A Leadership Primer

A Leadership Primer

General Colin Powell
Chairman (Ret), Joint Chiefs of Staff

LESSON 1

"Being responsible sometimes means pissing people off."

Good leadership involves responsibility to the welfare of the group, which means that some people will get angry at your actions and decisions.  It's inevitable, if you're honorable.  Trying to get everyone to like you is a sign of mediocrity: you'll avoid the tough decisions, you'll avoid confronting the people who need to be confronted, and you'll avoid offering differential rewards based on differential performance because some people might get upset.  Ironically, by procrastinating on the difficult choices, by trying not to get anyone mad, and by treating everyone equally "nicely" regardless of their contributions, you'll simply ensure that the only people you'll wind up angering are the most creative and productive people in the organization.

LESSON 2

"The day soldiers stop bringing you their problems is the day you have stopped leading them.  They have either lost confidence that you can help them or concluded that you do not care.  Either case is a failure of leadership."

If this were a litmus test, the majority of CEOs would fail.  One, they build so many barriers to upward communication that the very idea of someone lower in the hierarchy looking up to the leader for help is ludicrous.  Two, the corporate culture they foster often defines asking for help as weakness or failure, so people cover up their gaps, and the organization suffers accordingly. Real leaders make themselves accessible and available.  They show concern for the efforts and challenges faced by underlings, even as they demand high standards.  Accordingly, they are more likely to create an environment where problem analysis replaces blame.

LESSON 3

"Don't be buffaloed by experts and elites.  Experts often possess more data than judgment.  Elites can become so inbred that they produce hemophiliacs who bleed to death as soon as they are nicked by the real world."

Small companies and start-ups don't have the time for analytically detached experts.  They don't have the money to subsidize lofty elites, either.  The president answers the phone and drives the truck when necessary; everyone on the payroll visibly produces and contributes to bottom-line results or they're history.  But as companies get bigger, they often forget who "brought them to the dance": things like all-hands involvement, egalitarianism, informality, market intimacy, daring, risk, speed, agility.  Policies that emanate from ivory towers often have an adverse impact on the people out in the field who are fighting the wars or bringing in the revenues.  Real leaders are vigilant, and combative, in the face of these trends.

LESSON 4

"Don't be afraid to challenge the pros, even in their own backyard."

Learn from the pros, observe them, seek them out as mentors and partners. But remember that even the pros may have leveled out in terms of their
learning and skills.  Sometimes even the pros can become complacent and lazy.  Leadership does not emerge from blind obedience to anyone.  Xerox's Barry Rand was right on target when he warned his people that if you have a yes-man working for you, one of you is redundant.  Good leadership encourages everyone's evolution.

LESSON 5

"Never neglect details.  When everyone's mind is dulled or distracted the leader must be doubly vigilant."

Strategy equals execution.  All the great ideas and visions in the world are worthless if they can't be implemented rapidly and efficiently.  Good leaders delegate and empower others liberally, but they pay attention to details, every day.  (Think about supreme athletic coaches like Jimmy Johnson, Pat Riley and Tony La Russa).  Bad ones, even those who fancy themselves as  progressive "visionaries," think they're somehow "above" operational details. Paradoxically, good leaders understand something else: an obsessive routine in carrying out the details begets conformity and complacency, which in turn dulls everyone's mind.  That is why even as they pay attention to details, they continually encourage people to challenge the process.  They implicitly understand the sentiment of CEO leaders like Quad Graphic's Harry Quadracchi, Oticon's Lars Kolind and the late Bill McGowan of MCI, who all independently asserted that the Job of a leader is not to be the chief organizer, but the chief dis-organizer.

LESSON 6

"You don't know what you can get away with until you try."

You know the expression, "it's easier to get forgiveness than permission."  Well, it's true.  Good leaders don't wait for official blessing to try things out.  They're prudent, not reckless.  But they also realize a fact of life in most organizations: if you ask enough people for permission, you'll inevitably come up against someone who believes his job is to say "no."  So the moral is, don't ask.  Less effective middle managers endorsed the sentiment, "If I haven't explicitly been told 'yes,' I can't do it," whereas the good ones believed, "If I haven't explicitly been told 'no,' I can."  There's a world of difference between these two points of view.

