Tag Archives: challenge

Thumbs Up! A Message of Strength and Courage

“Anyone can give up, it’s the easiest thing in the world to do. But to hold it together when everyone else would understand if you fell apart, that’s true strength.” – Anonymous       

“I do not at all understand the mystery of grace – only that it meets us where we are but does not leave us where it found us.” – Anne Lamott

Today’s message is one of courage and perspective.  It is a message that will both tug at your heart yet inspire you.  It’s a message of perspective, and how things can change in an instant. It’s a message that no amount of planning can prepare you for what life might throw your way.  But it is also a message to recognize the strength we all have inside us – if we only knew how to tap in to it. Continue reading →

A Date in History that Changed the Fate of the World

d_day“It was on Omaha Beach that the battle turned, and with it, history.”

“I was able to go there and vicariously contemplate what I doubt I would have had the courage to do — cross that beach under fire, and then return to the attack at the sea wall. I marvel at the men who did.”

“It is one thing to ask for sacrifice with an end in sight. But how much can you ask from your people when all there is for them is war and death, and there is no end?”

“It was not the generals and staff members who turned the tide on Omaha. It was captains and sergeants who made the difference.”

[above quotes are excerpts from George Friedman’s article, “Thoughts on Omaha Beach”.  Full article is included following my message below] Continue reading →

Drivers, and Danica, Start Your Engines!

Daytona500“You spend a lot of time thinking about what to do when the time comes. I kept asking up above what was working. You needed a hole, you needed people to help you out.”

[Danica Patrick – comments from her Daytona 500 post race interview when asked about her strategy on the last lap]

Unless you haven’t picked up a paper or watched the TV this last week, you no doubt heard the headlines about this year’s Daytona 500.  It was the first time in history that a female driver won the pole position for any NASCAR race.  But this wasn’t just any NASCAR race – it was the Daytona 500, their most coveted event.  Because of this, the hype for this year’s race was bigger than any other in history. Continue reading →

2012 Summer Olympics

Goodbye 2012 Olympics

Well, it’s finally over.  The 2012 Olympics in London finished last night, with one of the most memorable closing ceremonies I’ve ever seen.  As I sat and watched that ceremony, I couldn’t help but be struck by the power and beauty of the Olympic games.  For one small moment in time a collection of athletes from around the world come together to represent the best in what their country has to offer.  They do it for the pride.  The pride that comes in working hard to achieve something.   The pride that comes in succeeding where others can’t.  And the pride that comes from overcoming obstacles, setbacks, and hardships to accomplish something great.

If you were like me, you spent several nights these past few weeks watching the games.  It didn’t matter that the airing was time delayed, that the events had already been decided.  It was just as dramatic to watch as if it was live.  I found myself watching late into the night – Swimming, Gymnastics, Volleyball, Rowing, Diving – none of these sports I have ever participated in, but all of them captivating my attention. Continue reading →

Learning from our Mistakes

“There are three essentials to leadership: humility, clarity and courage.”

[Chan Master Fuchan Yuan]

“A man should never be ashamed to own he has been in the wrong, which is but saying… that he is wiser today than he was yesterday.”

[Alexander Pope, in Swift, Miscellanies}

I searched a bit to find the quotes for this Leadership Thought, as I wanted to highlight the importance of humility, honesty, and the courage to recognize when one makes a mistake.  And as is often the case, this week’s quote has a story behind it.  One that involves my daughter and the mistakes we sometimes make as parents.

Last week was finals at my daughter’s school.  My daughter, Amanda, is like any other child, and finding an excuse for procrastinating is an art form for her.  In this particular case, Amanda had managed to go through the whole weekend without studying, and now the night before it was time for a crash study session.  It was getting late in the evening, and Amanda still had quite a bit of material to cover.  Instead of going to the study to review the material, she insisted on sitting in the living room with us with a constant pester of, “Help me study…”

Being an “old school” father, I took the position that to study means you must go into solitude and review the material over and over.  This led to a bit of an argument.  “Dad, that’s not how I study,” replied Amanda.  I countered, “Well, that’s how you need to study…now go in the other room and start reviewing your material.”  Back and forth this went, with my wife jumping in periodically to defend Amanda’s position.  Eventually the debate elevated to the point where all of us were frustrated, and in my infinite wisdom I ‘sent’ Amanda to the study to ‘figure it out’.

Later that night I sat in bed struggling with the earlier discussion.  “Pam?” I whispered to my wife…”do you think I was a little rough on Amanda?”  Pam replied, “Yes, you were a bit stubborn, and you may not be looking at things through her eyes.  They teach children to study differently now, and one of the techniques they use is flash cards.  All Amanda wanted to do was to have us review the flash cards, as it helps her to have us ‘quiz’ her on them…”  You could have hit me with a baseball bat and it wouldn’t have jolted me more than those words did.  I was wrong.  Flat out wrong.  And if I was going to teach my daughter any real values and leadership principles, I knew exactly what I had to do.

The next morning my wife and I got up early to help Amanda study for the test.  All three of us sat in the kitchen and ‘quizzed’ on flash cards for a good hour before school started.  But you know what was more important than that?  It was the words I said to Amanda before we began studying:  “Amanda, I made a mistake last night…and I am sorry.  Parents make mistakes sometimes, and it’s important that when we do, we are willing to admit those mistakes and correct them.”

Isn’t it so true how leadership often follows that same logic (or at least SHOULD follow that logic)?  Take the quote from Chan Master Fuchan Yuan – “There are three essentials to leadership:  Humility, clarity, and courage”.  Humility to recognize that you do make mistakes as a leader.  Clarity to see it.  And courage to admit it.    We are going to make mistakes.  It’s what you do after which defines your leadership.

