Leadership Mojo

Carl Sewell's Customers for Life

             Car magnate Carl Sewell's book Customers for Life makes an important link between customers and employees. Treating one group well over the other is not an "either-or" concept, in spite of the fact such seems to be the case in some companies. Let's see, a comparison between two airlines comes immediately to mind: one that gets it, and one that doesn't.  Can you guess which?

            "They (employees and customers) are equally important," Carl says.

             This concept impressed me years ago when I first read his book. It's difficult, if not impossible, to create a corporate culture of brilliant customer service if management treats employees badly. His thinking follows along these lines of human nature: Employees, in a pinch or under stress, are going to act the way they have been treated. Treat them well, and they are going to be far more likely to understand how to treat customers well. What Sewell looks for is not the sort of behavior you're likely to learn by memorizing a script. It's the kind of stuff that comes on the fly, in the heat of battle, when it counts most.  Let's see, and those airlines I'm thinking of, are....?

Control Freaks

    One hallmark of exemplary leadership is the ability to inspire cooperation among others. Control Freaks, on the other hand, do motivate by dangling a long carrot. But, instead of working with others to create alignment and heart-felt passion for a shared goal, they apply humiliation, intimidation and bullying. I spent a fair amount of time this summer taking a crash course in control-freak behavior with the unusual dynamic duo Paul and Layne Cutright, experts in relationship theory and application.

     Recently, I've noticed a variety of situations crop up with control-freaks. Control is a tricky subject, diced with "shadow" aspects of our personalities. Things we really don't want to look at by light of day. What is at the core of Control Freakdom?

I Had to Fire Someone Today

    It's not much fun knowing all weekend that, odds on, you are going to have to let someone go first thing Monday morning. Especially in this economy. Still, there are times when it is absolutely necessary. And I've never been as certain that it was necessary as I was today.

     Here's the sad thing. It wasn't because of downsizing. In fact, business is so good, we are in the midst of hiring. The reason was because

The Nose Knows Wine and Wine Glasses

    I guess being the 11th generation of exceptional wine glass makers, one's nose is simply bred to distinguish the flavors in a wine bouquets. Viennese bred Maximilian Reidel of the legendary Reidel crystal glassware did not disappoint when I recently attended a wine and fine chocolate tasting hosted by Noka Chocolates.
   Looking around guiltily, since I'd gobbled my two thumbnail-sized chocolates long before I was told

A $13 Billion Handshake

Mr. Joe Ordinary out there rarely considers how so-called "soft skills" carry any financial punch, much less could have the clout to impact billions of dollars. But one extra-ordinary Joe, legendary attorney Joe Jamail, proved how even the humble handshake can rock Wall Street.

Here's what ordinary people miss that the extraordinary don't: We make innumerable quasi-conscious judgments about people based on the power, or lack of it, in the way we shake hands. We rarely realize the power we hold in our hands to communicate trust and establish rapport. The simple truth is most people shake hands poorly. Yet, what could be more important right this minute, when there is so much confusion and uncertainty?

A Gentle Thought: Beer Obama-style to the Rescue

Even the Wall St. Journal last week got in on the recent Obama police snafu and subsequent beer fest. I'm referring to the president's negative remark about the police who mistakenly arrested his friend, Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. for breaking into his own home.  For the president of the United States to call the police "stupid" was hardly Obama's shining moment of glory. Not only that, but the whole issues diverted mass media attention away from health care reform. Maybe that was a good thing.

So, what's my point in bringing this up? Even smart, intelligent people screw up. We all screw up every, single day. The issue isn't what we screw up. It's gonna happen. The issue is when we screw up, what do we learn; and how do we handle it?

What most of the media failed to mention is the fact that it was James Crowley, the policeman who

Bravo for the Gutsy Babes at Angels and Demons

The Cigar Peg is the kinda place you'd expect to see testosterone in action. You just don't always expect to see it from a couple of dainty and determined women. Without them, this economic slump would have slammed the Cigar Peg last Monday night, since the bidding was anemic until my friends stepped up and created a steamy battle for the best items.

I was in Phoenix last week at the  National Speakers Association (NSA) annual conference and attended the Cigar Peg for the first time.