LESSON 7

"Keep looking below surface appearances. Don't shrink from doing so (just) because you might not like what you find."

"If it ain't broke, don't fix it" is the slogan of the complacent, the arrogant or the scared.  It's an excuse for inaction, a call to non-arms.  It's a mind-set that assumes (or hopes) that today's realities will continue tomorrow in a tidy, linear and predictable fashion.  Pure fantasy.  In this sort of culture, you won't find people who pro-actively take steps to solve problems as they emerge.  Here's a little tip: don't invest in these companies.

LESSON 8

"Organization doesn't really accomplish anything.  Plans don't accomplish anything, either.  Theories of management don't much matter.  Endeavors succeed or fail because of the people involved.  Only by attracting the best people will you accomplish great deeds."

In a brain-based economy, your best assets are people.  We've heard this  expression so often that it's become trite.  But how many leaders really "walk the talk" with this stuff?  Too often, people are assumed to be empty chess pieces to be moved around by grand viziers, which may explain why so many top managers immerse their calendar time in deal making, restructuring and the latest management fad.  How many immerse themselves in the goal of creating an environment where the best, the brightest, the most creative are attracted, retained and, most importantly, unleashed?

LESSON 9

"Organization charts and fancy titles count for next to nothing."

Organization charts are frozen, anachronistic photos in a work place that ought to be as dynamic as the external environment around you.  If people really followed organization charts, companies would collapse.  In well-run organizations, titles are also pretty meaningless.  At best, they advertise some authority, an official status conferring the ability to give orders and induce obedience.  But titles mean little in terms of real power, which is the capacity to influence and inspire.  Have you ever noticed that people will personally commit to certain individuals who on paper (or on the organization chart) possess little authority, but instead possess pizzazz, drive, expertise, and genuine caring for teammates and products?  On the flip side, non-leaders in management may be formally anointed with all the perks and frills associated with high positions, but they have little influence on others, apart from their ability to extract minimal compliance to minimal standards.

LESSON 10

"Never let your ego get so close to your position that when your position goes, your ego goes with it."

Too often, change is stifled by people who cling to familiar turfs and job descriptions.  One reason that even large organizations wither is that managers won't challenge old, comfortable ways of doing things.  But  real leaders understand that, nowadays, every one of our jobs is becoming obsolete.  The proper response is to obsolete our activities before someone else does.  Effective leaders create a climate where people’s worth is  determined by their willingness to learn new skills and grab new responsibilities, thus perpetually reinventing their jobs.  The most important question in performance evaluation becomes not, "How well did you perform your job since the last time we met?" but, "How much
did you change it?"

LESSON 11

"Fit no stereotypes.  Don't chase the latest management fads.  The situation dictates which approach best accomplishes the team's mission."

Flitting from fad to fad creates team confusion, reduces the leader's credibility, and drains organizational coffers.  Blindly following a particular fad generates rigidity in thought and action.  Sometimes speed to market is more important than total quality.  Sometimes an unapologetic directive is more appropriate than participatory discussion.  Some situations require the leader to hover closely; others require long, loose leashes.  Leaders honor their core values, but they are flexible in how they execute them.  They understand that management techniques are not magic mantras but simply tools to be reached for at the right times.

LESSON 12

"Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier."

The ripple effect of a leader's enthusiasm and optimism is awesome.  So is the impact of cynicism and pessimism.  Leaders who whine and blame engender  those same behaviors among their colleagues.  I am not talking about stoically accepting organizational stupidity and performance incompetence with a "what, me worry?" smile.  I am talking about a gung-ho attitude that says "we can change things here, we can achieve awesome goals, we can be the best."  Spare me the grim litany of the "realist," give me the unrealistic aspirations of the optimist any day.

