The Contented Cow Blog

Building Workplaces That Work

Today’s post is another in our ongoing effort to provide some good news and inspiration in an otherwise difficult period.

In her piece for the October 6 edition of Nation’s Restaurant News Dina Berta recounted an incredible story about Marcus Gilbert, the owner of a Charley’s Grilled Subs franchise in Orem, Utah helping out one of his employees who needed a kidney transplant. It seems that the employee, Juan Delgado is part time, and Gilbert is only able to provide health insurance for full timers, so he found another way to help, by, get this… donating one of his own kidneys.

Mr. Gilbert’s selfless act reminds us of an expression used by Chick-fil-A’s C.O.O., Dan Cathy in conducting training for managers at new store openings: “When a team member is enduring a personal hardship, we want you to go above and beyond for that person. When you do, you will have their full attention when you talk about going above and beyond for our customers.”

A thought leader in the arena of leadership and employee engagement, Bill Catlette is a seminar leader, keynote speaker, and executive coach. He helps individuals and organizations improve business outcomes by having a focused, engaged, capably led workforce. For more information about Bill, his partner Richard, and their work, please visit their website at www.contentedcows.com

On a day when the Dow tanked another 508 points in a long string of losing days, some good news, any good news, even a little piece is most welcome. Such a nugget climbed into my in-basket this evening in the form of an email message from the 92nd Street Y in New York.

Business partner, Richard Hadden and I rendezvous there two or three times a year and catch a lecture by a business chieftan or other notable. Though it’s a long trip from our respective domiciles, we’ve never been disappointed in the experience. Anyhow, the text of the email follows, unedited. Consistent with our experiences with these folks, I thought it was a class act. Clearly, these folks are going the extra mile.

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.

Sometime within the next week Americans will venture to their favorite grocery store to obtain the necessary fixins for their Thanksgiving meal. Personally, I’m envious of those who did some creative begging of the Food Network, and were fortunate enough to have Bobby Flay, Robert Irvine, or Paula Dean come to their house and do the cooking for them. I digress.

Here’s the deal. At present, we’ve got somewhere in the vicinity of 180,000 brave young Americans deployed in harms way, in Iraq and Afghanistan. Though support for those troops by the public has generally been good, it is beginning to wane as the war drags on. Most of us neglect the fact, though, that a majority of those troops have spouses and children at home waiting for them, holding their breath praying for the safe return of their loved ones. For many of them, out of sight and mind to the military, and with an income that qualifies them for welfare, it can be an especially lonely and difficult period, particularly around holidays.

So, while you’re shopping this week, pick up a little extra and either invite a soldier’s family to dinner on Thanksgiving, or drop the groceries off at their house. Trust me, they can use them. Don’t know anybody with a family member deployed in the military? Think about that for a few minutes and see where it takes you.

Godspeed!

A thought leader in the areas of leadership and employee engagement, Bill
Catlette is a seminar leader, keynote speaker, and executive coach. He helps
individuals and organizations improve business outcomes (growth, profit,
morale) by having a focused, motivated, capably led workforce. For more
information about Bill, his partner Richard, and their work, please go to
www.ContentedCows.com

In the midst of the devastating fires in and around San Diego, California, there are reports of organizations digging deep to help residents dig out.

According to the San Diego Union Tribune, Target’s giving a million dollars in cash and supplies, Disney 2 million, Wells Fargo Bank a half million, and even the much-maligned Wal-Mart, whom much of the media and organized labor would want you to believe is led by a bunch of hillbilly Scrooges from Arkansas, is throwing in a million dollars to help those displaced by the fires.

This is the Katrina of 2007. There are, and will be, lots of needs. And not just financial ones. Employers in southern California will be tested. Because the fires don’t discriminate as to wealth, position, or number of personal leave days banked up, everyone is affected, from CEO’s to stock clerks.

Those organizations that, institutionally, and those leaders who, personally, go the extra mile (or 2) for people who are hurting from the California wildfires, will reap the rewards of Discretionary Effort from their employees for years to come. Those who don’t…probably won’t.

Last Saturday night, my wife and I joined a group of her co-workers to deliver and serve dinner for the families at our local (Jacksonville, Florida) Ronald McDonald House (RMH). She works for Nelnet, a Lincoln, Nebraska-based provider of student loans and related services.

I’ve known of the Ronald McDonald House system for a long time, but had never taken the opportunity to visit one. I’m extremely thankful that I’ve never needed to be a recipient of their services. They provide temporary housing and other services for the families of children who are critically ill. This RMH is practically walking distance from Baptist Health’s Wolfson Children’s Hospital, but serves other North Florida healthcare facilities, too. When kids, including a fair number of international patients, come to Jacksonville hospitals from anywhere out of town, their families can take up residence in the comfortable (not opulent) hotel-like rooms at the house.

I was so impressed with the Jacksonville RMH. It’s a beautiful, spotless, modern, comfortable, and homey facility, with about 30 guest rooms, a workout facility, family lounge, TV rooms, playground, and a state-of-the-art industrial kitchen.

Founded and supported by the McDonald’s hamburger empire, funded by private gifts, and heavily reliant on volunteers, the houses provide meals for residents as often as possible, through volunteer contributions of food and labor. My wife’s team volunteered to bring in lasagna, salad, and all the fixin’s for the expected group of about fifty residents on this rainy Saturday night. There were about eight of us there, including a few spouses. One guy brought a bunch of lasagnas from Cosco, one couple brought the salads, and we got off easy with the paper products. We arrived about an hour before dinner, heated up the lasagnas, put out the salad and drinks, and talked to people.

The residents were fed a hearty meal for less than two dollars each, and with minimal effort on our part. We weren’t building affordable housing in 100-degree heat, cleaning up after a hurricane, or going to the third world on a medical mission. But good was done.

Secondarily, it provided a useful and meaningful way for my wife and her team to interact outside of work. To get to know each other, and each other’s families, a little better.

So – here are some thoughts. First, if you’re in a position to influence the charitable gifts of your organization, consider supporting something that provides help to people who need it. I know there are lots and lots of worthy recipients. It doesn’t matter so much which ones you give to, but give what you can afford, to something.

Organize a group to volunteer to help like this group from Nelnet did. Money is, of course, always welcome, but so are donations in kind, and the gift of a few hours of people’s time. But here’s the thing – we shouldn’t always leave it to someone’s admin or a supervisor to organize these efforts. If you’re a director, VP, or other executive, it would be great to see you spearhead an effort to give back to the community, and pitch in along with everyone else. It’s definitely one case in which you get back more than you give.

Richard Hadden is an author, leadership speaker, and business consultant, who makes the business case for creating a great place to work. For more information about Richard, his partner Bill, and their work, or to book Richard or Bill to speak for an upcoming event, please go to www.ContentedCows.com.