeded his advice at every opportunity yesterday, and so far today. And I gotta tell you, I’ve felt better because of it.

It took a brain surgeon to remind me of that which I already knew but wasn’t practicing enough. The next time I listen to a speaker, I’m going to focus more on how I can benefit from that speaker’s message, and less on how “good” his or her performance is.

I’m really glad I heard Ben Carson, and I appreciate Prosperity Bank for giving me the opportunity.

Richard Hadden is a leadership speaker, author, and consultant who helps organizations improve their business results by creating a great place to work. He and his co-author and business partner Bill Catlette, are the authors of the new book Contented Cows MOOve Faster, as well as the acclaimed business classic Contented Cows Give Better Milk. Learn more about them and their work at ContentedCows.com.

We wanted to share with you a unique resource on the Internet for HR professionals.

It’s a free network that allows you to post Human Resource related questions and events on a message board.  The “HR Net” has over 3,300 people who can read your posting and answer it.  There are two things that make this resource different than listservs and chat rooms you see out on the net.

One difference is that is not a listserv.  You get one e-mail a week to let you know what’s new to the site and you can post/read/answer on your schedule.  You won’t get buried with those “reply all” messages that may give you either insight or indigestion.

The second difference is that each week the facilitator, Steve Browne, adds a creative touch to remind people that working with people should be fun.  Steve hired us to speak for the Greater Cincinnati HR Association a couple of years ago, and has become a good friend and supporter ever since. He’s the Director of Human Resources at LaRosa’s, Inc. in Cincinnati. Each week Steve writes an HR-related song parody (think Weird Al), and it’ll definitely give you a good laugh!

If you’d like to have this resource, just e-mail Steve at sbrowne@larosas.com and he’ll add you.  We’re  “Netters” as he calls us all, and we look forward to our HR Net every week.

We’d recommend that you get connected to this unique resource in the world of HR.  We’re sure you’ll enjoy it!

Fulfilling a promise made to my son-in-law before he went to Iraq three years ago, the two of us headed west last week for a three-day fishing trip on Utah’s fabulous Green River. As we were winging our way back home at 39,000 feet, I realized that while the trip ostensibly was for his benefit, I likely got the best of this experience. In addition to some quality time with someone who has become an important part of my life, I got three days of perfect fall weather, a chance to recharge, and the memory of a 20-inch brown trout that gave me a thrill just as the sun was going down Thursday evening. Just as important, though, I was reminded of the “power of nice.”

We stayed at Flaming Gorge Lodge (FGL), owned and operated by the Collett family. I say the “power of nice” because that’s exactly what these people have going for them. Without an ounce of pretense, whether your name is Tiger Woods or Bill Catlette, they welcome you, make you feel at home throughout your stay, and see to it that you have what you need, whether you’re there to fish, hunt, write a book, chill out, or make a movie. Though by no means fancy, FGL has million dollar views, and more importantly, winning attitudes.

In the mold of his father, Carl, who owned FGL for years, current owner, Craig Collett shows up for work at 0′dark thirty each day wearing the same brown uniform shirt, name tag, and smile that he expects from each staff member. And the guy shows up to work, in whatever dimension is necessary, whether it’s seating guests at breakfast, helping out in the kitchen, or filling ice buckets for guests who have BTOB (this IS Utah). Whether it’s the folks in housekeeping, reservations, front desk (Annie, we’ll miss you), or the fishing guides, the staff has clearly gotten the message that nice isn’t nice, it’s necessary. Lyle Waldron, dean of the FGL guide service is a case in point, Even when it is 39 degrees, the wind is howling at 30 mph and his anglers are spending more time tangling lines than fishing, he’s pleasant and unflappable… nice.

Over the years, like many others, we have lauded places like Ritz Carlton for what really amounts to good training and institutionalized manners. At FGL, Craig and his family have found a way to institutionalize “nice.” To be sure, Ritz Carlton does a great job, but for my money, whereas deference and good manners may make me feel important, “nice” makes me want to come back.

Come to think of it, that’s a feeling and an expectation that I want our clients to have, in addition to things like professionalism, fresh ideas, and sound advice. In the future, I hope they will hold us to a high standard of “nice.”

Your comments as always are welcome.

Bill Catlette

P.S. For the benefit of any cynics who might think we’re shilling here, I paid full price for the trip.