LESSON 13

"Powell's Rules for Picking People:”

Look for intelligence and judgment, and most critically, a capacity to anticipate, to see around corners.  Also look for loyalty, integrity, a high energy drive, a balanced ego, and the drive to get things done.

How often do our recruitment and hiring processes tap into these attributes? More often than not, we ignore them in favor of length of resume, degrees and prior titles.  A string of job descriptions a recruit held yesterday seem to be more important than who one is today, what they can contribute tomorrow, or how well their values mesh with those of the organization.  You can train a bright, willing novice in the fundamentals of your business fairly readily, but it's a lot harder to train someone to have integrity, judgment, energy, balance, and the drive to get things done.  Good leaders stack the deck in their favor right in the recruitment phase.

LESSON 14

"Great leaders are almost always great simplifiers, who can cut through argument, debate and doubt, to offer a solution everybody can understand."

Effective leaders understand the KISS principle, Keep It Simple, Stupid.  They articulate vivid, over-arching goals and values, which they use to drive daily behaviors and choices among competing alternatives.  Their visions and priorities are lean and compelling, not cluttered and buzzword-laden.  Their decisions are crisp and clear, not tentative and ambiguous.  They convey an unwavering firmness and consistency in their actions, aligned with the picture of the future they paint.  The result: clarity of purpose, credibility of leadership, and integrity in organization.

LESSON 15

Part I: "Use the formula P=40 to 70, in which P stands for the probability of success and the numbers indicate the percentage of information acquired.”

Part II: "Once the information is in the 40 to 70 range, go with your gut."

Don't take action if you have only enough information to give you less than a 40 percent chance of being right, but don't wait until you have enough facts to be 100 percent sure, because by then it is almost always too late.  Today, excessive delays in the name of information-gathering breeds "analysis paralysis."   Procrastination in the name of reducing risk actually increases risk.


LESSON 16

"The commander in the field is always right and the rear echelon is wrong, unless proved otherwise."

Too often, the reverse defines corporate culture.  This is one of the main reasons why leaders like Ken Iverson of Nucor Steel, Percy Barnevik of Asea Brown Boveri, and Richard Branson of Virgin have kept their corporate staffs to a bare-bones minimum - how about fewer than 100 central corporate staffers for global $30 billion-plus ABB?  Or around 25 and 3 for multi-billion Nucor and Virgin, respectively?  Shift the power and the financial accountability to the folks who are bringing in the beans, not the ones who are counting or analyzing them.

LESSON 17

"Have fun in your command.  Don't always run at a breakneck pace.  Take leave when you've earned it: Spend time with your families.

Corollary: surround yourself with people who take their work seriously, but not themselves, those who work hard and play hard."

Herb Kelleher of Southwest Air and Anita Roddick of The Body Shop would agree: seek people who have some balance in their lives, who are fun to hang out with, who like to laugh (at themselves, too) and who have some non-job priorities which they approach with the same passion that they do their work. Spare me the grim workaholic or the pompous pretentious "professional;” I'll help them find jobs with my competitor.

LESSON 18

"Command is lonely."

Harry Truman was right.  Whether you're a CEO or the temporary head of a project team, the buck stops here.  You can encourage participative management and bottom-up employee involvement, but ultimately the essence of leadership is the willingness to make the tough, unambiguous choices that will have an impact on the fate of the organization.  I've seen too many non-leaders flinch from this responsibility.  Even as you create an informal, open, collaborative corporate culture, prepare to be lonely.

“Leadership is the art of accomplishing more than the science of management says is possible.”

What Does Love Mean? (In The Eyes of a Child)

A group of professional people posed this question to a group of 4 to 8 year-olds, "What does love mean?" The answers they got were broader and deeper than anyone could have imagined. See what you think:

"When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all even when his hands got arthritis, too. That's Love. Rebecca - age 8

When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You just know that your name is safe in their mouth." Billy - age 4

"Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other." Karl - age 5

"Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French Fries without making them give you any of theirs." Chrissy - age 6

"Love is what makes you smile when you're tired." Terri - age 4

"Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK." Danny - age 7

"Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get tired of kissing, you still want to be together and you talk more. My Mommy and Daddy are like that. They look gross when they kiss" Emily - age 8

"Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen." Bobby - age 7 (Wow!)

