Archive for the 'Leadership' Category

The ironies of small business and democracy

Published
by
Jim Blasingame
on June 10, 2013
in Leadership and Management Fundamentals
. 0 Comments

One of the great ironies is that while businesses flourish in a democracy, a business cannot flourish as a democracy.

By definition, stakeholders in a democracy vote on issues and the majority rules. But while this process is one of the greatest inventions of mankind with many applications, business is not one of them.

Pure democracy isn’t practical in government, either. But a group of visionary malcontents solved that problem over 200 years ago by creating something new: a constitutional republic, where an elected few represent the interests of all.

A business can be like a dictatorship in that an individual will likely make the final decision. One desk, as President Truman so famously said, where the proverbial buck stops. But here’s another irony: Even though a business may have characteristics of a dictatorship, it likely won’t be successful if the team is managed by a tyrant. The dominator management model is as old as humanity itself, but it requires subordinates to dutifully follow the instructions of superiors. As a withering vestige of centuries past, this model is no longer competitive.

The 21st century management model must look more like a partnership. Just as effective government requires that elected representation augments pure democratic principles, an ultimate decision maker in a business must be alloyed with the experience, brainpower and engagement of the team.

The Founders envisioned a nation that could be as dynamic as it was enduring, and as powerful as it was benevolent, but only if the stakeholders believed their investment in such an ideal was justified. Our republic — warts and all — essentially does this. And even though Americans outsource the management of their government, the classic principles of democracy come to bear with regularly scheduled elections to see if the majority wants to change its mind.

Employees change their minds by seeking work elsewhere. And while they always had the right to leave a job that’s managed by tyrants, past generations swallowed their pride in favor of what we now know was the illusion of job security.

Today, employees have no such illusions. And while they accept the reality that someone has to make final decisions, they also expect to contribute to the basis for those decisions.

In the 21st century, a business still can’t be structured as a democracy or dictatorship. Today employees expect to be led, not driven; they want to contribute, not just take orders, even if the last order wasn’t their favorite.

The 21st century workplace does not abide tyrants.

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Need more information about management and leadership within your small business? Check out the links below to listen to my latest interviews with management and leadership expects

Interviews about Leadership

Interview about Management

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Don’t just manage change - lead it!

Published
by
Jim Blasingame
on June 4, 2013
in Entrepreneurship, Leadership and Management Fundamentals
. 0 Comments

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every purpose under heaven.”

On its face, this well-known King Solomon wisdom, from the 3rd chapter of Ecclesiastes, delivers hopeful encouragement. But implicit in this passage is a somewhat hidden, and often troublesome paradox: A time for everything also implies nothing can be forever, and therefore, change is inevitable.

In the abstract, we accept the reality of change, but in practice we regard it like the medicine we know we need, but don’t want to take. And knowing change is inevitable doesn’t make the pill any sweeter.

In the marketplace, it was challenging enough to implement a change when we had the expectation of not having to do it again anytime soon. But in the 21st century, the bitter pill of change has acquired an unfortunate new characteristic: a frighteningly short duration.

Organizations that enjoy consistent success will make change an abiding element in their business model, rather than an intrusion to “the way we’ve always done things.” They’ll create a culture and environment where change can occur whenever necessary, without creating a casualty list.

Rick Maurer, author of “Beyond the Wall of Resistance,” conducted a survey of organizations that have implemented change. He identified four things they did to create a culture compatible with change.

  1. Make a strong case.
    Maurer found that “when change was successful, 95% of the stakeholders saw a compelling need to change.” Change must be accompanied by evidence of its importance. If you can’t make the case, perhaps it’s not the right thing to do — yet.
  2. Establish the vision.
    Maurer’s research indicates 71% of successful changes happened “when people understood the vision of the project.” Stakeholders should see the long-term benefits of change.
  3. Sustain the changes.
    The primary reason for failure, Maurer found, was “inability to sustain the change.” Sustaining change isn’t a sprint; it’s a marathon that must endure pressure from many sources and may be the greatest test of leadership.
  4. Anticipate maintenance.
    Successful managers recognize that it’s not in the nature of change to be self-perpetuating.

Change will happen. And if we expect something positive, it probably will be.

Don’t just manage change – lead it.

