Leadership in Uncertain Times

Imagine "...the moment in 1492 when somebody thought This is it: the absolute edge of no return, to turn back now and make home or sail irrevocably on and either find land or plunge over the world's roaring rim."

William Faulkner wrote this beautiful passage about facing a desperate crossroad, and making a decision in the face of uncertainty in his novel Intruder in the Dust. It aptly sums up the enormity of responsibility of leadership, and the critical need for it.

There is a pervasive illusion stalking executives and managers today. The illusion is that they should have concrete certainty about all the answers all the time. To the contrary, leadership is in fact necessitated by uncertainty and the element of intuitive guessing never fully vanishes from the leadership landscape.

We're definitely coping with uncertain times right now. Upheaval in financial markets, lack of confidence in government, global unrest, war and economic stress are causing companies around the globe to question their strategies and budgets. These are the very times when leadership is crucial - and sometimes proves to be the dividing line between success and disaster.

When everything is rosy, everyone is getting along, and there is no uncertainty people don't need leaders. As Jim Kouzes puts it, "Uncertainty creates the necessary condition for leadership." If you find yourself in the uncomfortable position of having your team look to you during a critical juncture - don't panic! Don't be tormented by the assumption that you have to know exactly what to do at any given moment.

Leadership in uncertain times requires a few simple practices:

Embrace change and uncertainty. The longer you lead and the more responsibility you accept, the more you will inevitably face change. It can be your friend, or it can be your enemy, but it will not go away. How you view it is entirely up to you. You can never hide uncertainty from your followers, so it's best to embrace upheaval and make peace with the unknown; which will allow them to trust your strength and confidence while understanding your humanity.

Have clarity of vision. All great leaders know where they are ultimately going. They may have to sail through uncharted waters to get there, but they aren't uncertain about the end goal. Having an unwavering vision of the final prize will give you the fortitude to overcome difficulties and confront unknowns along the way.

Use what you already know and call your shot. When a general at war is faced with a do-or-die battle situation, what does he do? Does he say 'I can't command my troops because I don't have complete information'? Of course not! He draws upon historical facts, his knowledge base, the expertise of other people and intuition and he gives the order. Be decisive.

Measure success by the score, not the play. In sports, we accept that coaches make guesses and shift their strategies to suit the game situation. Somehow we don't acknowledge the same ever present give-and-take in the business world. Educated guesses and gutsy moves won't always work out, but if you measure your progress by the larger game score and not the individual play, you'll find that you most likely win more often than you lose.

Leadership involves taking other people on a journey with you - often to places you yourself have never been. You'll face unanticipated problems and have to change your plans to deliver the big win - that's life. But you must remain clear even when you are not certain. You must make decisions and stick with them. You must guide your team confidently and own the results of every decision you make.

Strong leaders will survive a few bad decisions... what they won't survive is a lack of vision or faltering courage. If you were captain of that ship of destiny in 1492 and you reached the point of no return, what would you do? Go home, or sail irrevocably on towards the world's roaring rim.

Everywhere You Go... There You Are

“Everywhere you go, there you are.”

I say this to clients a lot, because they often want to believe that every problem originates from some source outside of themselves.  It’s human nature to deflect responsibility… basic self-preservation instincts from before the dawn of time. But, that instinct to blame and make excuses doesn’t serve people in leadership positions.

In discovering your true self, the very core energy you project to other people shifts.

Like it or not, there is really no fate for us except the one we create. Churchill very wisely said that ‘you create your own universe as you go along’. Do good things happen to bad people, and bad things happen to good people? Of course. But 99% of the things that come to us in life we manifest based on our behaviors.

The beauty of this simple truth is that we can all change our thoughts and behaviors to reflect our true self. And that alignment of external image to internal reality is incredibly powerful. When you get very comfortable in your own skin and become very clear about your beliefs, character and destiny, people are drawn to you and good things begin to happen naturally.

So where do you begin in getting to know your true self?