"If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you hate." Nikka - age 6

"Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it everyday." Noelle - age 7

"Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well." Tommy - age 6

"During my piano recital, I was on a stage and I was scared. I looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling. He was the only one doing that. I wasn't scared anymore." Cindy - age 8

"My mommy loves me more than anybody. You don't see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night." Clare - age 6

"Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken." Elaine-age 5

"Love is when Mommy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is handsomer than Robert Redford." Chris - age 7

"Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day." Mary Ann - age 4

"I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones." Lauren - age 4

"When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of you" Karen - age 7

"Love is when Mommy sees Daddy on the toilet and she doesn't think it's gross." Mark - age 6

"You really shouldn't say 'I love you' unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget," Jessica - age 8

And the final one -- Author and lecturer Leo Buscaglia once talked about contest he was asked to judge. The purpose of the contest was to find the most caring child. (Now this will melt your heart.) The winner was a four year old child whose next door neighbor was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife. Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman's yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there. When

his Mother asked him what he had said to the neighbor, the little boy said, "Nothing, I just helped him cry."

Of Relationships and Love

TRUST is a very important factor for all relationships. When trust is broken, it is the end of the relationship. Lack of trust leads to suspicion, suspicion generates anger, anger causes enmity and enmity may result in separation.

A telephone operator told me that one day  she received a phone call. She answered, "Public Utilities Board."  There was silence. She repeated, "PUB."

There was still no answer. When she was going to cut off the line, she heard a lady's voice, "Oh, so this is  PUB. Sorry, I got the  number from my husband's pocket but I do not know whose number it is." Without mutual trust, just imagine what will happen to the couple if the telephone operator answered with just "hello" instead of "PUB".

NO POINTING FINGERS

A man asked his father-in-law, "Many  people praised you for a successful  marriage. Could you please share with me your secret?" The father-in-law answered in a smile,

"Never criticise your wife for her shortcomings or when she does something wrong. Always bear in mind that because of her shortcomings and weaknesses, she could not find a better husband than you."

We all look forward to being loved and respected. Many people are afraid of losing face. Generally, when a person makes a mistake, he would look around to find a scapegoat to point the finger at. This is the start of a war. We should always remember that when we point one finger at a person, the other four fingers are pointing at ourselves. If we forgive others, others will ignore our mistake too.

CREATING PERFECT RELATIONSHIPS?

A person visited the government matchmaker  for marriage, SDU, and requested "I am looking for a spouse. Please help me to find a suitable one." The SDU officer said, "Your requirements,  please." "Oh, good looking, polite, humorous, sporty, knowledgeable, good in singing and dancing. Willing to accompany me the whole day at home during my leisure hour, if I don't go out. Telling me interesting stories when I need companion for conversation and be silent when I want to rest." The officer listened carefully and replied, "I understand you need television."

There is a saying that a perfect match can only be found between a blind wife and a deaf husband, because the blind wife cannot see the faults of the husband and the deaf husband cannot hear the nagging of the wife.

Many couples are blind and deaf at the courting stage and dream of perpetual perfect relationship. Unfortunately, when the excitement of love wears off, they wake up and discover that marriage is not a bed of roses. The nightmare begins.

NO OVERPOWERING

Many relationships fail because one party tries to overpower another, or demands too much. People in love tend to think that love will conquer all and their spouses will change the bad habits after marriage.

Actually, this is not the case. There is a Chinese saying which carries the meaning that "It is easier to reshape a mountain or a river than a person's  character."

It is not easy to change. Thus, having high expectation on changing the spouse character will cause disappointment and unpleasantness. It would be less painful to change ourselves and lower our expectations..

