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ã 2003 Hopkins and Company, LLC
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Pathfinders
The best route to success for one executive may be
the worst possible path for another to try to follow. That’s one of the
reasons why our approach in Executive Times
is to offer questions, not answers. In our executive coaching business, we
encourage executives to be themselves, and to leverage strengths, rather than
try to conform to someone else’s image of an executive. In this month’s issue
we’ll take a look at some of the paths being followed and reflect on what
these situations might mean for you. After all, it’s your path, not someone
else’s, that you will follow.
Fifteen new books are
rated in this issue, beginning on page 5, including another “DNR” (Do Not
Read) rating for one book. This month’s books may be the most eclectic we’ve
read this year. You can also visit our 2003 bookshelf at http://www.hopkinsandcompany.com/bookshelf.html
and see the rating table explained as well as explore links to all 2003 book
reviews.
Excavation
We’ve always enjoyed asking, but
not answering, those quirky open-ended interview questions. You know the
ones: “Describe the hardest work you’ve ever done;” “Tell me about some of the
mistakes you’ve made at work;” or “Name one of your role models and tell me
why you chose that person.” To achieve an executive role, every applicant
will encounter dozens of such questions, with full understanding that there’s
no road map to follow and there are no correct answers. So each applicant
excavates his or her own road, leading toward a successful career move, or
away from one. Many executives become rusty at answering such questions, so
we were pleased to read in the November issue of Fast Company (http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/76/fasttalk.html) that selected CEOs were asked some of the
interview questions their companies ask. The answers are enlightening. Here’s
a sample, a question answered by Glen A. Barton, CEO of Caterpillar:
”Q. How do you define good performance? A. I've learned that good
performance and true job satisfaction come from exceeding what I expect of
myself, not just what others expect of me.
The key to job performance is first to realize that as an employee, I have
many customers who expect me to deliver a quality service. And just as every
great company works day and night to serve its customers, I must do the same
for mine. On the most basic level, I want to satisfy our board of directors,
our customers, and shareholders. Good performance shouldn't be judged simply
in the results you achieve. It's also determined by how you achieve those
results. You have to take what exists and build on it.”
You may want to go through this
process yourself. Ask yourself and answer the kind of interview questions you
and your organization ask others, and become clearer in your answers.
Do the questions you ask of job applicants tell you enough information
about how an individual is likely to perform on the job? Do your own answers
to your organization’s typical interview questions confirm that you’re a good
fit for your current job?
Detour
Most organizations, on advice of counsel,
provide very little reference information on former employees. One CEO told
us about the punishment he once received from what he thought was a good
deed. When called for a reference on a former employee, he confirmed job
title and dates of employment. Since he knew the CEO of the hiring company,
he said something to the effect, “Between you and me, we suspected fraud by
this employee, but chose not to litigate.” The hiring CEO took a pass on the
applicant, but when asked why, said “a bad reference from your former
employer.” You guessed right: the former employee sued the former employer.
Despite increased awareness of such risks, some well-intentioned executives
say more than they should on job references. Out of such situations, new
services have emerged. We read in The New York Times (10/19/03) (http://www.nytimes.com/2003/10/19/jobs/19exli.html)
that job applicants can hire someone to provide a reference check report on
themselves for a fee of less than $100. According to the Times, “Even
when companies have policies limiting the information that managers can
reveal, people tend to talk, particularly when the former employee was a good
performer, according to executive recruiters. ‘We ask each candidate to give
names of three previous supervisors or people they've reported to,'’ said Lynne
Sebastian, a recruiter with Cornell Global in Wilton, Conn. ‘I
find people are very open. We get a pretty complete picture of most of our
candidates.’” Some users of the reference checking services want to know what
a future employer knows about them to be more prepared at interviews. Other
service users may want to sue a former employer.