Values come first. Values dictate how you relate to other people and the world around you.  They guide your behaviors and decisions.  Every great leader understands how to balance the fine line between adaptability and rock-solid certainty about what really matters.  While you have to be ready to shift and change with the demands of your environment, you also have to know what you believe in so that you never compromise your core values.  If honesty is a principle you live by - you can't lie to get a lucrative business deal finalized.  It destroys your credibility.  If good communication is a something you believe in strongly - you shouldn't withhold bad news from your team to avoid hard questions or dissent.  Know and live your values everyday.

Character.  Horace Mann said that 'reputation is what men and women think of us. Character is what God and angels know of us.'  Character differs from values in that it relates more to our most basic understanding of ourselves than our external relationships and interactions.  Character defines your personality and soul at a very deep level and drives the values, strengths and priorities that exhibit in your day-to-day behaviors. Be sure that you never get caught in the trap of linking your character to public opinion or evolving priorities.  If you are a kind and gentle person at your core, your character doesn't change simply because you've been wrongly convicted of a violent crime.  Although your reputation and even your day-to-day values may change based upon your circumstances, your character always remains constant.

The good, the bad and the ugly.  Taking a long, hard look at your strengths and weaknesses is crucial to good leadership.  No one is excellent at everything, so wise leaders know how to leverage the things they are good at and fill in the gaps of their weaknesses with the talents of people around them.  You can't begin to engage in this process unless you've first conducted a realistic assessment of yourself and built a strong base of self-awareness.  Strengths are obviously the fun part!  Our ego loves to focus on the things we're good at.  But often far more critical to success is our understanding of where we fall short, and our ability to admit our weaknesses to others and elicit their help in making things happen.

Vision. Your life, your work and your goals should all converge around a common vision: a big picture view of the purpose for your life and the primary thing you want to accomplish in your time on this planet. Your vision is your enduring purpose. The fundamental reason for existence beyond just making money or survival. It is a perpetual guiding star on the horizon and does not change over time. In essence, your vision is a mental picture of the future you wish to create through endless pursuit of an ideal. It is love, and passion, and the impetus to pursue that which you truly want most out of life.

I hope that by beginning to view your success or failure ratio as a direct result of your own internal make-up and actions, you will move beyond blaming situations or luck for your present day reality and step into a powerful new recognition of your own key role in determining your outcomes and impact.

Think BIG!

One of the things that most small business owners struggle with is thinking big enough. We all have to consciously work to expand our horizons and mentally move beyond what we know. But growing a business is not an accidental endeavor, so planning ahead and preparing your company to increase is size is a huge step in seeing your dreams become a reality.

Last month we addressed clarity of vision, which provides the foundation upon which your company is built. That vision will be the driving force behind step number two – thinking bigger than you are. You should have an idealized image in your mind of what you are working toward… what your company can look like five or ten or twenty years into the future. Although you naturally have to deal with lots of little day-to-day issues surrounding the organization you currently have, you should never lose sight of what you ultimately want to become.

Are you willing to make some changes today to transform into something magical tomorrow? Can you sacrifice what you are for what you can be?

If so, then begin to practice the following five principles that will help you think bigger:

1. Stop seeking external validation. While historical data, statistics and industry standards can be helpful, they shouldn’t be the bar by which you measure your present or your future. Ultimately the most successful companies break through barriers and forge pathways into uncharted territories, so if you need to see logical external validation for every move you make, you simply won’t be on the cutting edge of achieving rapid growth.

2. Always act on your intuition. Michael Burke said that, “Good instincts usually tell you what to do long before your head has figured it out.” I completely agree. How many times do we all look back and say, “Ach, I had a gut feeling about that and I didn’t act on it!” Don’t let yourself fall into the trap of safety in your business. If you play it too safe and can’t make a decision without a perfect case for WHY, then your company won’t be adaptable and competitive in today’s ever-shifting marketplace.

3. Plan ahead for MORE. I can’t stress this point enough when it comes to driving growth. In every decision, every task, every purchase you must think beyond the current size of your business and ask yourself, “Will this be big enough later on?” Companies waste billions of dollars annually scaling up systems that they just put in place to accommodate growth. Your goal should be to plan ahead and design systems that are capable of expanding, serving more customers, integrating more staff and lasting through the next phase of your organization’s life cycle.