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Click on the link below to listen to Rick Maurer’s latest interview. Click the book image above to purchase Rick’s book Beyond the Wall of Resistance.

When you’re trying to implement change, focus can be difficult - My interview with Rick Maurer

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Integrity has no need of rules

Published
by
Jim Blasingame
on May 22, 2013
in Entrepreneurship, Leadership and Management Fundamentals
. 0 Comments

While talking with an attorney friend of mine, our topic of discussion was about professional behavior in the marketplace. She reminded me that attorneys have very specific ethical and professional standards that are published, plus a well developed monitoring organization, complete with sanctioning authority.

The story is quite similar for CPA’s, architects, medical doctors, or any securities representative such as stock brokers, financial planners, etc. Much of the behavioral track these professionals run on is pretty well spelled out for them. Not that the members of these groups need to be led or coerced into good professional behavior. It’s just that, when in doubt, they have published guidelines with which to refer.

Small business owners operate in the same marketplace as the so-called professionals. Indeed, they are often our clients and customers. We serve the same businesses and consumers as other professionals, plus we enter into similar relationships, contracts and agreements. And we often find ourselves perched precariously on the same horns-of-a-dilemma as other professionals. But here’s the difference: The Universal Small Business Code of Professional Conduct and Ethics doesn’t exist.

Small business owners, like all humans, ultimately behave according to their own moral compass, sense of fair play and inclination to deal in good faith. When we find ourselves in a quandary over how to respond to a difficult situation with a customer that is in the gray area of a contract, we’re on our own. When we are faced with an ethical issue that would challenge King Solomon, there is no sanctioning body or support group to dial up, or to whom we can email a “scenario.”

There are many ancient codes small business owners can turn to for behavioral guidance in the marketplace, such as the last three of the Ten Commandments. But in terms of a handy guide, I think philosopher and 1957 Nobel Prize winner for literature, Albert Camus, may have given us the best ethical vector when he wrote, “Integrity has no need of rules.”

Wise small business owners know that life is much simpler, and exceedingly more rewarding, when we just do the right thing.

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Back in September I wrote about the Small Business Code of Ethics and received great feedback from colleagues and small business owners. Check out the article below and let me know what you think.

Observing the Small Business Code of Ethics

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Put your ribbon out front and lead your troops

Published
by
Jim Blasingame
on May 15, 2013
in Leadership and Management Fundamentals
. 0 Comments

Someone once told me that you can’t be an effective leader without first knowing how to follow. In his book, Moses: CEO, my friend, Robert Dilenschneider says, “Leading and following are opposite sides of the same coin.” What an interesting paradoxical metaphor: Opposites indeed, but one can’t exist without the other. Being a leader takes more than just wanting to lead. In the marketplace, you can only be a leader if you can get others to follow you.

No matter the size of a small business, there will always be more things to do than people to do them; everyone must wear several hats. You can’t drive people to wear extra hats, but you can lead them to do it. This means that leadership is an especially essential characteristic for a small business owner to have.

Napoleon once said, “A soldier will fight long and hard for a piece of colored ribbon.” But only a leader who understands the heart of a follower can convince the soldier that the ribbon is worth fighting for.

If you want to be a successful small business owner, make sure you know and understand both sides of the leadership “coin”. Then line up your troops, put your ribbon out in front and lead them into battle.

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Video - Small business lessons from big business mistakes

Published
by
Jim Blasingame
on March 26, 2013
in Entrepreneurship and Leadership
. 0 Comments

In this week’s video I give four examples of how small businesses cam learn from big business mistakes.

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Never Give Up!

Published
by
Jim Blasingame
on January 6, 2013
in Leadership and Start-up
. 0 Comments

Did you know that Michael Jordan was cut from his junior high varsity basketball team?
Never give up!

Did you know that Dr. Seuss pitched his now-classic children’s book, Green Eggs and Ham, to 27 publishers before it was accepted and ultimately millions sold?
Never give up!

Did you know that Abraham Lincoln lost six elections before becoming one of the most important presidents in U.S. history?
Never give up!

Did you know that Henry Ford went broke five times before he found success — at age 51?
Never give up!

Robert Allen wrote, “There is no failure, only feedback.”
Never give up!

Thomas Edison said, “Failure is successfully discovering what doesn’t work.”
Never give up!

Any questions?

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