Does everyone in your organization follow your policies on job
references? Beyond name, rank and serial number, are all comments made by the
reference providers in your organization backed up by facts, and are released
with the authorization of the former employee? How do you know that? What
would your references say about you? Is your path to a new job sent on a
detour by references?
Potholes
Some executives avoid personal
introspection at all costs. Certain organizations conduct personality tests
of executives, and share the results as a way to improve personal
effectiveness and create better team relationships. Often, mid-level
executives engage in this process readily, while senior executives excuse
themselves. A Business Week cover story on Dell (11/3/03) (http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/03_44/b3856001_mz001.htm)
presents a detailed report of the way the most senior executives at that
company have responded to the impact of aspects of their personalities on those
with whom they work.
”When Dell CEO Michael S. Dell and President Kevin B. Rollins
met privately in the fall of 2001, they felt confident that the company was
recovering from the global crash in PC sales. Their own personal performance,
however, was another matter. Internal interviews revealed that subordinates
thought Dell, 38, was impersonal and emotionally detached, while Rollins, 50,
was seen as autocratic and antagonistic. Few felt strong loyalty to the
company's leaders. Worse, the discontent was spreading: A survey taken over
the summer, following the company's first-ever mass layoffs, found that half
of Dell Inc.'s employees would leave if they got the chance.
What happened next says much about why Dell is the best-managed company in
technology. At other industry giants, the CEO and his chief sidekick might
have shrugged off the criticism or let the issue slide. Not at Dell. Fearing
an exodus of talent, the two execs focused on the gripes. Within a week, Dell
faced his top 20 managers and offered a frank self-critique, acknowledging
that he is hugely shy and that it sometimes made him seem aloof and
unapproachable. He vowed to forge tighter bonds with his team. Some in the
room were shocked. They knew personality tests given to key execs had repeatedly
shown Dell to be an "off-the-charts introvert," and such an
admission from him had to have been painful. "It was powerful
stuff," says Brian Wood, the head of public-sector sales for the
Americas. "You could tell it wasn't easy for him."
Michael Dell didn't stop there. Days later, they began showing a videotape of
his talk to every manager in the company -- several thousand people. Then
Dell and Rollins adopted desktop props to help them do what didn't come
naturally. A plastic bulldozer cautioned Dell not to ram through ideas
without including others, and a Curious George doll encouraged Rollins to
listen to his team before making up his mind.”
We can’t hide who we are at work:
those who work with us know us very well, and become accustomed to our strengths
and weaknesses. Sometimes, discussion about the impact of our behavior can
lead to changes that improve overall performance. Read the full article and
think about how to discuss your own vulnerabilities with co-workers.
Repairing a pothole will smooth your path.
How often have you talked
about the impact of your shortcomings on those with whom you work? Are there
simple changes you can make that allow you to still be yourself, but provide
others with the interaction they need with you?
Toll Roads
What brings satisfaction to one
executive leads to emptiness in another, especially when it comes to
achieving a balance between work and the rest of life. A profile of Virgin’s CEO Richard Branson in Fortune
(10/6/03) (http://www.fortune.com/fortune/subs/print/0,15935,488581,00.html)
contained the quote, “’I don't think of work as work and play as play. It's
all living,’ Branson says. ‘I'm living and learning every day—it's like being
at a university, studying a course you're really fascinated by. And in
between all that, I am surrounded by family and friends.’” A long magazine
article in The New York Times (http://www.nytimes.com/2003/10/26/magazine/26WOMEN.html)
(10/26/03), titled “The Opt-Out Revolution,” discussed how certain women have
chosen time with family over time at work. Business Week (10/27/03)
reported on the recent Catalyst study showing that women today hold
twice as many senior management jobs in large American companies as they did
in 1995. The cover story from Fortune (10/13/03) (http://www.fortune.com/fortune/print/0,15935,490359,00.html)
on the most powerful women in business culled from the same study “that 26%
of professional women who are not yet in the most senior posts say they don't
want those jobs.” What do you want, at what price?
