Visioning the Future
What really separates good companies from great ones? Sound business plans, effective execution, adequate capital, good products and services, loyal and committed employees are all key factors, but these critical elements follow and flow from exceptional leadership,. Visionary leadership is the starting point to building and establishing an exceptional organization.
Let’s first clear up a couple of definitions to hone-in precisely on visionary leadership. Much has been made of “Mission Statements” for top organizations. Simply put, this is a statement of what you are about and the methods you employ to accomplish your business goals. Every good organization should have one and all employees should know it and practice it. It is often confused with a “Vision Statement” which by definition is something you see in your mind’s eye. Visionary leaders have a firm picture in their minds of where they want to go and what they want it to look like when accomplished. Yes, this too should be written and all employees should know it. Mission statements on their own can be rather bland and generic. The good ones are specific and say something unique about the organization’s DNA. Vision statements, on the other hand, should be always imaginative and creative. They paint a picture that requires energy and drive to accomplish.
Walt Disney passed away just months before the opening of Disney World in Florida. At the opening, someone mentioned to a family member that it was a shame that Walt was not here to see this day. The response (paraphrase) was immediate and spot on: “If Walt didn’t see it, you wouldn’t be sitting here today to witness it.” Here is the Disney Corporation Mission Statement: “The mission of The Walt Disney Company is to be one of the world’s leading producers and providers of entertainment and information. Using our portfolio of brands to differentiate our content, services and consumer products, we seek to develop the most creative, innovative and profitable entertainment experiences and related products in the world.” Contrast that to the vision (one of several credited to Disney) “To create the happiest place on earth”.
You may or may not be the CEO or President of your business, but that doesn’t get you off the hook. What is your mission? How well does it fit in with your company’s mission? What is your vision? Do you see yourself as a vital part of the enterprise? Leadership begins with the individual and translates up or down in all positions at all levels. Imagine the possibilities!
Can You Hear Me Now?
Whether it be in the marketplace, the home or at work, everyone loves to be listened to and taken seriously. Ironically, active listening brings attention to itself because it focuses all its energy on the one talking. Sounds like a bit of a contradiction, but true listening “speaks” concern, respect and a sincere desire to understand the other person’s problem or point of view.
OK, we all sort of know this and most will admit that we can improve on our listening skills. But, do we know how to develop and practice active listening? Habitual skills only come from conscious and repetitive practice over the course of time – we say 21 to 28 days. Good habits take persistence to develop while bad habits subtly invade our behaviors like weeds in a garden. So too with listening, without a conscious effort, we think we hear or know what’s on the other person’s mind without truly taking the time and energy to really hear and feel the emotion expressed.
It’s been said of FDR, that his listening abilities were paramount to his political success. He had this uncanny sense of reading and listening to others and connecting with them emotionally. He accomplished this on both an individual level as well as on a national stage. People felt they were listened to and that their opinions were valued. Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes stated that the President had a second-class intellect but a first-class temperament. We can argue his assessment, but one fact seems indisputable: FDR was very persuasive.
Dr. Carl Rogers, one of the most influential behavioral psychologists of the 20th Century, determined that true active listening is the highest form of persuasion. Think about that for a moment. If this is true, then most of us go about our lives depriving ourselves of this valuable tool. We think and act as if only talking can persuade others to our point of view.
Perhaps if we talk a little faster, a little louder, a little more forcefully we will get our point across and win the day. For sure, we need to express ourselves in clear and appropriate ways, but how much more effective could we be if we practice active listening?
Dr. Rogers had three principles of effective listening for therapists:
1. Congruence — genuineness, honesty with the client.
2. Empathy — the ability to feel what the client feels.
3. Respect – acceptance, unconditional positive regard towards the client.
These principles nicely apply to a sales and service application. Let’s make a commitment to listen more actively, more compassionately, more effectively. Good things can only result. CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW?
Repeating History and Failing to Repeat History
The philosopher George Santayna is widely credited with the phrase, “Those who fail to study history are doomed to repeat it.” What he actually wrote was “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” Either way, it means pretty much the same thing: learn from past mistakes.
In the world of crisis response and crisis communications, the admirable history of Johnson & Johnson’s response to the 1982 Tylenol recall is studied in journalism, public relations and business courses. I use it in all crisis communications consultations I do because it is a textbook example of what to do.
In that classic case, J & J recalled 31 million bottles of Extra Strength Tylenol after seven deaths in the Chicago area were linked to the drug. It turned out the deaths were part of a murder or extortion scheme and were in no way J & J’s responsibility. Someone stole packages of the drug from shelves in Chicagoland supermarkets and drugstores, adulterated the tablets with cyanide and then replaced the bottles on the shelves.
Despite intensive federal and local investigations no one has ever been charged with the murders. A man named James W. Lewis was convicted of extortion when he demanded $1 million from J & J to stop the killings, but there wasn’t evidence to indicate Lewis was responsible for the tampering. Johnson & Johnson won high praise for its swift action — which cost it well in excess of $100 million. (Remember that’s $100 million in 1982 dollars.) At the time, the Washington Post wrote, “Johnson & Johnson has effectively demonstrated how a major business ought to handle a disaster.” J & J won further widespread praise for being open and honest with the public as well as a place in crisis response textbooks.
Fast forward to the present. Last month, the New York Times ran a lengthy story on its business pages headlined “In Case of Emergency: What Not to Do.” The story told of the numerous public relations pratfalls over the last several months by BP, Toyota and Goldman Sachs. The story makes me wonder if the executive corps of these companies had a Ferris Beuller day off when crisis communications was taught during their MBA programs, causing them to miss the lesson about Johnson & Johnson’s 1982 Tylenol response.
