Character Requires Accountability

Character requires accountability!

How much have we learned from our past failures? We live in a time where mass confusion exists with regard to politics, economics and the issues that drive business growth. On one hand we hear that the small business needs to be taxed, on the other hand we hear that the small business should not be taxed. Those statements seem a bit double minded, divided and confusing. It is reasonable to acknowledge that by the time this article is read we most likely will have a new President in our country. Both candidates currently running for President suggest a need for change. I would agree with both candidates change does need to occur, but it happens only when we are authentically pursuing an improvement process that includes accountability and an openness to advance toward a positive end. The real challenge with change is not to simply understand the need intellectually but to do the things that would connect to that intellectual understanding. We call that doing what we said we would do even to the expense failure. I would much rather fail at something then to agree intellectually and never try to apply that truth to my life.

If asked the purpose for business, many would agree that the purpose of business is to be profitable. In fact, the well known economist Milton Freidman once declared, “The only obligation of a business is to make a profit.” 1

It strikes me that if making a profit is the only goal of business we are small-minded and have a narrow view of the purpose of what business can potentially be about. In interviewing business owners and their employees I hear a deeper desire beyond just simply making money and getting by that wants to explore a deeper view that has meaning beyond earnings. I hear sparks of desire to do more, be more and achieve more than is often afforded in a traditional job, and even hear unmet needs that cause frustration and poor performance. Even with the poorest attitude expressed by the defeated employee given an opportunity to do something meaningful that fulfils a bigger purpose is the general desire that tends to be unmet. If purpose is not installed competence exits and opposition is the undesired replacement that leads to diminishing returns identified in a spirit of complacency, apathy and poverty thinking. This fact should alarm any business owner of their need to engage in a relationship that provokes accountability to meaningful purpose.

Many people have lost hope in the promises made by political voices and even those who are leading the small business community. That stated the solution is to take time to recognize the need to develop an honest and meaningful purpose that will accomplish more than simply being obligated to financial profitability. A need that is largely ignored but screaming from the belly of small business is to engineer the business around significance that involves purpose that fulfils the need that is core to every persons desire to succeed.

Success can be measured only when purposeful benchmarks are accomplished, and those performing recognize the significance of their collaborative work. Significance can be measured only when the goals met achieve the purpose that accelerates the agenda of improving the future after your time expires.

So here are two examples of people working for the same company that operate with purpose, but the purpose of the company is unclear and so the results are disoriented. I had occasion to remain on a project that required an additional day of my time to ensure that the work accomplished would be implemented well. The extra day required me to contact my rental car agency to advise them of the need to extend my car an additional day. I called and explained to the person working for the rental agency that I needed to remain an extra day, he brashly referred to the rental agreement clause that if the car was not returned on the date I had negotiated originally that there would be a $ 200.00 penalty. He was rude and unwilling to make any concessions based on the fact that all the cars were rented and he needed his car returned or I would be penalized. I heard and understood his position, and in my mind made a check mark next to that car rental agency that said I would never do business again even though I agreed to the contract. The bottom line is that he was right, dead rite. Dead because once I returned the car would never use this agency again.

To ensure that I understood the score card I decided to call that same company back immediately after being told that I would be penalized if I did not return the car the next day and reached a woman who was pleasant with an excellent attitude. I expressed my same need to extend my time, she with out any hesitation advised that if I wanted to extend my time my currently discounted rate would apply. I would pay only what I had originally negotiated and there would be no need to return the car because they had plenty of cars available for the customers the next day.

The point is that the woman obviously understands her purpose which is to serve the client well; the rude man was only interested in how much commission he gets at the end of the week. So, the question is, how important is purpose?

1 Michael Josephson, “Making Ethics Part of Our Business.” Mortgage Originator, December 1994, 9.

Integrity can not be preached, it can only be lived.

Restoring Integrity begins with recognizing the need, and then being committed to continuous improvements toward that end. Integrity asks the hard questions, and if it is legitimate answers openly. The influences I have experienced of late are interested in ensuring that we as a company model integrity for those we serve. Much is being done to make sure that we remain true from the core of our operation to the vendors we serve.