How do you balance your work life with the rest of
your life? Are the boundaries where you want them to be? Does your allocation
of time match your priorities? Like Branson, do your work and play overlap?
Have you chosen family time over work achievements, or vice versa? Are you
comfortable with your choice?
Road Closed
For many executives, there’s a
point in a career where a dead end is reached. That could be retirement,
firing, or switching careers voluntarily. Some executives experience a deep
sense of loss when the end of a road is reached. We read a poignant quote
about this in The Chicago Tribune the day after the Cubs ended
their current season in tragedy. An article by Julia Keller contained
this quote: “As Thomas Lynch, author of ‘The Undertaking: Life Studies
From the Dismal Trade,’ wrote, ‘Grief is the tax we pay on our attachments.’”
That tax will come due for every executive.
How prepared are you to handle the
grief you’ll face because of your current attachments? Do you have an
identity or life outside your work? Will your tax be large or small when your
job ends?
Follow-up
Here are selected updates
on stories covered in prior issues of Executive Times:
Ø We called readers’ attention to the Mall Wars
between Taubman Centers, Inc. and Simon Property Group in the March 2003
and July
2003 issues of Executive Times. While the Taubmans’
personal stock holdings were relatively small, their voting rights were huge,
and they were able to rebuff a hostile offer from Simon, despite the wishes
of a majority of shareholders. When it looked like a federal ruling would go
against them, the Taubmans pushed Michigan legislators to keep the
out-of-state Simons out. All the media reported in October that the
legislation passed, and Simon dropped their bid. Sometimes the dinosaurs win.
Ø On the front page of the October 2002
issue of Executive
Times, we gave a long
quote from a Tyco party planner about the birthday party extravaganza
former CEO Dennis Kozlowski provided for his wife, Karen, half
the cost of which was paid by the company. If you’d like to see the 20 minutes
of edited videotape the jurors in Kozlowski’s trial viewed recently, you can
find links from The Wall Street
Journal at http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB106735726682798800,00.html.
Edited out of the videotape were some of more
outrageous party elements mentioned in the quote we selected.
Legacy
Presence
Walter E. Washington, former mayor of Washington, DC, died in late
October. The great-grandson of slaves, Washington irritated President
Lyndon Johnson when he turned down an invitation to lead the board of
commissioners. Johnson thought any black American would recognize that such
an appointment was a significant honor. Washington’s objection was that
without authority over the police and fire departments, the job was
ineffective, and he would be more of a token than a municipal CEO. Johnson
was miffed, but went on to lobby for changes, and Washington eventually accepted
a new Johnson invitation for a broader role, and was appointed mayor of the
nation’s capital in 1967, just in time for riots to burn acres of land and
destroy businesses and homes. During those riots, Washington rebuffed the
pressure from FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover to shoot looters, saying
that people were more important than property. Washington appeared at trouble
sites in the city, using his personal presence to calm tensions.
After
being reappointed twice as mayor by President Richard Nixon, the laws
changed, the citizens of Washington, DC were given their first opportunity in
100 years to choose their own government, and they selected Walter E.
Washington as the city’s mayor. Walter Washington’s dignity and presence
allowed the citizens of the city of Washington to convince skeptical members
of Congress that self-government was appropriate for that special area of
America. (While DC voters can elect some officials, they still have no voting
representation in the US Congress, which is why local license plates contain
the slogan “Taxation Without Representation.”) Washington knew which battles
to fight, and which ones to avoid. His leadership allowed for an effective
transition in governance. His character calmed the powerful and the
powerless.
Latest Books Read and Reviewed:
(Note: readers of the web version of Executive Times can click on
the book covers to order copies directly from amazon.com. When you order through these links,
Hopkins & Company receives a small payment from amazon.com. Click on the title to read the review or
visit our 2003 bookshelf at http://www.hopkinsandcompany.com/bookshelf.html).
