Weight Loss Wednesday on Friday? Why Not? Culture Trumps Strategy

I am posting a few days late this week because my wife and kids, who were visiting Florida, returned home on Wednesday. As much as I enjoy blogging, and find catharsis in putting my words in this format, I value time spent with my family more. I hope you will all understand that sentiment, and that is why I am posting a few days late.

I attended an event sponsored by ALPFA's Northwest Arkansas Chapter last night. The speaker was telling us about her story and philosophy on business, leadership and the lessons that she has learned in a lifetime of working in corporate America. One of the quotes she asked us to think about was "Culture trumps strategy. Every Time." This was not the first time I have heard this quote, but it resonated last night. And not just in the business and professional world... I instantly thought that it applies to losing weight...

Photo courtesy of http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/

Of course the speaker was talking about the different organizations that she has worked for. She taught us that her personal goal, or mission was to help people. Until she found an organization that shared her values, she felt she was always fighting against the system.

Have you ever tried one of the diets that circulate the internet, around the office or with your friends? It seems that these diets occasionally grow legs and make their way around a group of people. I have been on the HCG diet a couple of times. I have had good results, but it always feels like I am fighting against the constraining rules of the diet. I think that is the very nature of a "diet." It never feels like anything more than a temporarily painful change to bring on fast results. They are rarely natural and rewarding.

If you truly want to change your weight, body or self image, you must change the culture surrounding you. You must change your life itself. A great diet and exercise program are a perfect strategy to lose weight. It won't work until you buy in and change your habits to match that strategy, or find a strategy that aligns with your personal and family culture.

As I say each week, I look forward to hearing from each of you. Send me an email, chimtot@gmail.com, and tell me about your week, good or bad. Send me a topic you'd like to see me talk about in a blog post sometime. If you want to write a blog post, I'd love to have an occasional guest post from one of you! This blog will be a lot more fun to read if you all get involved!

Making the Transition from Management to Leadership

We hear the words "Leadership" and "Management" used quite often these days, and often interchangeably. I propose to you that a leader and a manager are two very different things. A good organization needs both to prosper, but if we are truly focused on making a contribution in our field we should focus on becoming a leader. 

Photo courtesy of http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/

Here are a few simple things to keep in mind as you transform from a manager into a leader. 

• Leaders will be at the head of the group, showing their team the way. Managers will be at the back making sure nobody gets off the path or falls behind.
• Leaders will take risks and walk on new paths. Managers minimize risk by taking the same path today that they took yesterday.
• Leaders will sell others on the idea of walking the path with them. Managers tell others the path that is required to walk
• Leaders always try to do the right thing. Managers always do things the right way.
• Leader are proactively looking toward the horizon. Managers react to changes on the bottom line.

Remember, anyone can learn to be a manager. Good leaders are hard to find and thus more valuable.

Tell me about your transition from manager to leader, or tell me about your favorite leader. I would love to hear your stories in the comments section below.

Related Articles:

Five Reasons Why You Should Thank Customers That Complain
Synergy and the Allegory of the Long Spoons
What can we learn from a blind pilot?

Service Doesn't Matter Unless it is Sincere

I stopped by a fast food restaurant with my family today. The service we received was all to typical.  Keep in mind that by typical, I mean poor. We placed our order, and while Grandma and Grandpa were with us, making it quite a large order, I was disappointed to find out that they had filled our order incorrectly.


The first thing we noticed was a missing ice cream cone for Grandma. The lady at the window, a manager from the distinctive uniform she wore, held up a finger at my father and said, "Oh yeah. Wait a minute." She then proceeded to make the cone and hand it out the window without apologizing.


Due to the incident with the cone, we took a moment to check the rest of our order. The associate that I mentioned before, presumably a manager, made no direct mention of us holding up her line, but was very animated about her disbelief that we were double-checking her work. We discovered that one of the sandwiches had the wrong toppings. It was not that far off, so I decided to eat it without making a fuss. 


I did, however, let the manager know that it was wrong, as I would have appreciated the opportunity to coach my team on a service issue if I was in her place. Again, we did not receive an apology or a thank you for pointing out the error. She said "Have a nice day," and as we drove away I heard her comment to the rest of her team that her drive-thru times were blown for the day.


Now, compare and contrast that experience with another that my brother-in-law shared with us this week. They were at a very fancy establishment, and my brother-in-law ordered some variation of baked chicken. It came out uncooked. The server immediately whisked the meal away and rushed another serving out. The manager made an appearance and apologized. He offered free desserts as a kind gesture.


