Leave a comment on today’s post for a chance to win one of five free copies of Compass. This post is based on a conversation with my friend, William F. Brandt, about his new book, Compass. It is an invaluable guide for creating and growing exceptional organizations.
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Bill Brandt cofounded American Woodmark with a vision to create an exceptional company. It wasn’t just about being the biggest or making the most profit. His story is about leading in good times and bad times. American Woodmark grew from $35 million in 1980 to over $600 million today. Exceptional organizations give more value than they take. Exceptional organizations are:
- Viable – achieving your purpose while acting according to society’s highest values.
- Sustainable – remaining viable over time. Prepare for downturns during good times.
- Valued – Being number one means owners, employees, clients, and communities receive more benefit from you than from your competitors.
In his book, Compass, Bill sums up the reason for his success: “I do believe that holding fast to our vision and making timely corrections to actions that did not support it were key factors in our success.” 10 lessons learned while creating an exceptional organization:
- A difficult time to change an organization is when things are going well.
- A leader must have a positive attitude even if not sleeping at night.
- It is a leaders responsibility to help employees live through hard times not to protect them from the harshness of reality.
- Make sure the employees you hire have the right values.
- A vision can take longer to implement than planned.
- Have a strong balance sheet and cash flow.
- Growing by acquisition is not for every company.
- Learn from your mistakes.
- Never assume you have all the answers.
- Enjoy the journey along the way.
Enjoying the journey is one of my personal favorites. 10 ways to enjoy the journey:
- Working longer or harder doesn’t help.
- Find interesting things to do in and around the work.
- Meet interesting people.
- Visit a new destination.
- Finish what needs to be finished. But don’t sacrifice what matters.
- Experiment with new ways of working.
- Find a program that enhances efficiency.
- Surround yourself with qualified people.
- Delegate as much as possible.
- Plan your day.
Bonus: If you don’t enjoy it, don’t do it. Compass is not only about creating exceptional organizations, but also a valuable reference book with essays on all subjects to challenge the reader’s outlook. Leave a comment on today’s post for a chance to win one of five free copies of Compass. Which of Bill Brandt’s 10 lessons learned resonates with you? Why?
P.S. – Do you need an Outside Director, Advisory Board Member, Trusted Advisor, or Interim CEO? Someone who can help you see your business and your goals through “Fresh Eyes.” Contact me and I will work with you to look at where you want to go and help you find the best way to get there. Sometimes all it takes is someone with a fresh viewpoint, unencumbered by company politics or culture to help find the right solution.
Avoid painful lessons learned. Let me help solve your business problems. A fresh set of eyes can show you a different set of possibilities. Use my experience to save time and money. I have been there and done that. What makes me highly effective is my fresh viewpoint, unencumbered by company politics or culture.
#9 Never assume you have all the answers stood out to me. If you have hired and surrounded yourself with good people (I had a manager tell me early in my career he always tries to hire people smarter than himself) you are not utilizing your resources if you do not seek input and ideas from others. This includes those in the executive positions as well as those on the front line who are dealing with your customers, whether that is an internal business or an external consumer. They know best what the customer is looking for and if you are don’t listen to find out what the customers’ needs are you will never satisfy them.
Stan,
Thanks for your comments and bringing to our attention the importance of listening.
Larry
Sounds like a great book.
Love the info you shared and look forward to reading the book. It was the bonus item that resonated with me:
Bonus: If you don’t enjoy it, don’t do it.
This has always driven the work I do and was a major factor in making a significant career change with max retirement benefits on the horizon. Thanks!
Tom,
Glad you liked and practiced the bonus item.
Larry
#4 – Make sure the employees you hire have the right values:
This one really connected with me and has been one of the most important for our company. Over the years I have learned that you can teach skills but you can’t teach or really change who a person is at their core. Our company values are one of the most important assets we have and our customers have come to value that about us. Bringing in one person that doesn’t have the right work ethics or doesn’t have good values (such as honesty, a focus on quality, a commitment to putting customers first) can change the balance of the company and can have wide reaching effects with customers.
Meet interesting people. This statement has lead me to join groups I have found worthwhile and made wonderful friends. It also encourages me to reach out and interact with strangers I might not otherwise speak to. Life is much more richer when approached this way. It’s fun and expands your perspective. I’m volunteering in an adult ESL class and what an enriching experience. It is a joy to go and help others.
Thanks Larry:
All good advice, particularly #5 : “Finish what needs to be finished. But don’t sacrifice what matters.”
Attitudes are subject to change but our core values must remain constant.
If the rest of the book is as spot on as this excerpt it’s bound to fly off the Amazon shelf.
Harvey,
Thanks for your input and projections. Have a great day.
Larry
I think that your point about how critical it is to hire the people who have the right values is dead on.
I am a manager in IT and have been with my company for almost twenty years. The company I joined 20 years ago was an exceptional company. Over the years things have changed and I no longer believe that we are exceptional.
I think one of the key ingredients that seems to have been lost along the way is truly caring about the people. I don’t feel that our leadership is serving us as well as they should and could. As a result, while I think it is possible for the company to address the values/culture issues, I don’t feel that senior leaders’ actions match their words and that they truly recognize the positive impact addressing the issues would have on morale, engagement and productivity.
Until recently, I didn’t appreciate how important this was to me personally. Now I know that this is one of my core values and that it is too often being violated. So I have come to the conclusion that it is the right time for me to be looking for opportunities outside my company. And I am excited about embarking on a new journey.