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Title
(Link to Review)
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Author
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Rating
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Review
Summary
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Purchase
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The
Five People You Meet in Heaven
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Albom, Mitch
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Otherworldly. A harmless, sentimental effort to imagine life in heaven
being introduced to the recently departed by five people whose lives you
affected in some form or other while you were on earth.
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Brick
Lane
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Ali, Monica
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•••
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Elsewhere. Readers take an enjoyable journey into the immigrant
Bangladesh community in London through Ali’s skilled mastery of description,
dialogue and plot.
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Ready
For Anything: 52 Productivity Principles for Work and Life
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Allen, David
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DNR
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Oz. Wizard of productivity takes readers behind the curtain where
they find: not much. 160 pages of recycled, repetitive, rambling drivel.
Take a pass and do something productive instead.
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You
Look Nice Today
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Bing, Stanley
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•••
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Worklife. Few novels capture what real office work is like. Here’s
the exception, with the occasional exaggeration for pleasure. Interesting
times when a comment like that in the title can lead to a sexual harassment
suit.
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Envy: The
Seven Deadly Sins
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Epstein, Joseph
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•••
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Green. Witty, thoughtful, exploration of the many dimensions of envy
and the variety of forms it takes during our lives.
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Lies: And
the Lying Liars Who Tell Them … a Fair and Balanced Look at the Right
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Franken, Al
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•••
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Truths. Had Fox not complained about the title, we might have
skipped reading this one. Turns out to be less humorous and more serious
than we expected. Franken may not be the best spokesman for his positions,
but he presents enough facts to cheer those who are weary of the Right.
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The Greater
Good: How Philanthropy Drives the American Economy and Can Save Capitalism
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Gaudiani, Claire
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•••
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Generosity. Have you concluded that America is rich because we are
generous? You may increase your charitable giving after reading this book.
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The
Bishop Goes to The University
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Greeley, Andrew M.
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••
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Academic. Greeley reprises detective Bishop Blackie Ryan who solves
a murder mystery at The university (which all know is the University
of Chicago). Pleasant and entertaining, but dialog gets tedious after a
while.
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Losing
My Faculties: A Teacher’s Story
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Halpin, Brian
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•••
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Instructive. You don’t need to be a teacher to enjoy and learn from
this reflection on what makes us happy or sad at work. Bosses, co-workers
and situations resonate for anyone who has ever worked.
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Where
the Truth Lies
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Holmes, Rupert
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•••
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Secrets. Fine writing offers plot, dialogue and memorable characters
in the context of a study and reflection on how self-interest, friendship
and relationships interact.
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Journal
of the Dead: A Story of Friendship and Murder in the New Mexico Desert
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Kersten, Jason
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••
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Dry. Journalist takes sensational and macabre story and presents it
a piece at a time, with little insight and flair.
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The
Pleasure of My Company
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Martin, Steve
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••
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Neurotic. Memorable, obsessive-compulsive narrator unveils Everyman beneath
the disorder. Creative and interesting, but not as well written as Shopgirl.
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Sudden
Sea: The Great Hurricane of 1938
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Scotti, R. A.
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•••
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Stormy. Not a print version of the Weather Channel, but a
captivating and riveting story of places and people who faced an amazing
storm that caught New Englanders by surprise.
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Triangle:
The Fire That Changed America
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Von Drehle, David
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•••
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Burning. Absorbing combination of three stories: immigrant working
conditions in NYC; a devastating factory fire that killed hundreds, mostly
women; the political shift to the left laying a foundation for the New
Deal. Read and see if you agree that a single event can lead to dramatic
social changes.
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The
End of Advertising As We Know It
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Zyman, Sergio
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•••
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Results. Don’t spend another penny on advertising until you decide
where you agree and disagree with Zyman, known as the Aya-Cola for his
former job with Coke. Ample stories of what works and what doesn’t.
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