Rennerdale- Life Lessons

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It was the bottom of the sixth, two outs, bases loaded.  

My team, the Rennerdale Braves, was beating the Rennerdale Indians 4 to 3 in the last game of the local Little League World series when Mike Grimes stepped to the plate.

Killer moment for me. How do I pitch to him? Mike was the best, a homerun king.

I remember gripping the ball tighter than ever and throwing the ball harder than ever.

And then I heard the sounds of screaming fans as I looked over my right shoulder to see the last pitch I would ever throw,  fly over the fence…grandslam!

For those of you that have experienced heartbreak as a young child, I really don’t have to tell you how long I cried over that moment.

As I walked towards the family car my mother put her arm around me and said; "Now Bob, its only a game, and when lose, you will really appreciate winning even better.”

Back in the ‘60s only the champions received trophies. Losers walked away with tears and parents (in efforts to comfort their kids) saying things like, “It’s only a game”. 

Correct, it is only a game and by definition a game is; a competition played according to rules and decided by skill, strength or luck. 

Sounds like "life" to me.
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Goals vs. Systems

What's the difference between goals and systems?

• If you're an upwardly mobile employee, your goal is to get promoted. Your system is the performance appraisal process of your company.

• If you're a writer, your goal is to write a book. Your system is the writing schedule that you follow each week.

• If you're a runner, your goal is to run a marathon. Your system is your training schedule for the month.

• If you're an entrepreneur, your goal is to build a million dollar business. Your system is your sales and marketing process.

Now think on this...

If you completely ignored your goals and focused only on your system, would you get results?

Yes you would! The problem is, without goals you will never know if you effectively implemented and worked the system.
However, setting goals without implementing mechanisms to achieve goals (system) is like wanting to bake a pie without knowing the recipe.

Systems are better because you have the ingredients and the recipe and as long as you at least work the process you will complete the task.
Even though your target is unknown, you've done the work and can now set realistic goals based on your experience with the system.
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The Right Leadership Stuff!

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Leaders need to have the right attitude, or the leadership will fall short.
Leadership is giving...inspire vs. require...work done "with" people vs. work done "by" people.

1. Give up on perfection, make it better.
2. Believe you have more in you.
3. Falling is not failing.
4. Never make excuses.
5. Compare up.
6. Train people "who" to be,  before telling them "what" to do.
7. Train on skills;  you can't teach personalities.
8. Do what your best self longs to do.
9. Surround yourself with people who acknowledge your progress and challenge you to do better.
10. Let go of the past, strive to improve the future.

"When looking at four ounces of water in an eight ounce glass, the pessimist will say its half empty, the optimistic says its half full...the leader says-----who needs a drink?"

www.bobgambone.com

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Several decades ago, I was a young cocky manager who thought I knew it all.

After all, I just won manager of the month, scored a great bonus and received an awesome promotion.

An associate of mine, we will call her Mary, reached out to me at my awards celebration and said if I ever needed her help, just let her know.

Mary was my hero; keyword here is “was.” She was a leader, my mentor… but in my eyes, I had no need for her anymore.

“Thanks for the offer Mary, let me think about.”

Some twenty years later, I ran into Mary. She had left the company, started a new career and in my eyes, she was very successful. I of course boasted about my success and never even asked Mary how she was doing. Once again, she reached out to me and offered her help. Really, I thought… “Thanks for the offer Mary, let me think about it.”

Fast forward to today.

I was attending a business event, when out of the corner of my eye I saw Mary walking towards me. She seemed distraught. We engaged in conversation and it turns out that Mary was struggling with her business, had been for years and needed help. Help that I knew I could offer.

“Mary,” I said, “please let me help you.”

She looked at me and said, “Thanks for offer Bob, let me think about it.”

I left the event very frustrated and confused.

Lesson learned:

Leadership is giving, and when Mary offered me help, I shut the door before I had a chance to see what was on the other side, denying her the opportunity to give. Years later, she reciprocated…I think not to be revengeful, but since I never accepted her help, she probably thought my offer was not genuine.