4. Make big, bold promises. Promises are different from targets or goals or ideals. If you are an individual of integrity, promises are things that you are willing to commit to in stone. I see many business owners shirk from making lofty promises. They are willing to try, to work towards objectives and to dream - but they are not willing to simply commit to making something happen come ‘hell or high water’. Some of the greatest triumphs in the history of business have come because leaders made a rash promise that seemed unattainable and then found a way to miraculously follow through. As Epictetus sagely advised, “First say what you will be; and then do what you have to do.”

5. Take action now. Vision and planning and promises are great, but your business won’t grow if you don’t take action in the present moment. I urge you to translate your big dreams into small action steps that you can begin working on immediately. A walk of a thousand miles begins with a single step… so take the baby step today that will launch your epic journey of growth and success.

In closing, I want to acknowledge how very difficult it can be to hold an imaginary image of your company as a thriving conglomerate in your head, but that is what it takes to design processes and make long view decisions that will take you to the top. By always thinking beyond your present reality you can continually take the small steps required to thrive in the future.

Clarity of Vision

Einstein once said “the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”. Think about that statement for a moment and ask yourself, ‘Does this quote apply to the way I run my company?’

Most businesses that continually beat their head against a wall suffer from a profound lack of vision. Everyone engages in frenzied efforts to succeed (always working longer and trying harder), but because people don’t see the big picture or understand the true value they bring to customers, their quarterly profit and loss statements don’t reflect the intensity of their effort.

Here’s the reality… trying harder isn’t usually the solution to achieving more. In fact, it might be a big part of the problem. Let’s examine together the path to clarity of vision.

First and foremost, what is this Holy Grail we call vision? It’s pretty simple really, and boils down to a few primary considerations: Why are you in business? What is so great about what you do or make? What impact do you want your business to leave on the world?

Now you might be able to pop out some pat answers to those questions without really thinking about them, but vision is a critical component of your professional success and deserves more attention. In order to create truly visionary responses to those basic questions, you have to get outside of your comfort zone and slow down. Before you even begin to draft a vision statement, I suggest that you back off of your to-do list, quit trying harder, and pull some wise people around you to help bring an outside perspective into the conversation. Think beyond goals and money and tasks.

It’s very important when stepping into the role of the visionary to suspend disbelief and allow yourself to brainstorm outside the bounds of common sense. Vision isn’t mission! Let me repeat… Your vision isn’t an expanded version of your mission statement. Your mission statement should rightly be grounded in the present and directly related to the values and standards that will help you take action in the upcoming months and years, but your vision must be so much more.

Your vision is your enduring purpose; the fundamental reason for an organization’s existence beyond just making money. It is a perpetual guiding star on the horizon and does not change over time. For example, NASA’s vision is “advancing man’s capability to explore the heavens.” In essence, our vision is a mental picture of the future we wish to create through endless pursuit of an ideal. It is love, and passion, and the impetus to pursue that which we truly want most out of life through work.

On the other hand, a mission is a specific destination that is concrete and achievable. A good mission engages people – it reaches out and grabs them and makes them want to do something in the present moment. It should be tangible, energizing, highly focused and support the vision. To stick with our NASA example, a mission statement might establish a goal of “putting a man on the moon by the end of the 1960s”.
So, once you have stepped back from the insanity, and examined the beliefs and dreams behind your corporate vision, how does the simple vision statement you write help your business grow? Clarity = Power. If you don’t have a vision and a sense of destiny about your company, you won’t grow. Timing, recognizing unique opportunities, and the power to execute – these lie within you, not in the situation.

Your vision represents your desires, your passions, your dreams that burn hot in your mind… and thus your vision gives you all the intuitive information you need to find direction and make breakthroughs in performance. Your vision is your own internal ‘magnetic north’ that will enable you to make quantum leaps in your results.

Don’t wait! Define and live your vision today and you’ll begin to see power of purpose in action.

All Systems Grow!

I wrote this article last month for Victory Woman magazine (view at http://www.victorycircles.com/victory-woman-magazine.asp) to examine the process of growing a company from minuscule to massive...