When the new meal came out, my brother-in-law dug right in. He commented to his wife that the meal was very good, but it was not chicken. It was veal. At this point my brother-in-law was happy to eat the veal that he had been served, but he let the manager know what had happened. 


The manager was mortified. This was obviously not the standard he set for his team, and least of all two mistakes in one night - and with the same customer to boot! This time the manager comped the meal and sent home his original chicken order as a to go order. He said the least he could do was to allow my brother-in-law to taste the meal he had ordered the next day at lunch. My brother-in-law was so impressed with the way the wait-staff and management team handled his problem that he tipped the full amount of the meal and dessert, and he left as a satisfied customer.


What was the difference between these two experiences? Was it the fast-food vs fancy restaurant that made the difference? I say, no. Not really. Not entirely anyway. In my experience, I would have been totally happy with an apology. A coupon for a free drink on my next visit would have made my day! Had the server been snooty to my brother-in-law, or the manager pushed the blame off on his staff, even a free meal would not have made his into a positive experience.


The real difference in the two experiences was the sincerity showed by each team when the mistake was pointed out. As I said, part of this disparity can be caused by the industry that you are in, and the demographic you target. Fast food restaurants may be less likely to hire sincere, caring associates than the fancy restaurant, but surely you have been to a Chic-fil-a. They prove that this is not true. Whether you are a  highly professional service provider, a multinational conglomerate or a simple mom-and-pop shop your service does not matter unless it is sincere.


Related Posts

Five Reasons Why You Should Thank Customers That ComplainRelationships Matter in Business, More Than Anything Else

Why Does a Banker Blog About Video Games

I got an email from a friend earlier this week. I'll not go into the details of the message, but this friend basically asked me "Chuck, why do you, as a professional banker, leader and respected member of the community, write about video games on your blog? Are you not worried that this will make people judge you (very Not-Safe-For-Work link due to language and pics, but the author makes some outstanding arguments), and even possibly diminish your social standing as you climb your career ladder?"

My answer to him was that I am not worried about that. My reasoning was twofold: First, my performance at work speaks for itself. Second, a hobby outside of work helps me maintain my work-life balance.On top of that, many of the young start-up business owners that are bringing new jobs to the area grew up as gamers just like I did. My knowledge of business, manufacturing, sports, current events and yes, even video games, has helped me build a relationship with many customers. If part of your job involves selling, you know relationship building is very important. Any common round that you have to build on can be helpful.

In today's blog I am not going to go into the social stigma of gaming, although that might make an interesting topic on another day. I am going to talk about gaming as an aide to work-life balance. Here are 5 things that help me balance my work and leisure time, and how gaming can be involved.

1 - Do something for yourself one night each week. This should be something you will enjoy, not something you think will be good for you. This is not something that your partner wants, or that the kids will benefit from. This is for you. Play a game, read a novel, watch a movie. Go to a museum, mow the yard, attend a sporting event. Put an away message on your email and screen your calls. It does not need to be for a long time. It is amazing what an hour to yourself can do to recharge your batteries and make you more productive. I do not play video games each week, but often my one night is spent with a good game.
2 - Keep a weekend free once a quarter. I do not mean that you sit around the house and do nothing. I do mean that you should spend this time with your significant other and your kids, or just by yourself. Get out and be spontaneous. No to-do lists or agendas, just enjoy some free time. Again, your productivity will soar when you are happy, having just spent a weekend enjoying yourself. This will also help you avoid burnout. Again, I do not use this weekend each quarter as an excuse to develop a gaming addiction, but once in a while I will spend some time playing a game with my son. He loves it, and so do I.
3 - Learn to say no. I understand the guilt we all feel when asked to run the PTA or serve on the homeowners association committee. Lear to do these things when you feel driven to serve, not guilty for refusing. Spend the time you would have used in these capacities doing something you enjoy. Exert that extra energy by heading a task-force or project at work rather than toiling away with something you do not wish to do. I have often let extra activities cut into the time I have set aside for myself and for my family. Again, if you want to avoid burnout, you must protect this time.
4 - Learn to solve work-problems while outside of the workplace. Ponder your latest sales strategy while you sit on the subway. Develop new flowcharts for that program you have been working on while you walk with your family. Discuss some of your work-related ideas with your partner. They may not know a lot about what you do, but that might be just the fresh point of view that you can learn from. My personal thinking time, and more often than I'd like to admit, the solution to one of my problems has come to me while I was in the middle of a video game.
5 - Find your own balance. There is no 5 step guide to perfect work-life balance. Just like too much work can cause burnout, to much leisure can cause complacency. Protect your free time and enjoy it, but work hard each day. Your mid and body will tell you when you need a video game, and they will also tell you when it is time to get back to work. Listen to your body, and work hard at work and at play. If you feel like you are out of balance, then you are. Find your own balance.

