The Driving Force

Burning the Ships

One of the greatest of the 16th century explorers was Hernando Cortez.  While no model for humanity, what he lacked in moral character, he made up for in anecdotes for leaders.  In the spring of 1519, Cortez took an armada of 11 ships carrying 508 men from Cuba to the Eastern shore of Mexico just beyond the Yucatan peninsula.

The expedition was to create a Spanish settlement by conquering the inhabitants and taking their riches.  What they found was a hostile, treacherous land, and indigenous Aztecs who practiced human sacrifice and cannibalism.  After 5 months of being on the foreign, unforgiving land, Cortez's men decided to return to the safety of home and leave Captain Cortez to fend for himself.  To ensure his men stayed in Mexico and were properly motivated, Cortez did not have a motivation meeting, one-on-ones with the opinion leaders, or even threaten the men (as far as we know).  He took away the one thing that tethered the men to their Spanish homeland--he burned the ships.

The thing to realize is that Cortez' goal was not to execute a successful voyage to foreign lands nor to touch down and go back to Spain an Explorer Hero.  His charge was to subdue if possible or conquer if necessary the land's inhabitants, and start a Spanish settlement.  He did so by conquering the Aztec nation of 5 million with less than 1000 soldiers.  Most experts agree if Cortez had not set the ships ablaze, someone else would have discovered and conquered Mexico.

I find myself consulting with a handful of companies whose owners and leaders want to ensure they are not keeping their old ships (outdated strategy, market, and operational models), and that both they and their staff know what their "real mission" is while making the bold moves necessary for success.

To successfully navigate our economic realities, competitive onslaughts, and shifting customer demand; business leaders should consider a few questions from Cortez' motivation manual:

• Are we concerned with the methods we are using more than accomplishing our ultimate goal?

• Has being in the survival mode made your top staff or you hazy on the vision your organization is pursuing (one generally follows the other)?

• Has the last few years taught us to be so risk-averse that we keep the old "ships" that have worked in the past (i.e. old strategies, value propositions, views of who is our customer / competition, etc.) rather than evaluating those ships allowing new strategies, solutions and value propositions to be considered?

• Have the payroll reductions, bonus freezes, job uncertainty, and extra workloads caused your team to take a "I just work for my paycheck now" attitude? --Be honest.

• Are you as a leader prepared to make the bold moves needed to be successful in the new market realities, or are you busy with the old "ships" while others are conquering the marketplace?  A good read for this is  The Innovator's Dilemma   by Professor Clayton Christensen of Harvard Business School 

One last thought.  Historians tell us that although Cortez accomplished his expedition’s goals, he did not accomplish his own mission: to rule Mexico.  Being aggressive was not his problem, knowing when to use aggressive leadership was (like conquering the Aztecs who initially welcomed the Spanish visitors).  So, one last question:

• Are you accomplishing goals in a way that will detract from your full mission?  Most of us know what our default leadership/communication style is, but rarely use other styles based on the demands of the situation.  In my next post, I will bring a few lessons learned in this area and a few tools that helped.

 

Cheering from the Sidelines

I wanted to say a heartfelt thank you to all the staff, customers, and investors who have traveled the CH Mack journey with me over the last three and a half years.  Together, through the toughest economic time since the great depression, we have jointly tripled the size of the company while releasing next generation Healthcare software.  For the investors who believed in (and put your money behind) the vision of having a growing company with a market leading solution; for customers who have given us their partnership, feedback, and of course opportunity to serve them; for the company's management, staff and contractors who have been asked to do much more with less, to believe when times were tough, and to not quite till our customers objectives (both internal and external) were accomplished---THANK YOU!   You have been and always will be my heroes. I agree with the co-founder and CH Mack's sales rainmaker when he said that the company is in the best strategic position of its 18 year history.  Each one of you allows the company to have deep experience, global talent, and a broad skill set that are sustainable advantages and that position the company well for the future.  

Of the many things I will cherish from our time together, the greatest is having fought hard battles to attain our success and having become better people because of it.  This has been brought home to me as I have received messages from staff who have fought beside me in the trenches over last several years; One kindly stating "you are a good man and you will be missed."  

While I will be on the sidelines now, know that I will be cheering on each of you and CH Mack as it moves forward.

Take Care,

Chris

 

 

The Opportunity Cost of Not Investing

A while back I was interviewed by the Department of Development on the receptive climate of Ohio to businesses.  I believe the Department of Development has added much to our state and entrepreneurial spirit in this region.  However, there is an area that we did not cover in the interview that I would like to emphasize: 

While the Ohio business climate (and most of the US for that matter) is fertile for business investments, too few businesses are really investing. Before my counterparts running businesses decide to unfriend, unlink and generally disavow me, let me explain.  Over the last 5 years our economy in this region, nation and in much of the world has gone through significant changes while going into and out of the recession.  These changes have pushed many business leaders to reevaluate the value proposition for our business investments (a good thing).  Unfortunately, many otherwise smart business people have what psychologists call apprehensive expectation (a bad thing).   The actual definition of this defies logic, but the idea is that we learn unhealthy, defensive behaviors--behaviors like hoarding the largest cash reserve vs. GDP in our nation’s history.  Take even the Federal Reserve who thought they had learned the correct fiscal policy lessons after the 1920–21 recession.  Believing it understood deflation and liquidation dynamics, the Fed tightened the money supply and helped the Depression to spiral out of control.