Integrity has a relationship with accountability. It is necessary to have checks and balances to measure and grow your organizational culture. I met a man who operated in full disclosure, he was transparent and honest with me about my shortcomings, and helped me to see the errors of my ways. That man is a primary relationship in my life and continues to lead me in a direction of obedience to what is morally right and true so that I can be free to live life that is established on a foundation of values that lead to freedom. My belief is influenced form the core of many personal relationships and measured against firmly established time tested protocols for living. Key relationships that operate their life on a foundation of truth help to ensure decisions being made line up with long term sustainable futures.

During this time of moral concern, decay and erosion of the ethics and morals are becoming more apparent. The need to install integrity on a core level is an overwhelming task. The lack of integrity in society has bread distrust, and a lack or harmony that unless it is addressed quickly by leaders who prize integrity there will be an undesirable end. While this is a complex subject open to much debate it is a conversation that needs to take place on a recurring basis with a commitment from all team players to an end that establishes truth. If awareness and application of integrity is not consistent, drifting can occur that most often results in unnecessary failures. Goals of an organization can only be accomplished when integrity exists, otherwise they are not established priorities that are in place to serve the community but are most likely in place to serve agenda’s of the few. Self serving goals become obvious to observers and long term loss is often the end result. In the end a leader must know his team intimately and operate on behalf of those they serve.

An obvious and much discussed business failure is the Enron scandal. This failure and other like it will have a kinetic effect on corporate America for many years. Getting rich at the expense of others has been modeled as an acceptable behavior and financial prosperity has been the measurement of success. An example of an organizational failure is the sex scandals and other leadership failures in the church and other non profit organizations that express the condition of the heart. These examples scream of the need for our culture to understand what it means to operate with transparency so that we as a civilization can live out a legacy based on a life of integrity. The lessons we gain should be influencers that move us toward institutions and businesses that operate with transparency that leads to integrity.

With little exception from the large corporations to those start ups I hear an almost consistent desire to run the operation with integrity. Integrity is your friend, it is can be likened to a person who will always speak the truth to you even though it may hurt you to hear it. Integrity has a voice and is heard by those who listen deeply and have a desire to become mature in their decisions and make a difference that lasts generationally. It is a gift that exercised will influence others to develop excellence as well.

The problem and solution are sometimes wide spread and so the opposing results tend to happen because of a lack of plan to gain the objective to have a business or organization that operates with integrity.

The solution is to not only desire integrity but to take steps to ensure that it exists from having a community that you are accountable to, to having high level core relationships that prize integrity above popularity.

“You only have authority according to your witness.”

“You only have authority according to your witness.”

Lecturing is the worst kind of teaching model according to Harvard review, the best kind is to model behavior.

The main point of this relationship corner article is to challenge the reader to comprehend and embrace the leadership needs today. There is great thirst for authority, position, and longing to obtain freedom that contributes to success in life. The problem is that although it may be a desire to gain authority many times I see little efforts to achieve those ends from the people who verbally communicate these desires. What you say you want is many times not what you are willing to do. That failure to take action sends a confusing message to those in your influence circle.

When you understand that leadership is not a position rather a genuine leader takes actions to produce end results that accomplish a desired mission. Having a position is not leadership; it is what you do in that position that determines your leadership.

Modeling behavior is rare because we have learned to be so expressive verbally that we tend to speak the actions we want, rather than taking the actions necessary to establish genuine authority in a situation. Silence when performing your work well is the weapon that others respond positively toward that has a measurable effect on their actions. Idol chatter speaking untested theories is the destroyer that in the end tends to turn off those who you’re trying to influence. Speaking when not modeling the behavior you desire is what I would consider to be dead right. You are right about what you want as an end result, but if your actions toward those ends do not communicate your thoughts, a thinking person will tag you as insincere. The results of being right with out taking actions is often death of an organization or business because it does not demonstrate character worth following. It should be concerning that with out insight of others the possibility of identifying this grave issue can and often does sabotage your opportunities for healthy growth. That problem can be described as a person who has eyes and ears but does not use them to hear the real barriers to a constructive future. Refusal to model the behavior you are communicating may be the single largest killer of an organization or business. The reason is that while you speak what should happen, those evaluating your behavior are determining a lack of sincerity which produces involuntary rebellion. We loose employees, potential and even clients because of our lack of disciplined action. Discipline is a result of discipleship which incorporates action on the part of the leader.