Now, you might say 'I don't want to be MASSIVE, just medium!' Well, that's fine too. But the bottom line is that you follow the same steps and apply the same principles when you go from a sole proprietorship to a staff of five, as when you make the leap from a staff of 100 to a staff of 1000. The scale is certainly different, but several simple keys will open the doors.

Let's look at the 10 keys that will take your systems from slow to 'grow':

1. Have clarity of vision. Why are you in business? What is so great about what you do or make? Why will people want to give you money? If you can't answer these simple questions, you have a huge problem. Clarity = power. If you don't have a vision and a sense of destiny about your company, you won't grow.

2. Think BIGGER than you are. This is a tough one for small business owners. It's very difficult to hold an imaginary image of your company as a thriving conglomerate in your head everyday, but that is what it takes to design processes that accommodate other people and make long view decisions that will take you to the top.

3. Remember that your business is sales. Your business is not the product you manufacture. Your business is not the service you provide. Your real business is marketing and creating the internal capacity to successfully sell and deliver your products and services to a multitude of consumers.

4. Build a strong brand image. Branding is everything. Your products, services, ads, promotional materials, facility and staff all have to project a uniform image that speaks to your target audience. Align your entire business behind a strong brand that resonates with potential customers, and sales will naturally rise.

5. Determine key metrics. You can't move your company forward if you don't know what criteria really matter. Figure out what activities and metrics drive your business and track them with a vengeance. For some it might be weekly client meetings, for others it might be unit sales, for you it might be inventory turn... whatever matters, pay attention to that.

6. Study your finances. All businesses exist to make money. That means that you have to become a financial guru: researching, tracking, studying, sharing and using financial data to guide every decision. Every financial activity (borrowing, investor offerings, budgets, sales targets, ratios, etc.) should be in your head every second of the day.

7. Know your customers. Customers are king. If you don't have any, you won't have a business for long – much less grow. Know who the people are that you are trying to reach and why they will want to invest their hard-earned dollars with you. Design your entire company to meet their needs and please them. Gather their feedback and make customer service a top priority.

8. Become the threat. Many business advisors will tell you to study your competitors, play off their every strategic move and mimic their successes. I disagree. And my advice to you is BECOME THE THREAT. While every smart business owner knows what differentiates him and keeps an eye on the market, the most successful organizations step away from the pack and make their competition worry about them!

9. Create a culture of leadership and accountability. Eventually a growing company will expand beyond your ability to reach into every corner and crevice. In order to grow a business you have to build systems and mentor leaders, so that you can maintain focus on the bigger picture. Create an organizational culture that raises up great leaders, rewards results, and makes it easy for people to do their jobs.

10. WOW people! 'Customer satisfaction' is not my favorite term. It implies that your goal is for people to walk away feeling 'OK', but not amazed... Satisfied, but not so excited they want to tell all their friends. If you really want to take a leap to the next level I urge you to go for the 'wow factor' and look beyond simple satisfaction.

Alan Cohen on the Economy

This is a very thought-provoking article from Alan Cohen, with his suggestions on how to personally respond to our current economic crisis...

An ancient Chinese blessing wishes recipients, "May you live in interesting times." Well, we now have the answer to that prayer. Actually, all times are interesting, just in different ways.
During the last week and month the economy seems to be at the top of most people's list of urgent issues to think and talk about. Today the U.S. government is issuing a new policy to deal with the economic upsets of late. Below are some suggestions on how to get to a better feeling place about the economy, and generate practical results for yourself and others.

Here is my six-point plan. I am not an economist, and frankly I don't understand all of the complexities of the current market. I do, however, understand the relationship between thought, belief, feeling, attitude, expectation, identity, and practical prosperity. So here is my six-point plan, which will surely work if you apply it:

1. Vision. A visionary sees and remembers the Big Picture in the face of current appearances to the contrary. The Big Picture of life is utter abundance. There are vast resources, economic and otherwise, for those who recognize and claim them. A visionary thrives under all conditions. There are always people who do well in difficult economic times, as well as those who flounder in prosperous times. It is not the economy at large that determines your well being; it is the consciousness you hold in relation to it. So you have the power to create a prosperous personal economy – and as you do, you will uplift the economy at large. The two greatest achievements of the twentieth century -- the Golden Gate Bridge and the Empire State Building -- were funded and built at the height of the great depression. Some individuals with a broad perspective were not limited by the prevalent beliefs of the masses. There are, and will be, people who prosper now and in the near future. I know people whose businesses are booming now. So can yours, and by your example you can manifest abundance that will inspire others and help them in material ways.