No, I am not accusing American businesses of pushing us into a depression, only to consider the costs of learning the wrong lessons.  At a minimum this may mean losing opportunities for their businesses and stakeholders, but may also lead to a generation of misguided business leaders who believe that underinvesting is the best way to protect their businesses.  Let us all consider this a threat to our businesses and communities in this area, region, and nation. We must prepare for rainy days, WHILE we invest for the future.

 

Best Business Advice — Revisited

It’s hard to dwindle down all the wisdom that’s come my way, from books I’ve read to others’ business savvy that I’ve used.

Recently, I wrote about the topic of best business advice, which included some thoughts from battle-tested leaders in the field. After pondering the possibilities, I’d like to share my favorite quote: “Try not to become a man of success but rather to become a man of value.” — Albert Einstein

This business generation seems to be bombarded with a need for constant success. I adopted this quote to remind me that no matter how much outside success I have achieved, in the final analysis, it's who we have become, rather than what we have accumulated.

Cultivating value and success may look similar; divergence usually comes from the margin of decisions — mission critical to personnel choices. It’s where priority must be forced. It’s about doing what you know to be right.

Every leader needs a value filter, from which comes not just better decisions but better questions that allow personal growth and increased passion.

Here are some more thoughts from fellow members of a health industry leaders’ LinkedIn group:

• “Those who have choices must make them.” – Michael Spano, Strategy and Change and IT Optimization SME at IBM Global Technology Services
  
  
• “Win the big ones, lose the little ones.” – William Peters, Controller at Ranch Hope, Inc.
  
  
• “Revenue is for vanity (pride), cash flow is for sanity, and profit is reality.” – Tom Garfin, Procurement Specialist
  
  
• “Take risks and don’t be afraid to make mistakes…” – Ashish Desai, Entrepreneur and Freelance Business Consultant
  
  
• “…Nothing comes free, it’s all about experience. You need to be there and make that step.” – Shivadhar Soma, Solution Sales Specialist at Teradata
  
  
• “Why do you think the ones communicating seem to be more “lucky” than those that do not?” – Jan t. Andersen
  
  
• “Ask for what you want. Be honest, sincere and qualify quickly.” – Michael Kierfer, Cloud/SaaS Services and Professional Training and Coaching
  
  
• “Customers pay your salary.” – Melinda Seifert, ECM Business Development Executive at Perficient
  
  
• “Walk into the fire: it is much easier to deal with issues head-on than skirt around them and let them fester. Trying doesn’t matter, results do.” – Don Nutzmann, VP of Consulting Services at Charter Solutions
  
  
• “If you master the art and science of Revenue Management and cost containment, you will always win.” – Reza Ghassemi, Consultant
  
  
• “Don’t focus on the pipeline, focus on the activities surrounding the pipeline.” – Victor Antonio, Sales Training and Professional Speaker
  
  
• “You only fail if you don’t try.” – Annie Muller, AITP Co-Chair of PMO Group, Abbott Consultant/Project Manager
  
  
• “As a leader, personally take the blame for decisions that go poorly, but deflect/spread the credit for the ones that go right. Nothing will inspire your team more!” – David McNaughton, Marketing Executive in Transition
  
  
• “Be yourself. Act with integrity in everything you say and do.” – Alan J. Barr, CEO/Chief Catalyst at Creative Change Associates, Inc.
  
  
• “Fools listen to cynics and wise listen to critics.” – Sabapathy T, Coo and Value Creating Officer
  
  
• “It is not the strongest of the species that survive, or the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.” – Craig Tilley, Founder, CEO at Webnabit
  
  
• “Leaders don’t need to have all the answers; they do need to know the right questions.” (borrowed from HBR article by Ron Heifitz) – Ed Oakley, Business and Executive Leadership Training and Development
  
  

What’s the best business advice you’ve received?

I am member of a health industry leaders LinkedIn group that recently asked this question. The responses were revealing about what each executive values: staff, growth, profit, success, personal time, etc. Finding the best business routes can be similar to a military strategy. It’s essential that the leader understands the terrain of the battlefield, the opponents they will face and how best to position themselves for success.

To find the armor and weapons for today’s business world, I like to glean wisdom from successful business leaders who are “battle tested”. So much can be learned from both achievements and failures but it takes bravery to share both. I encourage all business leaders to join in similar conversations, allowing each of us to contribute and gain hard-fought wisdom from our experiences.