RIGHT SPEECH

There is a Chinese saying which carries  the meaning that "A speech will either prosper or ruin a nation."  Many relationships break off because of wrong speech. When a couple is too close with each other, we always forget mutual respect and courtesy. We may say anything without considering if it would hurt the other party. A friend and her millionaire husband visited their construction site.A worker who wore a helmet saw her and shouted, "Hi, Emily! Remember me? We used to date in the secondary  school." On the way home, her millionaire husband teased her, "Luckily  you married me. Otherwise you will be the wife of a construction worker." She answered, "You should appreciate that you  married me. Otherwise, he will be the millionaire and not you."

Frequently exchanging these remarks plants the seed for a bad relationship.

PERSONAL PERCEPTION

Different people have different perception. One man's meat could be another man's poison. A couple bought a donkey from the market. On the way home, a boy mmented, "Very  stupid. Why neither of them ride on the donkey?" Upon hearing that, the husband let the  wife ride on the donkey. He walked besides them. Later, an old man saw it and commented, "The husband is the head of family. How can the wife ride on the donkey while  the husband is on foot?"  Hearing this, the wife quickly got down and let the husband ride on the donkey.

Further on the way home, they met an old  Lady. She commented, "How can the man ride on the donkey but let the wife walk. He is no gentleman." The husband thus quickly asked the wife to  join him on the donkey. Then, they met a young man. He commented,  "Poor donkey, how can you hold up the weight of two persons. They are cruel to you."  Hearing that, the husband and wife immediately climbed down from the donkey and carried it on their shoulders.  It seems to be the only choice left. Later, on a narrow bridge, the donkey was  frightened and struggled. They lost their balance and fell into the river. You can never have everyone praise you, nor will everyone condemn you. Never in the past, not at present, and never will be in the future. Thus, do not be too bothered by others words if our conscience is clear..

BE PATIENT

This is a true story which happened in the  States. A man came out of his home to admire his  new truck. To his puzzlement, his three-year-old son was happily hammering dents into the shiny paint of the truck.

The man ran to his son, knocked him away, hammered the little boy's hands into pulp as punishment.

When the father calmed down, he rushed his son to the hospital. Although the doctor tried desperately to save the crushed bones, he finally had to amputate the  fingers from both the boy's hands. When the boy woke up from the surgery  & saw his bandaged stubs, he innocently said, "Daddy, I'm sorry about your truck." Then he asked, "but when are my fingers going to grow  back?"

The father went home and committed  suicide. Think about this story the next time someone steps on your feet or wish to take revenge

.

Think first before you lose your patience with someone you love. Trucks can be repaired.  Broken bones & hurt feelings often can't. Too often we fail to recognise the difference between the person and the performance. We forget that forgiveness is greater than revenge.

People make mistakes.  We are allowed to make mistakes. But the actions we take while in a rage will haunt us forever.

Lesson Sixty-Six: One Final Question

I’m convinced that knowing the answers isn’t nearly as important as asking the right questions. It is only through probing, self-reflective questioning that we can really find new possibilities in our work and our world.

I’m a great question-asker. Not so much because a higher strategy is at play, but simply because I’m curious and I like to know things.

I learn by asking.

I saved this question for the last page of the book. It will change the course of your business life, if you let it. I’ve asked this question to my clients and myself hundreds of times. I guarantee you that the answer will give you a new resolve in your business, and a tighter focus in your life. I’m not the first person to ask this question. It originated from some of the greatest thinkers of the world, spanning all cultures and all time. But
I’ve used it to help business owners see beneath the surface of their businesses and customers, to unearth a deeper understanding.

Are your ready? Here it is:

Why?

Lesson Sixty-Five: Next Time

Business started off great. People came from all over the neighborhood to try it. Customers were lining up, they couldn‚t get enough. The clink clink clink of the cash box filled her with delight.

It was her first business and it was everything she hoped for. Give the customers what they want.Take their money. Everyone is happy. It couldn't be easier, she thought.

But then business started to slow down. Sales dropped. Plummeted. It seemed to happen almost immediately. One minute it was teeming with people, the next minute completely empty. Not a soul.

At first she was patient. They'll come back, she told herself resolutely. It's just a slow spell. But then it dragged on and she started to worry.

