We are on vacation in Pawley’s Island, South Carolina! The beach always presents a good opportunity for me to catch up on my reading. Last night, I finished The Leadership Secrets of Billy Graham. It was a “push through” book for me, meaning that I really had to push through it. The authors present good material but much of it is reference to Graham’s autobiography or other works.

My primary net-out was one of action. At all times, I need to be ready to represent Christ; ultimately, I do. Not only did Billy Graham preach to large stadium audiences to present the gospel, but he lived his life in a way that told others constantly of the love God has for them. The book presents story after story of times the Billy stopped his own agenda to make time for someone else. He often showed kindness or compassion during genuine encounters with other people. He lived the same life that he preached. At all times, in all seasons, he presented the gospel in both words and in deeds.

Over the last two years, I have learned (from experience) that my job is not to make the decisions. In fact, when I am the primary decision maker, then often we make poor decisions. In order for us to effective, I need to help our team analyze the decisions before they are made. That requires asking hard questions, getting into the details of the situation, and understanding the assumptions that have been made during the decision-making. In that process, I hope to help our team think through their decisions so that they can make better decisions. My job is not only to make fewer decisions, but to help our team make better decisions.

Honestly, it’s hard to stop after you’ve done something to look back at how it went; it takes a tremendous amount of discipline. For all their flaws, large companies have built-in structures to force discipline (gates, proformas, modelling, disciplinary actions and employee reviews, quarterly and annual reports, etc etc) on their teams. When you are in a privately held firm like ours, it takes a high level of self-discipline to grow from and learn from what you’ve done. Self-discipline is difficult; in order for me to gain it, I need discipline from others or from structures that we build into our business. That way, when we are done with a project, we complete a time period, or we make a decision and act on it, we will take time to reflect and to actually learn from what we’ve done.

How about this for a sign in our lobby? It’s just a thought…

If you didn’t bring your creativity, you might as well not be here.

If we don’t allow you to show your creativity, we might as well not be here.

It has been a long time since I have reflected on the chicken business like I have today. Our people are good people who taught me many lessons over the years. They showed me mercy when I was arrogant enough to think I knew everything. Thankfully, they didn’t depart before they completed the mighty task of helping me grow up. In their honor, here are two quotes:

“I claim to be a simple individual liable to err like any other fellow mortal. I own, however, that I have humility enough to confess my errors and to retrace my steps.”

-Mahatma Gandhi

“To be humble to superiors is duty, to equals courtesy, to inferiors nobleness.”

-Benjamin Franklin

Once I thought that leadership and management were about managing people who worked for you. Then, as I gained experience, I realized that successful leaders also must be able to influence those who they report to (“managing up”). But there was more…successful leaders help sway external customers and suppliers. Then, I realized it’s also about winning the support and favor of internal customers and suppliers.

In the end, I think I realized that there are key decision makers, such as a Director of Purchasing or my direct boss. But in order to be an effective leader, no one is more key than anyone else. Everyone is important. Whether you are the guy handing out smocks in the plant or the one signing the checks, you are important. And a true leader recognizes it.

It’s like the story of the young man who wanted to supply our company some service. In the elevator up to our office, he rode with an old gentleman carrying the mail. He made a couple of comments deriding the company before they stepped off the elevator. After all, it was just a lowly mail clerk, right? Little did he know that the old man he was riding with is not only one of the most respected men in the company, he is a founding owner of the company. Everyone is important.

Last year I wrote about a guy we met who had the potential to be a great leader. He was brilliant but unfortunately arrogant. We presented an opportunity to provide insights into the market and innovative ways for him to deliver the ingredients for his finished goods. Instead of taking advantage of that, he did all the talking and never stopped to listen. He was loud, cocky, and looking back boring because everything was a show-off of himself.

POTC and I met talked with a gentleman yesterday whose personality is a stark contrast. He was quiet, gentle, articulate, humble and listened to our conversation. He asked about us and our company and told stories about others. He is not stuck at a mid-manager position, but leads a multi-billion dollar company. He leads. he has all the same skills, education, relevant knowledge and experience as the other guy, but his ability to tame his ego allows him to effectively lead the hearts of thousands.

It is important to have a nice hammer when building a house, but if you bend all the nails you’ll never finish that house. Being controlled while using your toolset and being interested in each person you work with seems to be the much more effective way to build the company.

Winning the trust of a new customer starts pretty simply: they’ve got to know my story. Remember that people want someone they can rally behind, someone they can promote, someone they can believe in. My story must be told by who I am.

One way I have presented the story is with a fancy slideshow presentation given over a break-neck 10 minute session. However, getting there can be awkward. So many people don’t want to wait for me to setup the computer, don’t want to see me clicking through to Powerpoint, and are intimidated by a myriad of slides. If time and the audience permit me to do it, I will.

But most of the time, my story (which is ultimately the story of the company) is sold in 2 ways that involve no Powerpoint. The way of conveying my story occurs in our initial face-to-face meeting. It is the words interwoven among the discussion we have. It is the answers I provide regarding our business.  The story is told in the midst of conversation. It is natural, free-flowing, and non-threatening.
The second way of conveying my story happens constantly.  It’s a combination of how I perform during every opportunity given (how the first order is delivered; the speed of my responce to e-mail inquiries; the manner in which I conduct myself; the depth and breadth of knowledge I possess regarding the industry) and who my character is. My story is both in my execution and in how I execute. When I combine both well, I tell the best story. It’s a story in which everyone can believe. I’m a person in whom everyone can support. My product or service is the one that anyone can feel comfortable purchasing.

I learned a valuable lesson in poker: never underestimate your opponent. The moment you do, you’re set up for a quick and humiliating loss.

The same is true in business negotiations. Although a good businessman negotiates for a win-win (doesn’t want to defeat or to be defeated), its easy to think that you’ve got the best cards. Maybe you think you’re smarter, better prepared, or have an edge in market intelligence that will lead you to win.

Every time I’ve been in that position, I’ve lost. The most humiliating loss came about 2 years ago when I thought I could outsmart a 15-year veteran. Instead of getting a higher price (which I did for 2 months), I lost 100% of the business because they cancelled the project and quit buying my product altogether (the price was too high.) It was embarrassing and painful and an experience I never want to repeat again.

Tonight, my oldest boy (age 4) Jack was hoping that a young lady friend (age 4) would be allowed to dress up as Elasti-Girl while he was in costume as Mr. Incredible. He asked her mom first if she could play for 10 minutes. Then, without her dad knowing that her mom had been asked, Jack asked him if she could play in costume…”for 12 minutes.” He, in return, jokingly said, “How about 8 minutes?” In response, Jack said, “OK, how about 10 minutes?”

Although he has no concept of time, he has learned the art of negotiation. Crazy.