In closing, I game because I enjoy it. Gaming (actually any leisure activity, but I often choose gaming) helps me be more effective at my job. Work life balance is one of the most important skills we can develop. Give it the attention it deserves.

Five Reasons Why You Should Thank Customers That Complain

I had the opportunity to deal with a customer complaint today. I know that is nothing new for those in leadership and management. We can almost become desensitized to it, but these customer concerns are great opportunities to improve. Without going into detail, this customer came to me with an issue that was honestly a mistake o the part of one of my associates. I listened to this customer, accepted responsibility for the mistake, took ownership of having it fixed and thanked him for bringing it to my attention. He looked at me for a minute as if I was an alien, then he shook my hand, thanked me for my time and left with a smile on his face.


While I think all managers will agree that listening, accepting responsibility and fixing the problem are all steps right out of "Conflict Resolution 101" the last step, or being thankful for the complaint, is foreign to most of us. I know it was to me when I first stepped into leadership, and some days I still have to remind myself of the beauty of a customer complaint. Here are five reasons to be thankful for that unpleasant interaction:

1. Complaints often point out processes that we can improve
This is especially true in a larger company where a manager or executive team is often not in day-to-day contact with customers. We often do not know there is a better way to do something, because we do not do it every day, and our associates just follow standard procedure. Often times we are so caught up in our policy that a simple complaint from a customer, and an honest conversation will bring to light a better way to solve the issue next time it arises.
2. Complaints give you a chance to find out what matters to your customer
Customers will not complain about things that do not matter to them. A complaint is an amazing way to gauge what matters to a customer. I encourage you to implement a tracking system and use it to identify any recurring sources of customer dissatisfaction. The results will probably surprise you. Focus your efforts on improving that which your customers are telling you is the most important.
3. Customers who complain are invested enough in you, your team, your company or your product to want it fixed
This may be my favorite thing about a complaint. People who do not care about your business do not complain. They just discontinue service, close accounts or do not come back. When people complain, it shows that you are doing a lot of things right. Don't let that go to your head, but use it as a source of comfort while you rectify your mistakes.
4. Complaints are easy coaching opportunities for underachieving team members
 Not only is a verified customer complaint a piece of ready-made HR documentation, it also allows you a very specific example to use with an associate during a one-on-one or coaching session. If you have an associate that is properly trained to build a relationship with a customer, nothing will be more effective at illustrating a lack of performance than a complaint from the person who you are trying to gain trust from.
5. When employees see you deal with difficult customers, it shows that you care about the customer and about your employee -  When you accept responsibility for a mistake, it increases trust and loyalty by making you a human being in the eyes of followers. Watching you do so will let your team know that you are serious about being honest, open, responsible and accountable. Your team will be more loyal when they know that you  care about the customer, and about them, to take on the situation and solve it personally.

We all make mistakes. We should be thankful for the opportunity to learn from these mistakes. Not only should managers learn from mistakes, we should empower our team to do so. Might I suggest giving your employees authority to purchase flowers, baked goods or some other token of appreciation to share with a customer who points out a mistake. Not only will this improve your team morale, it might just delight a customer that could easily have become disgruntled.

Synergy and the Allegory of the Long Spoons

Synergy is defined on Wikipedia  (I know, I know. This is not the most credible source I could have chosen, but it serves my purpose for this post.) as  two or more things functioning together to produce a result not independently obtainable. We commonly talk about this phenomenon by saying, "The whole is greater than the sum of its parts." This quote is often attributed to Aristotle although there is no place in Aristotle's Metaphysics where the phrase "the whole is greater than the sum of its parts" or anything similar can be found.


The Allegory of the Long Spoons is a story that we all know in some form or another. I would like to relate it to you, with some artistic license, as I tell it to my children.