So now we have described the problem, what is the solution? It starts with crafting a well executed mission and sharing it with others. Through demonstrated action steps you can obtain buy in which produces results. We in the consulting industry call that action alignment.

Success is defined and measured in many ways, the bottom line is that it is only achieved by life time of decisions that are approved and recognized as being beneficial to some great end. The problem many times is that we fail to consider the end and we tend to flounder outside of what is great. Genuine leadership always considers the end and takes preparation well in advance of that end to ensure the work that is mission driven is accomplished beyond their generation.

When a person with a clear mission and vision speaks it is easy to discern the opportunity they are pursuing and hear the passion of their enterprise or business. More often than not however there is a lack of clarity because time has not been spent to establish direction. Just as an arrow hits the center of the target so does a man who has a mission in his heart that aligns with something great beyond himself. Those who lead effectively in relationships are those who are clear about their mission and are committed to walking in the direction of excellence, not simply words.

A silent witness can speak volumes, where as a loud vocal leader tends to only lead as long as he or she has a voice, the problem is such a leader is unlikely to have the mission of the organization or business to sustain.

The Kinetic Effect of shining your shoes well.

The kinetic ball is used often to teach lessons for us to learn. Depending on the order that we swing the balls the effect is different. What is interesting is that once the ball hits it causes an action to occur.

Business tends to have a similar science to it, and if done well the results will be either good or great depending on the messages we tend to send. Our tongue has that same effect, what we say could potentially cross the globe and even produce a global effect.

The challenge is to impact well with your first impression and last impression. How you dress, what you say, even the watch or pen you use sends a message. What I am suggesting is that we can market our business by relationships. Today I had conversations that impacted communities that spread over the entire United States, which will have an ultimate impact. We can be multipliers of our efforts given some leverage.

Do not underestimate the condition of your shoes. If you are the type of person who shines your shoes and concentrates on the front (first appearance) and neglects the back (last impression) you most likely are a great starter and poor finisher. The kinetic effect starts and finishes well. Remember that most loose momentum but to be great you must maintain that momentum and give it a little extra energy in the end. We call that closing the deal.

What is often missing in a business that effects its growth is simply a dream. We need to have a dream in effort to move to our destination, coupled with a plan. I recognized that although I was on a path to my dream, my wife was on a path to hers. That is quite dangerous because the greater is to have a shared dream that we both are heading toward.

In effort to accomplish a dream of significance both have to agree to shine their shoes occasionally. My wife and I took some time together at the beach and we listened to each others dreams. We really listened, that type of listening is the process of shining the shoes together.

The exciting news is that when you gain clarity, your dreams can and should be shared and with wisdom and collaboration pursued to accomplish the shared dream. A great mentor of mine said, “A team will accomplish much more than a group of individuals.”

In a perfect environment, total submission to the greatest end would produce the most ideal results. Most times a business is operated with limited sight, and only in the direction of a few eyes directed inwardly, at their own goals. This type of growth most often stagnates and ultimately fails.

Understanding process consulting often requires outside help in order to accomplish the greatest ends. What I often wonder is why a business that is in decline is unable to recognize their need for help, or for that matter why a man with dull shoes and small dreams does not see the value of having their shoes shined.

It is not the shining of the shoes that is so important, it is the wisdom gained during the process that has the great impact on futures.

Are you accomplishing the greater goals that are mutual or are you only interested in your dreams? Do you see wisdom of collaboration? Do you make group decisions, or are you stuck believing your way is effective because you like it? What you like may not be broad and effective. Because you like it does not mean it communicates to an audience beyond one.

Make no mistake, people look at the back of your shoes… it is not what you say it is how well you follow through that intimately matters.

Your impute is valuable… so this month I have put this up on my blog for your feedback.

Economic Uncertanty in Business?

Some people today own a small business and blame the economy for cash flow issues. I am uncertain if it is cash flow that is their problem or if it is the economy. We can blame both if we want but what are the real challanges business face today?