The Times might have added another, far more ironic, corporate public relations pratfall to that story: Johnson & Johnson itself. The company cited in the textbooks has had, over the last year, sluggish responses to breaking crises. (Yes, that’s crises; plural!) This year, after 20 months of consumer complaints, J & J recalled batches of Benadryl, Motrin, Rolaids, Simply Sleep, St. Joseph Aspirin and — compounding the irony –Tylenol because of a sickening smell suspected to be caused by contamination with a chemical bearing the tongue-tripping name 2,3,6-tribromoanisole.
In addition, J & J has multiple state attorneys general probing a series of other recalls of over-the-counter medications, the most serious being the firm’s reluctant April recall of 136 million bottles of liquid children’s medicines which had overly-high dosages of the active ingredient and contamination from metal particles.
The Chairman and CEO of Johnson & Johnson, William Weldon, is no carpetbagger hired from another company, but a lifelong J & J employee. Even if Mr. Weldon missed class the day they taught the Tylenol lesson, it’s hard to fathom a long-term J & J executive not knowing about and following the example of the company’s bar-raising response to the 1982 crisis.
Belatedly, J & J announced a restructuring of its manufacturing procedures and the creation of a new executive charged with product quality. But the company’s earlier responses needlessly damaged its sterling reputation
If nothing else, the Johnson & Johnson response gives this new twist to George Santayana’s observation: “Those who cannot remember the glorious past are condemned to fail to repeat it.”
Growth Potential in Asia
Filed Under: Articles of Interest, Essays
Tags: Articles of Interest
I recently went on a trip to Asia and I wanted to share with you my experience. After a 16 hour flight direct from Newark, NJ I arrived in the heart of Asia “Hong Kong”. I had the wonderful opportunity to stay with a family who has lived in Hong Kong for almost 55 years. Being this was my first time to Asia I was not sure what to expect, but I knew going into this trip that I was going to be open to everything.
Hong Kong means Fragrant Harbor and was formerly a British Colony and was handed over to the People’s Republic of China in 1997. Even though they are now part of China they have their own currency (Hong Kong Dollar) and the Hong Kong Government is financially independent from the Government of The People’s Republic of China. The city of Hong Kong is very industrialized and is growing by the second. As of today there are currently 7 million people living in Hong Kong, everyone speaks both English and Cantonese and it is known as the safest city in Asia.
One of the things I enjoyed most about Hong Kong was how genuine the people are there. They make you feel right at home and welcome you with open arms. During my 10 days there I saw a great deal of the city. Hong Kong has it all from great restaurants, to great markets, to magnificent views. Even for me a person whose biggest pet peeve is to shop I enjoyed it, because the best part was I could bargain the price and walk away feeling good about what I paid for it.
I found Hong Kong to be one of most fascinating cities I have ever been to and one of the main reasons I went there was to educate myself on the potential business opportunities Asia has to offer. On my plane ride over I read a really interesting article from USA TODAY. The article was called “Asia Holds Growth Potential”. The article talks about how the recent recession has whet US companies appetite for growth in Asia. In 2008, nearly half of the US companies surveyed saw their China-based businesses perform better than the overall company, the US-China Business Council found in a poll of its members. The percentage of US companies whose China operations are profitable is 84% to 16% not profitable. The results show that the once-prevalent notion that US companies “cannot be profitable in China is a myth,” says John Frisbie, the council’s president. American companies that are able to break into the Asian market will have the potential to leverage the consumer base of some of the fastest growing economies in the world. Some of the American industries that are betting on Asia: Pharmaceuticals, Autos, Casinos and Consumer Products.
I would highly recommend all entrepreneurs to visit Asia, but especially Hong Kong as it is a one-of-kind city and is full of opportunity for the global enterprise.
Are You Listening?
Are you a good listener? Do you apply active listening? Do you think more about what you are going to say than what the other person is saying? Are you easily distracted and only listen when the flow of conversation meets your agenda? If you were asked: Which interpersonal communications skill is most important in business? What would your response be? Certainly, a well crafted verbal approach would be most beneficial to most businesses, right? Actually, no…the most important communication skill in business is LISTENING.
Unfortunately, most professionals are lacking in this skill and it is critical to every business; both internally and externally. In fact, a recent survey of the academy of Certified Administrative Managers asked which managerial skill was “super critical” to business. The overwhelming response was “active listening”. Surprisingly enough it was followed by the ability to give clear and effective instructions, accepting responsibility and identifying problems.
Administrators and managers need to actively listen to their employees in order for proper discourse and feedback to occur. Sales and marketing professionals need to actively listen to their clients and prospects to determine needs and create relationships. Active listening will also enhance our personal lives as well; since nothing demonstrates care and concern as does effective listening to friends and loved ones. Listening is a skill which is vital; but is much neglected. Most of us are not good listeners. We have become conditioned to filter and apply passive listening skills – which will limit our success in both business and personal aspects.
Effective listening is becoming a big business. There are countless consulting groups and seminars which focus exclusively on the process of listening. Did you know there is actually an International Listening Association? It has members from several countries and promotes effective listening through the exchange of information, methods, experience and materials. This group is pursuing research on further development of active listening techniques and their application.
How can you become a better listener? In a book published by the American Management Association; the Ten Golden Rules of Listening are as follows:
- Look at the speaker
- Question the speaker to get clarification
- Show concern about the speakers feelings
- Repeat occasionally to confirm
- Don’t rush the speaker
- Have poise and emotional control
- Respond with a nod, a smile or a frown
- Pay close attention
- Don’t interrupt
- Keep on the subject till the speaker finishes his or her thoughts
Some of these seem very simple – but the next time someone is speaking to you; see how many you neglect or apply. Changing our behaviors and attitudes is the only way to improve our listening skills.