Starting a businesses isn't easy. She had worked hard preparing hers and now it was beginning to fail.

Why won't they come? Are my prices are too high? Should I change the product? She even considered giving it away for free. But then, how would she make any money?

It wasn't a big company, in fact it was about as small as they come.

And so she began to advertise. Circling the neighborhood with flyers, practically shouting at everyone that passed. Come in, try it! It's the best you'll ever have, she yelled.

Finally, at the end of the day she gave in.

"I tired of this Daddy," she said to me. "Can we stop?"

So I helped her pack up her little lemonade stand and we counted her money.

"How did you like being in business?" I asked my little four-year-old,soon to be five-year-old entrepreneur.

"I liked it, but it was harder than I thought," she said, and then paused reflectively. "Next time I'll do it different."

It takes many of us a lifetime to learn that lesson.

Lesson Sixty-Four: Take Me Out to the Ballgame

It's bedtime. In honor of the opening week of baseball season, I sing a gentle, lullaby version of "Take me out to the ballgame" to my son Toby.

On weekends I sport a Seattle Mariners baseball cap. I've kept it on all off-season as a small vigil to the coming season. The winter is long and lonely without the crack of the bat and daily update of statistics. (In baseball they measure everything. I've found it to be good marketing advice as well.)

Occasionally someone will strike up a conversation about my team. In fact, just the other day as I waited in line up a fellow customer asked, "What do you think of those Mariners?" pointing to my hat. I could see he was just making conversation to pass the time. But I couldn't help myself as I launched into an in-depth analysis. (They've upgraded in left field, and third base. They lost Sele but I don't think he was a gamer. I think Baldwin will surprise some people if he stays healthy. But what will be key is if Boone can repeat last year's numbers....)

When I finished speaking I got a blank stare and a vague, "Oh yeah, I don't really follow that closely."

Passion is singular.

Unless you are a true blue baseball fan, you don't want to talk to me about it. I will bore you with useless insight and far-from-expert opinion. My wife Jess will tell you, it is horrid. But I can't help it.

When you talk about your business, are you like me when I talk about baseball?

Do yawns abound? Do you answer questions that weren't asked? Does your knowledge get met with a blank stare and an awkward moment of disinterest?

It probably happens more often then you think. But don't feel bad.We all do it. Most often it happens when we sell. Have you ever given a prospect information he didn't ask for, and complicated his decision with choices he doesn't need?

I'll make you an offer. I will pledge to control my outburst of Mariner-trivia, and baseball enthusiasm, it you will control yours. Is it a deal?

Lesson Sixty-Three: Stealing from the Poor

It always shocks me when a small business owner will rationalize his advertising by saying, "We look at what the competitors do and copy them."

Now, I'm all in favour of stealing ideas. In fact, I'd encourage it. There are no original ideas under the sun, as the saying goes. So whoever it is you are stealing from, stole from someone else. But, for goodness sake, be smart about it.

Taking the ideas of a competitor is like robbing the poor. It is cruel and there isn't anything worth taking.

The real prize is in making a careful study of those who are successful. They are the ones you should be eyeing. That's where to find the good stuff.

But, don't be tricked by thinking biggest is best. Most companies got big on the shoulders of great leaders who are long since departed.They are now run by bureaucracies and managers. The methods of big companies are vastly different than those simply wanting to get big.

You will not rise up by emulating them.

Also, do not look within your industry. Industries are filled with debates, agendas and information that is completely irrelevant to your customer.

A local restaurant,The Macaroni Grill, is doing a brisk business (which I'm sure is making someone very rich) largely by stealing the ideas of supermarkets. When you order an entrée your waiter will up-sell you a $1.99 starter salad, which is a twist on the point-of-sale impulse purchase. A bottle of wine is strategically placed on every table and is sold by the inch, allowing patrons to buy exactly the amount they want. It is no different than the bulk goods bins at your supermarket. Desserts are brought along on a platter, allowing the customer to select one on the spot, which is just a form of merchandising.

They know how to steal good ideas that better the customers experience and increase profitability.What can you do?