Challenging the Status Quo

“Group and organizational dynamics tend to pull organizations toward average or below average performance.  Psychological inertia tends to make innovation unlikely.”

“The status quo tends to defeat meaningful change because people are constrained by their basic nature and the “rules” of the environment they work in – Said another way, people don’t like change because it upsets their world and causes chaos.  Every system strives hard to maintain itself and resist change.”

[Chaun Mikuleza]

This past week I was in Milwaukee for a series of senior leadership meetings.  A key topic of our meetings was around the continued transformation of the business to one that can operate as a “fast and agile company”.  This week’s quotes are from a presentation one of my colleagues gave in those meetings around the importance of developing a “culture of change”.  They struck me as worth sharing with you, as I have always embraced the concept of change.

Change is never an easy thing.  And yes, there must be a balance to how much change you push.  But in truth, change is necessary.  Innovation cannot occur without change…without challenging the status quo.  Without it, organizations are doomed to gravitate toward mediocrity.

I can recall past resistance to change in many of the organizations I’ve worked for and with – be it technology, new processes, or simply changes to the organizational structure.  “Stop changing things and let us catch our breath”, and “why would we need to do that…we already have a good process” were two of the many responses I recall.  But looking back, there is no question those changes were beneficial to those organizations.

If an organization is to truly become a market leader in its industry, it must evolve.  It must change.  And it must create a “culture of change.”

Finding New Opportunites through Failure

“I haven’t failed; I’ve found 10,000 ways that don’t work.”  — [Thomas Edison]

“Success is the ability to go from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm.”  — [Sir Winston Churchill]

“Fear of failure is the only thing preventing you from succeeding.” — [Alison Levine]

“100% of the shots you don’t take don’t go in.”  — [Wayne Gretzky]

Today I would like to talk about the importance of failure in ensuring an organization’s long-term success.  Yes, failure!  I’m guessing you didn’t expect leadership to talk about the importance of failure as part of a weekly Leadership Quote segment.  But the truth is failure is a necessary component of success.  Through failure we learn important lessons necessary to achieve success.  We gain the wisdom needed to improve and become successful.

I’m sure most of you have heard of the vacuum cleaner brand Dyson.  The Dyson vacuum cleaner is one of the best performing products in its industry.  Why?  Because of the revolutionary way in which it works.dyson  Instead of using vacuum cleaner bags, it uses a vortex process that “spins” the dirt through the machine, allowing the air to circulate through while dropping the dirt down into the catch basin.  As a result, the product works far more efficiently than any other in the market because it doesn’t lose suction or get clogged up.  But did you know that Sir James Dyson, the inventor and founder of the Dyson vacuum cleaner company, tried unsuccessfully 5,127 times before he succeeded.  HE FAILED 5,127 TIMES!!!

Now, before you run off and say “well, Kip told me to go fail”, let me clarify my point.  Many businesses today don’t have the luxury for everyone to go off and fail 5,127 times.  But what they should have is a culture that is willing to recognize its failures and improve on them.  One that says, “Nope, that didn’t work. Let’s try something different.” One that recognizes our failures are its best opportunities for succeeding.

Does your culture embrace failure as a necessary step towards success?  Are your fellow team members encouraged to innovate, to take risks, and do drive for new and creative solutions to meet your customer’s needs?  More importantly, do they operate in an environment suited to support failure as a necessary evolution toward success?

Be Part of the Solution

“Why is it that every time a smart person needs help to solve a problem, they look everywhere except their own mind?”

[Quote from a 1957 Manpower operating manual]

This is a particularly telling quote one of my colleagues at ManpowerGroup found and highlighted to me last week.  It’s a particularly telling quote, as it really highlights the responsibility we all have as team members and leaders to contribute to the solution, not the problem.  Note the timeless nature of the quote – from an operations manual back in 1957!

This reminds me of a funny story one of my former colleagues told me that is worth repeating.  He was telling me about a boss he once had [we’ll call her Suzy to protect the innocent] who drove home the message of leadership and responsibility, particularly around offering potential solutions to problems and not relying on others to solve those problems.  The story goes like this:

“I remember when I first started working for Suzy.  The first time I had an issue arise, I called Suzy and said, ‘Suzy, I have this problem, what should I do?’ Suzy then responded, ‘well, what options have you considered?’  ‘None’, I said, ‘that’s why I called you.’  To which Suzy offered two or three solutions.

The next time I brought a problem to Suzy I got the same thing.  ‘Well, what options have you considered?’, said Suzy.  ‘None’, I said again, ‘that’s why I called you.’  To which Suzy sighed and again offered a few solutions.

The third time I brought a problem to Suzy, she again asked, ‘Well, what options have you considered?’, to which I again replied, ‘none, that’s why I called you.’  The phone immediately went dead.  So I called Suzy back and said, ‘we must have been cut off.’  ‘No’, Suzy replied.  ‘I hung up on you’.  ‘Why?’, I asked.  ‘Well, if you aren’t going to bring some options to solve the issues you raise, I don’t need you as a leader.’”.

A bit of a harsh lesson, to be fair.  But the story does highlight an important point.  Leadership isn’t about always having the right answer, but it is about taking the time to explore potential answers and not just highlight problems.

Every day you will be faced with challenges.  Your job in supporting your customers inherently requires you to face such challenges and issues on almost a daily basis.  So ask yourself this simple question – Are you acting as a leader and part of the solution, or looking to everyone else for the answer?