In a land far, far away lived a group of small, colorful and furry creatures called the tots. There were two different kids of tots, the long-arms and the bendy-arms. The long-arms could stretch up very high into the sky, and the bendy-arms, while their arms were much shorter, could move their arms around any way they wanted.The tots' favorite food in the whole world was the sparkle-fruit. It was a fruit so delicious and juicy that the tots wanted to eat it all the time. It was very hard for the tots to eat a sparkle-fruit though, for you see, sparkle-fruits grew in trees  high up in the air. Each day the long-arms would go and stand under the sparkle-fruit tree and dream of eating the delicious fruit. The long-arms could reach the delicious fruit, but they could not bend their long arms to their mouths so that they could eat it. Since they could not eat the fruit, they would not pick it. The bendy-arms would also go and stand under the sparkle-fruit tree each day and dream of eating the fruit. If they could just get one of the fruits, they knew they could eat it, for their arms were short and bendy and could reach their mouth. The bendy-arms were not, however, tall enough to reach the fruit high in the trees.One day a very smart your tot named (whatever one of my children I am telling the story to... yeah, that is right, earning brownie points with the kids!) had an idea. He said that the long-arms should pick the fruit for the bendy-arms, and in return, the bendy-arms could feed the fruit to the long-arms. The tots learned to work together and ate sparkle-fruit as a team ever day after that.

As you can see, the story here effectively illustrates the idea that we can achieve more as a team than we can as individuals. I encourage each of you to keep this story in mind, or even share it with your team/children as appropriate. One of the key ingredients to a well-oiled team or family is, after all, teamwork - or synergy.

Relationships Matter in Business, More Than Anything Else

I had one of those moments today. You know the ones. They don't come all that often, but they are deeply meaningful when they do. The moments that remind you why you are in business. I had a customer, let's call him Daniel, stop by my office this afternoon. He reached out his hand to greet me as he has hundreds of times over the past 5 years.

We chatted for a few minutes and he told me, "Thank you for all the help and support you have given me over the past few years. I am moving back to Mexico, and I will never forget my banker friend in the United States. May God bless you and lead our paths to cross again in the future." With tears in his eyes, and in mine, he gave me a hug, told me to take care of my family and walked out of the bank for what will probably be the last time.

I have known this man for just 5 years. I have never met his family, but I can name each of his children. I do not know the circumstances that brought him to the USA without his family, but I can tell you how proud he is of his children and how much he misses his wife. I can also tell you that we built a friendship during 5 - 10 minute interactions over the years. He trusted me with his money, but more importantly with is friendship.

Just as he said he will never forget me, I will never forget him. Daniel really made me reflect today on the importance of building relationships in business. Sure, over the last 5 years he has referred friends and family members to me. I am sure we have made some good income by servicing his accounts as well. All that being said, the most valuable thing I ever got from my interaction with this man was friendship.

What can we learn from a blind pilot?

A peer of mine told a very entertaining story this morning during a sales meeting that he was called on to facilitate. It is an older story, and you may have heard it, but I wanted to share.

A pilot was flying from Seattle to San Francisco when the plane was unexpectedly diverted to Sacramento along the way. He explained to the passengers that there would be a delay, and if the passengers wanted to get off the aircraft, the plane would re-board in 50 minutes. 

Everybody got off the plane except one lady who was blind. The pilot knew her as a frequent flyer, and stopped to greet her and her seeing eye dog that laid quietly underneath the seats in front of her throughout the entire flight. The pilot approached her, calling her by name, and said, "Mary, we will be in Sacramento for almost an hour. Would you like to get off and stretch your legs?" 

The blind lady replied, "No thanks, but maybe Buddy would like to stretch his legs." The pilot grabbed the leash and lead the animal off of the plane.

Picture this: All the people in the gate area came to a complete standstill when they looked up and saw their pilot walk off the plane with a seeing eye dog! The pilot was even wearing dark aviator sunglasses. People were completely speechless. They not only tried to change planes, but they were trying to change airlines!

As someone who knows the full story, I hope you can see the humor in this anecdote. Imagine that you were one of the other people on that plane. Would you have jumped to an incorrect conclusion based on appearances? Do we do the same thing with our customers and team members each day?

Imagine the consequences if we, as managers and leaders were to judge everything we see and do based on an incomplete understanding. We would never sell a product to someone we didn't think fits the demographic. We would never try anything again after failing. We would never progress and grow. Out teams would suffer.

My quick advice to avoid these traps is to be wary of perception. While perception becomes reality, it can often obscure the truth. As leaders, we should listen with the intent to change our minds. We must find the truth before we can make decisions and become more effective stewards of the team and tasks with which we have been charged.

Crazy, Successful Bosses

Hi everyone!


I stumbled on a very interesting article over at Forbes.com today, if you call following them on Twitter and reading most of the articles they tweet "stumbling". It is a very good read, especially for young people entering the professional workplace for the first time.  The article is called Yes, Your Boss Is Crazy. Here's How To Deal. by Jenna Goudreau, and it touches on some very insightful points about bosses who are a little unconventional and how a team member can deal with these bosses effectively. If you will allow me to be self indulgent, and why wouldn't you... this is my blog that nobody reads after all, I would like to tackle the same subject from the point of view of one of those "crazy bosses."