The Ghost Map

    A peculiar phenomenon follows me when I walk into a book store: Books speak to me. I'm not schizo. I don't literally hear words such as, "You hoo, here I am." On the other hand, I might as well, since the end result is the same: I buy them. Could you resist a book that spoke to you?
     I am magnetically drawn to certain volumes and can't explain why. When this happens, I simply know to buy. Such was the case recently at one of my favorite independent bookstores, Warwick's while I was in La Jolla, California. For synergistic reasons that became clear to me later, The Ghost Map, a book I'd never heard of nor expected to have any interest in, was the one that yelped at me. The choice was oddly prescient considering current events as well as an unexpected encounter on the plane to Southern California.
     You see, The Ghost Map is all about the great cholera epidemic of London in 1854, and the day I bought it was the day Swine Flu jumped across the border into the United States and declared a pandemic - only when I handed my credit card to the clerk, I didn't know any of that news.
      

Meg Whitman: California's Next Governor?

    Speaking to the Women Presidents Organization last Thursday near San Diego, eBay's former CEO discussed her past, present, and future to a crowd of about 600.  As interesting as her past is, Meg Whitman's future is bound to be a wild roller coaster ride. She hopes to be California's next Governor, a state whose economy, at about $2 trillion, is roughly the size of China or Italy's and whose diverse population is about 37 million people.
    Long before his iconic trajectory from star to statesman, I had the pleasure of interviewing California's current governor Arnold Schwarzenegger .  Having met him in person, I was not the least bit surprised by his success. He was, without a doubt, one of the sharpest, most personable leaders I ever met.

     Based on what I heard from Ms. Whitman last week, it's entirely possible she, too, has what it

Rodney Johnson, President of HS Dent, Answers Your Questions

   

Hello to everyone who participated in the You Can't Afford the Luxury of a Negative Thought  teleconference call in March with the President of HS Dent,  Rodney Johnson. Took me a while to post 'cause I came down with a big case of the flu. Just now getting back in the swing and catching up. Thank goodness! Below is the first set of economic questions that you asked me to ask Rodney after the call. I have a few more than came in later which I'll post in a couple of days.There is a motherlode of powerful information here. Let me know what you think, and keep your eyes open for the next You Can't Afford the Luxury of a Negative Thought teleconference call. 

1. What kind of return do essential service bonds tend to pay?

The returns used to be 4-5%, but with the recent turmoil, the interest rates are a little higher, 5-7% depending on location, rating etc.  Remember, these are tax-free, so you divide this interest rate by 1-tax rate, (in the 35% bracket it would be 1-0.35, or .65), to arrive at your taxable equivalent rate. 

2. Why have you adjusted your Dow high forecast down? What was driving your thinking before than now? 

In terms of the recent market action, we adjusted down our expected Dow high for this summer because the market fell further than we had anticipated on this first move down.  As the markets fell last fall and early this year, we thought that the Dow would hold the 1998 lows of approximately 7,400-7,600. When we went lower to the 1996 lows of approximately 6,500, then we adjusted down our rebound forecast accordingly.  We use Elliot Wave analysis to forecast short term moves, which is not 100% accurate for sure, it is just a technical tool.

3. I retired at 65 two years ago. I was rewarded with a loss of over $250K from my retirement portfolio. Is there any hope for seniors like myself to get a decent recovery in the near future?

Yes there is, but don’t put yourself in harm’s way too soon.  At 65, you’ve got another 20 years to go on average.  Remember, we are talking about this down turn lasting for several years, but not two decades!  We would advise keeping yourself as liquid and flexible as possible through the next several years (2012-2013) more focused on streams of income and capital preservation, and then be more aggressive!

4. Talk about current account deficits. Do you see the current level as being a problem? If so, what would you suggest as being the solution?

The US Current Account (what we export minus what we import) has been running at a deficit for many years because of our propensity to consume low-cost imported goods, but it also includes imported oil, which showed an incredible spike in ’07 and ’08.  With the fall of oil and the slowing in spending, the deficit is contracting.  While that sounds good, the current account normally does contract with economic slowdowns.  I believe you will see it continue to fall for the next several years, so it won’t necessitate a “solution” per se.  However, as we work more concertedly on alternative energy, this is one of those areas that could see a very dramatic turnaround, changing the playing field of international capital flows.

5. How are we going to fund social security and how big a problem do you see it as being? When you see this impacting us and how?
   

It’s not as big of a problem as it might seem.  Not because the numbers “work out”, but because Congress will never leave it in its present form.  There will be means testing and a change in the age of eligibility.  The much, MUCH bigger problems are Medicare, for which there is no fix, and state and local pensions.  On Medicare, we will ration availability of treatments, much like other systems (Canada, UK, etc.), which will lead to bigger supplemental insurance for those that can afford it.  On state and local pensions, they will have to deal with greatly increased pension contributions to make up for all of the recent losses and previous underfunding.  Where will they get the money?  From you of course, in taxes.