2. Trust. When human affairs appear to falter, the hand of the divine becomes very real and practical. A Higher Power is currently running the universe far more intelligently and successfully than even the best economists. The more you stay connected to that Higher Power, the richer will be your inner peace and your ability to make healthy, productive decisions.

In a Greek myth, the King of Crete sent Theseus through the labyrinth to kill or be killed by the dreaded monster Minotaur. The king's daughter Ariadne fell in love with Theseus and gave him a thread that he let unwind on his way into the labyrinth, which guided him out once he slayed the monster. Whenever you feel trapped or lost in the labyrinth of worldly life, your strongest move is to take hold of the thread of your connection to Spirit, hold firm to it, and let it lead you back to well-being. One of Dr. Wayne Dyer’s books is entitled, There's a Spiritual Solution to Every Problem, and no advice could be more appropriate than the economic situation we face at the moment.

3. Reframe. The Chinese written symbol for "crisis" is a combination of two other symbols: "Danger" and "Opportunity." Yes, there is a danger in our current position.
And yes, there is an opportunity. Perhaps we are receiving a wake-up call to live within our means rather than leverage ourselves and our institutions beyond a healthy level. Or we are being invited to recognize that money does not make us rich, or its temporary absence of restriction make us poor. Perhaps this situation will influence the upcoming election in a way that will help us in the long run. Maybe there is a natural balancing occurring that will make our economy stronger. I cannot say exactly how this crisis will serve, but I do know that whenever I have faced and handled the experience of crisis in my personal life, I have been moved to make decisions that have made improved my world. A Course in Miracles tells us that "All change is good," and this should be no exception.

4. Reset Priorities. In an episode of the popular television series, Fantasy Island, called, "The Luckiest Man in the World," a gambler achieved his fantasy to create an unstoppable winning streak. True to form, Mr. Roark arranged for the man's young son to visit him at the same time. When the gambler became hypnotized by winning, he distanced himself from his son, and the boy was about to leave him. Finally the father realized he is the luckiest man in the world -- not for his gambling winnings, but for his family. When money seems tight, we have a window of insight to recognize how rich we are, no matter how much we have in the bank. If many of us use this time to grow closer to our families, homes, nature, activities that truly bring us joy, ourselves, and our Higher Power, this upheaval will have served us well.

5. Circulate. Keep moving your energy, financially and otherwise. The brilliant metaphysician Florence Scovel Shinn noted, "All disease is due to congestion and all healing is due to circulation." This dynamic applies impeccably to an economic congestion. When people are afraid to spend money, there is less money in circulation; then people grow afraid to spend, and the cycle goes on. The dynamics shift when consumers act not from a sense of lack or fear, but from abundance and faith. So now would be a great time to spend your money. When you do, you affirm that you have enough and you keep the circulation moving -- not just from you, but to you. If you don't have money to spend, or would rather not, then circulate your energy in other ways. Express your creativity, volunteer, paint, play music, journal, and do anything to move energy rather than let it stagnate. (Pressing buttons on the remote control to watch talking heads discuss the economy does not qualify as circulating energy.)

6. Milk Every Moment. It would be easy to think that you will be able to relax and enjoy your life as soon as the current crisis is averted or offset. But that’s the carrot at the end of the stick -- the one that you never get to bite. Either life is rewarding now, or it never will be. From the sense of the ego, or small self, if it's not the economy you have to wait to handle, it's something else. So now would be perfect opportunity to practice enjoying your day, regardless of what money is doing. Stop and chat with the clerk in the supermarket, play with your kids, call someone you love, walk in the park, or tinker with your hobby. This is the moment you've been waiting for -- don’t miss it!

Everything will work out. It always does. Be of good cheer. Be uplifted and be an uplifter, and your contribution to the economy, financial and spiritual, will be paramount.