"Crazy bosses" see the world a little bit differently than everyone else. It is not that we zig when we should be zagging. It is more like we do a somersault when we should be zagging. "Crazy bosses" should recognize their, shall we call them eccentricities, and overcome them in order to become more effective leaders. If the aforementioned article describes ways to communicate more effectively with a "crazy boss", I propose that we teach "crazy bosses" how to communicate more effectively with their team. I will use my own leadership journey, that is still very much in development, as a case study.


 Lets call it 5 Steps to Become an Effective "Crazy Boss."

1.  Learn who you are, recognize your strengths and weaknesses - I am both an "organizer" and an "entertainer." I know, I know... this already seems crazy, but hear me out. I tend to point out facts, and methods to improve performance, but I do it in a very animated, energetic way.  I know what my weaknesses are, and actively try to work on them. I am a manager after all, and I should be a good example and leader for my team. I cannot expect them to do something I am not doing.
2. Learn who your team thinks you are -  Team members often see me as a "commander," because I expect perfection and have animated speech patterns. This really could not be farther from the truth in my case, but I see how they could make that assumption.
3. Learn who your team members are - While individual team members may not be as extreme on the scale as many of the "crazy bosses" they work for, each individual possesses some of these traits. My team members run the gamut, so I must be very flexible. I cannot rely on high-energy meetings, detailed spreadsheets or expecting results just because "I said so."
4. Communicate with each team member in a way that is effective for them - While blanket memos sent to each member of the team are necessary from time to time, each member of the team should get some more meaningful face time with the boss. I try to have a no longer than 30 minute one-on-one meeting with each of my direct reports twice a month. One of these uses my agenda (usually year-to-date goal progress, coaching and new short-term goal setting), and the other, theirs. I tailor each of these meetings to the associate and how they learn. The employee driven meetings are often 5 minutes long with some of my seasoned associates. I sometimes feel they are too short, but then I remember...   in a way that is effective for them, not me.
5. Provide opportunity for, and actively listen to feedback - As mentioned in #1, I know what my weaknesses are. That does not mean that "crazy boss" syndrome does not cause me to lose my way fro time to time. If I have honestly used the four previously mentioned steps, I should have a good working relationship with my team. Who better to tell me " Hey! Quit being crazy! " than the people who I am leading and trying to be a better boss for. On a side note, don't tell your boss "Hey! Quit being crazy!" Not in those words anyway. No matter how good your relationship with the boss is, remember that your career is in the hands of a crazy person.

I think that any "crazy boss" who tries to follow these five steps will have a much easier time relating with their team members. Any leader who is worth his or her salt should be focused not only on improving results and growing the department, but also in cultivating a positive environment. If you find yourself working for a "crazy boss" who does not try to do this, might I suggest your find a different crazy person to work for.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on "crazy bosses" whether positive or negative! Leave me a comment with your story.

In true geek fashion, Hello World!

So, each day I make a vlog on YouTube. I usually start out my vlog by sharing some sort of anecdote, story or experience. My lovely wife has informed me that people don't want to hear that, they come to see the kids act silly. She may be right. I am not he most eloquent person in the world, and my southern drawl may take away from any good point that I do have to make. My new plan is to continue to share the happiness that my children bring to our family in the vlog, and place the rest of my rambling musings in this blog.

I am a junior to mid-level leader in the banking industry, directly or indirectly supervising from 20 - 25 people, and I have the ability to influence about 250 other associates on a regular basis. I am a happily married, proud father of two. I am active in my community, my church and my children's lives. I love all things geeky, but have a special spot in my heart for video games, Star Wars and spreadsheets. I have been known to keep a spreadsheet about a Star Wars video game... but that is a story for a different day. It took me almost 30 years to find out that there are other people like me in the world.

Each day I learn something that helps me to better serve those I work with, my customers, my community, my family or just helps me to live a happier life. I have learned a lot of things that I am happy to share with others, and I think some of it may even be useful to help other aspiring leaders to grow their careers.

As this blog progresses, you can look for me to post about my various interests and talents. Most likely the following topics will recur quite often:

Leadership and management
Parenting
Personal Finance
Happiness
Video Games
Random things that don fit any of the above categories

If you are a daddy, or want to be; If you are a leader, or want to be; If you just want to share thoughts with a fellow geek, this is the blog for you. I will try to keep the posts informative, thoughtful and entertaining. Please comment and share, as you will get out of reading this blog whatever you put into it. If you don't comment, I still get the therapeutic catharsis of writing out my thoughts!