Andrew,
Thanks for sharing your personal experiences and good luck with your new journey.
Larry
Hi Larry!
I love your thought provoking posts. They are short, sweet and send me away thinking every time I read them! Several tips resonated with me but the most proud was #3. It is a leaders responsibility to help employees live through hard times not to protect them from the harshness of reality. In order to sustain the trust of their people, leaders must be honest even in the tough times. When employees trust an open and honest leader they will do whatever it takes to accomplish their goals. Then when tough times are past them they are empowered to go further. Those who sugar coat reality lose trust because the truth is eventually found out.
Susie,
Thanks for your comments. You are right on when you say, “leaders must be honest even in the tough times.” Have a great day!
Larry
Good stuff. I especially like “surround yourself with qualified people.” This is such a big part of organizational success. As a leader you need great folks around you to shore up the gaps that you have, as well as keep you honest. You need folks who know their jobs cold. This frees you up to see the big picture and formulate the vision.
Chris,
Very important concept. Thanks…for your great comment.
Larry
1.A difficult time to change an organization is when things are going well.
I think this is a critical observation because we (as humans) tend to seek pleasure and avoid pain. Change, good or bad, brings adjustment and that usually does not “feel good” even if it is not entirely painful. Recognizing the need for, and the time for, positive chnage that is responsive to leadership direction or environmental facotrs demonstrates quality leadership rather than reactionary management. This remains true in personal life, as well as organizational life – truly desiring a change, seeking it, and remaining committed to it – even when the status quo indicates that all things are well enough.
Thanks!
-BAA
I really enjoyed your part about enjoying the journey. If you’re so wrapped up in your own work and not seeing outside of that, or there’s dysfunction in the organization, it can be quite challenging and draining to navigate the office and keep focused on your business.
Work can have unpleasant aspects but it shouldn’t be draining you of being able to find things to enjoy about the work that you do.
Some very good points to think about.
What are ways to correct course when the success of a company and the massive external pressures are causing the operations to focus on results and forget their values?
Sometimes, it seems that we tend to focus so much to getting things done and delivering that we forget there are people that need to be taken care of in the process.
Great posting, Larry.
I especially liked #6- experimenting with new ways of doing things. Experimenting means keeping an inquisitive persepctive- trying and evaluating different approaches.
Mick
Mick,
Experimenting keeps life interesting. Thanks for the comment
Have a great day.
Larry
This information is so clear and direct it should be presented at all orientations and departmental meetings looking forward to reading and sharing the book
Larry, another good though provoking article.
Thanks for sharing this Larry…
#10 Resonates with me. Enjoy the journey along the way.
If you’re not having fun doing what you do, then why do it. Like what you do, and you’ll succeed. Everything else then falls into place. Going through life unhappy only brings a lifetime of regret.
Joe,
Thanks for sharing your reasoning. I agree: enjoy the journey.
Enjoy your day!
Larry
Reading this reminded me of an adage I think about most everyday: “people in business who have a higher purpose than making money are the one’s who are making all the money.”
somewhere between lessons 3 and 4 I have found that recognizing and rewarding team behaviors most aligned with the vision/values help employees “get it”.
the #2 lesson speaks to me, everyday, as a leader, I have to work on my attitude. I don’t think people understand how much the leader serves as the guidepost for the entire organization. If you show up to work and have a horrible attitude, that sets the tone for everyone else within your organization. Over my head in every office I have ever occupied is a quote from Charles Swindoll called “attitude” speaking about having little control in many things in life, but the one thing you always have control of is the attitude you have toward adversity and other people.
I can’t expect my people to have a great attitude if their leader is a grump!!
Thanks for sharing Larry, please keep in touch, I would love to read the book!
Mark,
Thanks for sharing your thoughts and experiences.
Have a great day!
Larry
Loved this article. One that stood out to me as extremely important was number 4 “Make sure the employees you hire have the right values.” A house divided will not stand!
Sounds like a great book. I look forward to ready and learning from it.
Love the Bonus: If you don’t enjoy it, don’t do it.
I talked with a two of my employees about just this topic this past year.
#1: a difficult time to change an organization is when things are going well. Employees’ mind sets are “why? Things are going great! We don’t need to change.” That makes it difficult to get people thinking creatively & they don’t readily want to buy into the need to change. The leader needs to spend time creating awareness & desire for people to want to make change in the company. They need to paint a picture of how things can be even better!
Definitely agree with the #1 point-that it is difficult to change when things are going well…there’s a strong human drive for consistency and something to lean on…everyday. Yet the reality is that leveling, that even keel, leads to stasis and stagnation. Interestingly, from experience, the best time to implement change is during the proverbial ‘fruit basket upset’…people are already shifted and look for something to cling to…that’s when a better vision may be more clearly seen and get people mobilized toward. Owning that the path taken will not be easy, will have pratfalls, is being transparent and honest. Of course, it does pay off to not only acknowledge, but celebrate those pratfalls, mistakes (your #8 point) and miscalculations…as they not only reveal a leader who is not on a pedestal, but is human after all. That can build connection, alignment and engagement. Probably the primary benefit is that it demonstrates the leader’s valuing of continuous improvement, which ties to many of your points about enjoying the journey and makes for a very long term successful organization…and a great place to work.