Songwriter and poet James Durst once wrote:

“Help one another; there’s no time like the present and no present like the time.”

No matter how successful you are in business, when someone offers you help, accept it…help is giving…help is a gift.

This is my 124^th blog posting
museahaw

The $50 Dryer

A client of mine recently shared a story with me. 

  Back in 1980, her family was struggling financially. One day their clothes dryer died and they had very little money to purchase a new one. So she visited the local garbage dump that sold used appliances.  She found a medium size unknown brand dryer for $50. The owner of the dump said he could not guarantee that it would work, however he did state that the people who dropped it off said it was still in fine working condition.

She took their word for it.

That dryer served her family for the next five years. In 1985 the family moved and had to leave the dryer behind. The new family that purchased her home offered $100 for the used dryer; my client denied and took only $50. That same dryer served the new family for the next three years. In 1988 the new family was expanding with three new children and decided they needed a bigger dryer. So they took the used dryer back to the same junk yard. When the owner of the junkyard saw the dryer he said, “I remember that dryer, does it still work?” The new family said “Yes, it works fine.” The junk yard owner gave them $50.

When I first heard this story, several words went through my mind.  “trust” “honesty”  “ appreciation” , even “serendipity”.

When I read it through a couple more times, I had an “aha moment”. The common thread here is actually “leadership”. You do the same…read it through a few more times and you will also have an “aha moment”.

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The Right Moves

Leaders need to have the right attitude, or the leadership will fall short.
Leadership is giving...inspire vs. require...work done "with" people vs. work done "by" people.

1. Give up on perfection, make it better.
2. Believe you have more in you.
3. Falling is not failing.
4. Never make excuses.
5. Compare up.
6. Train people "who" to be,  before telling them "what" to do.
7. Train on skills;  you can't teach personalities.
8. Do what your best self longs to do.
9. Surround yourself with people who acknowledge your progress and challenge you to do better.
10. Let go of the past, strive to improve the future.

"When looking at four ounces of water in an eight ounce glass, the pessimist will say its half empty, the optimistic says its half full...the leader says-----thank you for the water."

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Everyone Falls, Not Everyone Fails

You know the cliche'... "What's old, is new again."

In a recent Success Magazine CD I heard something that reminded me of some heartfelt words,  shared with me years ago,  by John Susan.
 John was a mentor of mine for many years.

...After struggling through a terrible year in one particular store, I was demoted and put on probation.

John shared with me these inspiring words:

"Bob, in business there is a difference between falling and failing...just like the stock market, all businesses fall. Its takes passionate leadership to prevent the failure."

A few weeks later he sent me a note with this quote...
"Nobody trips over mountains. It is the small pebble that causes you to stumble. Pass all the pebbles in your path and you will find you have crossed the mountain." ~Author Unknown

John died of pancreatic cancer in his mid 50's.
 In my book Pecan Pie, I credit John for my leadership growth.
Memory Eternal - John Susan
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Five Fundamental Business Paradigms

LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT

• 
  Leaders are always on stage. Their attitudes are contagious. Their attitudes have the power to create an epidemic of negativity or success.
• 
  Leaders pull their teams “up the hill”, face them, and do not turn their backs. Old school managers push employees.
• 
  Leaders develop others. Leaders understand when people need to be led and when to let people take the lead.

CHANGE MANAGEMENT

• 
  Drop the word Change (negative connotation) and replace with Continuous Improvement.
• 
  Need a consistent and credible W.I.I.F.M. (What's In It For Me)
• 
  Listen to concerns, be empathetic….but stay the course.

CUSTOMER SERVICE

• 
  The organization’s customer service must add value to the customers’ lives. Your customers must feel good about their relationship with your organization.

• 
  The organization’s customer service must add value to the employees’ lives. Your employees must feel good about their relationship with your customers.
• 
  Customer Service is not work. It is an integral part of everyone’s job, practiced by all team members, and modeled by leaders at all times.