So, what is the best business advice you’ve been given? I’m still pondering my favorite, but for now here are a few good ones with the names of the leaders who submitted them:

 
•    “You are not here to create better followers, you are here to create more leaders.” - Lew Chipp, Experienced GM and Customer Support Executive

•    “Do what you love.” - Justan Brandt, On-Hold Marketing Creative Director and Freelance Journalist

•    “… The single biggest way to insure that change is perceived as successful is training and communication.  The better a constituent is at exploiting the benefit of change, the more they’ll like it — and the more successful it will be perceived, and the more successful it will be.” - Tom Figert of Info Tech

•    “Spend the Company’s money like it was your own!” - Steve Santacroce, Operations Leadership

•    “Hear everybody out… think & analyses by your mind… and decide by your heart, you will never go wrong. Our mind is like a parachute. Both work best when they are open.” - Abhishek Verma, Vice President & Head-Europe at Essar Global Ltd.

•    “Know yourself. Know your biz. Know your people. Set clear goals and priorities. Be realistic.” - Giovanni Berselli, Managing Director at Nautilus

•    ‘“Organizational transformation starts with the personal transformation of the leaders. Your first step is to become a viable and independent entity.’ These words changed my life.” - Phil Clothier, CEO of Barret Values Centre

•    “Whatever one does, doing it passionately yields better results than doing it out of compulsion.” - Goutham Reddy, Director at Emerging Orissa

•    “… Be ‘brutally honest’ about all business matters.” - Steven Lam, COO and CFO at Steiner Sports

•    “What gets measured gets done.” - Gord Hooker, CEO at Fractional Executive

•    “Three times measure, cut once.” - Dusan Satric, CEO at Freerunner Eastern Europe

•    “Doers find a way, losers find a reason.” - Jose Carlos Cunha, Country Manager at CPM Telecom Portugal

•    “As a leader, inspire people to ‘want to’ as opposed to ‘have to’.” - Tony Giovaniello, General Manager at Solutions Design

•    “Manage from the bottom up. The people who actually do the detail work generally know their area better than anyone, and have ideas on how it can be done better, more efficiently and more profitably. Great ideas come from all levels. Listen first.” - Randy Miller, Financial Executive

•    “Never allow the fear of making a mistake prevent a decision.” - Peter Rush, CEO at bCODE Middle East Africa Holdings, Ltd.

•    “People buy solutions to problems, not products!” - Kevin J. Poulton, Managing Director

•    “Surround yourself with people smarter than you.” - Carlos Acosta, General Manager at BPS International

•    “Be willing to invest in whatever resources you need to grow your business — it may be financially painful to begin with, but you will usually reap the benefits later if you spend your money wisely.” - Kris Cavanaugh, Speaker and CEO at Catalyst

•    “Never sacrifice your integrity, for I will ultimately bring you success and respect. Additionally, you can’t get it back, once you’ve given it away!” - Sam Miseri, Director of Business Development Air Force One

•    From my daughters: “Be yourself because everybody else is taken.” - Ousmane Ba, Owner of International Business Automation

•    "'Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.' Thomas Edison coined this, but I’ve used it many times to illustrate what’s missing to less successful colleagues with clean hands.” - Terry Hanahan, Owner of TD3 Products

•    “The difference between where you are today and where you will be five years from now will depend primarily on the books you read and the people you choose to hang out with, so choose both wisely!” - Charley ‘Tremendous’ Jones

•    “Focus on what the customer needs, not what you do…” - Blake Melnick, Senior Partner/Chief Knowledge Officer at The KM Group

•    “When hiring people, look for attitude and aptitude.” - Sanjay Kumar Das, Chairman and CEO at Melange Healthcare

•    “Lead, follow or get out of the way.” - LD Williams, President at Peak Executive Search LLC

•    “A leader has an enormous passion for something; find your something.” - Joanne Moretti, SVP of Sales and Marketing

•    “Make ten mistakes a day — just not the same ten mistakes — and never repeat them.” - Ken Lukins, President/Principal at Emblem Associates

•    “FOCUS: Follow One Course Until Successful.” - Michael Breitman, CEO at ActionCOACH of Metro New York

•    “If at any time, a CEO/Owner is satisfied with being ‘normal’ in their industry, the competition will eventually and undoubtedly surpass them.” - Carrie Nicolini, Founder and Certified Business Coach at CN Coaching

•    “Impact is all about results and not efforts.” - Nikhil Dabhole, Head of Resource Management Group UK & Ireland Tata Consultancy Services, Ltd.

•    “NO success is permanent, NO defeat is final.” - Akhilesh Vashist, Head-SCM at S. Tel Pvt. Ltd.

•    “Experience is what you get if you didn’t get what you wanted and at the end, it’s the most valuable thing you’d have to offer.” - Srikanth RS, Regional Head in South India

•    “Strategy before tactics…Do right things, right.” - Bob Viney, Franchise Owner and Business Coach at ActionCOACH Business

•    “Focus on the right Leading Indicators and the right Lag Measures will follow.” - David Sandberg, Strategy Execution Consultant at Focus&Execute