Bob Winchester
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Passionate entrepreneur inspiring others to find a self employed attitude! #corporateculturerevolution
@Aaron Nelson No worries Aaron! We all need a boost sometimes, especially when things get rough...which they have been for a while.
Book club starts on Friday! I'm super excited about it. I can't wait to hear what our National Engineering Manager has to say about Entreleadership, which he supposedly started reading last week.
I'm about half way through Linchpin and have several pages of notes to discuss with our club. Should be something!!
@MattMcWilliams2 Wow! To quote many an Adam Sandler movie, "YOU CAN DO IT!"
@Aaron Nelson Some people don't see this the same way. Some people are happy just keeping their heads down and focusing on the task at hand. I've come to realize that. However, some people (like you & me) need that vision to get going everyday. It's like fuel for our motivation engines!
@MattMcWilliams2 Very well said!
I also think that there is this visceral reaction to losing money where leadership can change direction too much and too often. Realistically the vision is still good; the team just needs a few reminders and a different route.
@MattMcWilliams2 Thanks for the encouragement Matt! I almost never get that here at work, so it means a lot!
I'm actually doing just that! I'm learning from Jon Acuff and others by focusing on my dreams while learning from my current situation. It's really amazing to know that I will be able to teach others by using this experience as an example.
@JoshuaWRivers That's good insight Josh! The funny thing is that the opposite can be true also. I personally tend to focus too much on the future and the destination, overlooking important details that will lead to a strong finish.
This is where my DISC profile really helped me see where I'm straying off course. I guess it's just like knowing you have a "slice" so that you can adjust for it.
@lilykreitinger @MattMcWilliams2
My company is currently living in this exact situation (and has been for almost 4 years)! Commercial construction has yet to fully turn around and many companies are still hemorrhaging. It's painful to watch and full of chaos. However, to Chris and Matt's point, it's vital that at some point, someone has to bring focus to the future. This not only provides stability, but it provides hope, which is fundamental to the people of an organization during times of distress.
@ChrisLoCurto Seems like the concept of "everyone is in sales" is just ignored in some companies. Especially parts of the company that are heavily technical. That's no excuse though...just a reminder since I'm in a heavily technical industry.
@Aaron Nelson This reminds me of that commercial for Kayak.com:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogILqUidZLA&feature=relmfu
They made fun of the people that don't use their site. The first time I saw that, I said, "dude, I'm never using that site, because they just made me feel like a bonehead."
I had an experience last week that reminds me of this. A newer restaurant opened downtown. I had gone once and had a pretty good experience. So this time I took my wife, children, and my Aunt out for dinner. We waited almost 20 minutes at the table before anyone even acknowledged us. We were talking, so it wasn't the end of the world. Then the waiter finally comes over and says, since you've been waiting so long, I will go ahead and get your drink orders and food orders going. "Ok", we said.
Then he proceeds to tell us that their fryer is broken so almost half of the menu is off limits. Again, we said fine, we will just order non-fried food. And we did.
Then another 20 minutes later drinks arrived at the same time as our food. At this point kids were getting frustrated, my Aunt was getting frustrated and my tolerance for less than great food was very low. And guess what? Much of the food was inedible. We asked for replacements and basically got the same thing in return.
The worst part about this was that the place was empty. There were literally 10 tables and at least 10 servers. Then the CLo moment happened. We realized that the owner had been socializing with a couple of tables in the corner the entire time! It was like he didn't even see the mess that was happening right in front of him.
Here's the thing...I could have let that all go IF there was a comment card system in place so that I knew that my experience could help make things better. But because there was not, I walked away without a word, knowing that Apple bees would be a better bet next time. And it would be a lot cheaper.
@Jon Henry Great point! I hear stories all the time about "great" sales people that are able to close the deal, but the customer finds out later that they promised something that the "company" wasn't able to deliver. Unfortunately, in the construction business this happens daily because price is often the determining factor.
@JoelFortner Maybe this server was trying like you said, but he or she should be putting himself or herself in the customers shoes. If the customer asks a question, being evasive isn't going to win any awards.
When I'm a customer, and I ask a question, I want simple expert advice before making my buying decision. If I can't get that, then I get frustrated. Any sales model that doesn't give the customer clear answers makes them feel like something is being hidden. Or in this case, that the sales person is incompetent - even if they aren't.
@Skropp I think we need Chris to give us an example of what BAH sounds like on one of these podcasts.
@lilykreitinger @JoshuaWRivers I really wanted to click the like button five or six times, but it wouldn't let me. ;)
John Maxwell
Seth Godin
Jack Welch
Chris Locurto
Also, love the idea of interviewing the unknowns; the silent Entreleaders. We know that so many of you exist!! If Chris doesn't start doing this, I think I will!
@Aaron Nelson Good questions Aaron! We've all had to deal with that time in our lives at one point or another. It would be interesting to here the answer on this one...
Great idea Chris! I'm sure our "team" here will have lot's of great questions. Here's one that I struggle with daily:
What's the best way you've seen for team members to influence a broken culture from a non-leadership position (besides the obvious; by being a good example)? At what point do you give up on changing said culture and move on?
Looking forward to the interview, as always!!!
@MattMcWilliams2 Hmm. I can hear our "managers" already...we don't have time for that. Then why are you in a leadership position??
Thanks for sharing! I will definitely practice this - someday!
@MattMcWilliams2 That's really great advice! I'm sincerely moved by your dedication to that process.
Did you tell them up front how you wanted to the meeting to go or did you just steer it that way?
Did you have any trouble keeping it to 30 minutes?