INITIATIVE ROLLOUTS

• 
  Grass roots development (pilot), plant the seed with the front line employees and with guidance have them grow the ideas, creates ownership….then recognize the individuals or teams.
• 
  A top-level commitment to invest in “true” training.
  (5-step process; Intro, show, try, feedback, follow up)
• 
  Sustain the process by instilling a continuous improvement mentality and start building a bridge for that improvement to avoid “flavor of the month” ‘isms.

BUSINESS TURNAROUND

• 
  First, revisit the above 4 foundation skills to determine the current state of the organization.

• Business turnaround often calls for leadership changes, improved change management skills, ratcheted up customer service, and the introduction of new initiatives.

• The organization must identify a vision and constantly focus on its achievement. Invite ideas and actions from everyone.

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10 Identifiers of True Leadership

1. Leaders have passionate enthusiasm! Attitudes are contagious and team “leaders” understand that they are role models.

2. Leaders model the company’s values and “walk the talk.”

3. Leaders pull their teams up the hill, face them and don’t turn their backs.
"old-school managers" push employees up the hill.

4. Leaders are not necessarily the best talent, they are skilled at recognizing and utilizing talent.

5. Leaders develop others, place a high value on the “we,” and discourage the “I.”

6. Leaders know when to let other and better “leaders” lead... when the situation demands it.

7. Leaders listen and provide positive reinforcement and constructive criticism.

8. Leaders turn problems into opportunities.

9. Leaders understand that everyone falls, but not everyone fails.

10. At the end of the day... managers may think about the tasks that were completed, leaders reflect on the people that completed the tasks.

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If You Are Looking For a Competitive Edge, Start With Leadership

---True Story About Leadership---


I was anxious and excited. It was my first day as Store Manager at a new location.

As I entered the store, smile on my face and notebook and pencil in hand, I mentally prepared myself to meet new customers and employees. Top of mind was the new “Cleaning” initiative that the company was going through, and my approach would be to talk with employees and department heads about the status of the project as I toured the store.

I was very intrigued, as I walked from department to department, to find that everyone was saying the same type of thing. “Denny has us on top of it”, “Oh yes, we make sure we follow the checklist, wouldn’t want to upset Denny”, and “Nice to meet you, and if you see Denny ask him to stop by, we have some questions”. Of course my confidence level peaked knowing that Denny, probably a co-manager, was on top of things, and really had the store’s team engaged in the new initiative.

When I finally got upstairs where the offices were located, I asked my Human Resources Manager for a list of the store’s department heads and managers. After reviewing the list, I turned to Debbie (the HR Manager), and said, “Does Denny go by a different name? I don’t see him on this list”. She looked at me, quite puzzled, and said, “Our Denny? He’s the Janitor.”

Denny was not a manager or a department head and had never aspired to be one. Denny, however, was a leader, and was clearly filling a void that was left empty by the management team. This realization convinced me that leadership is found in the person and not in the position.

Take a hard look at your management team. Are they inspiring their teams to do the job? Or are they just simply assigning work.

In today’s economy, more than ever, business owners and executives need their managers and department heads to be Leaders.

Here are seven quick tips to help you identify Leaders:

1. Leaders have passionate enthusiasm! Attitudes are contagious and your team “leaders” need to understand that they are role models.

2. Leaders model your company’s values and “walk the talk.”

3. Leaders pull their teams up the hill, face them, and don’t turn their backs. Old school managers push employees.

4. Leaders are not necessarily the best workers. They understand that the “task” is never more important than the customer.

5. Leaders develop others, place a high value on the “we,” and discourage the “I.”

6. Leaders understand when people need to be led and when to let people take the lead.

7. Leaders listen and provide positive reinforcement and constructive criticism.

For more information on how you can transform your managers into Leaders, contact:
Bob Gambone; Business Life and Leadership Coach/Consultant
36 years experience in Retail and Supermarkets
Email: rvg444@aol.com