Lift Up

In August 2019, Seth Godin wrote, "Take it seriously. Of course. That’s required. But you don’t have to take it personally. In fact, if you want to be a professional, it’s impossible to do both at the same time."

I can't even put enough words around how important I think this is at the moment. The times we find ourselves in require us to be more professional and better leaders than at any time in the years I have been a manager. People need us to be the voice of reason as well as a voice that helps to identify the path we should follow. I have a couple of examples.

I got an email from Bob Tursi at the Latin King. The Latin King is a generations-old restaurant on the east side of Des Moines, and yes, before you ask, I am on their distribution list as what Bob referred to as "longtime and loyal clientele." For those of you who know me, get over your laughter before we move on. He told us that Latin King would close to dine-in patrons. The thing most impressive to me was the Tursi family decided to do this before the Iowa's governor made a similar decision for the state. Bob saw it as his ethical responsibility to take a leadership role and make the hard decisions.

This morning I received an email from Kyle Krause from Kum & Go. Yes, another food vendor. Go ahead and laugh again, it's okay. He wrote that they were working to protect the community and take care of their employees. The note even went on to say in the event one of their employees needed testing, the company would cover the cost. If people had to self-quarantine, their jobs were safe and they would receive their regular pay.

I find this type of message amazing in the times we find ourselves. And, interestingly enough, I find these behaviors tremendously forward-looking.

I went to work for Payless Cashways in the eighties. There had already been several housing crisis, but one of the worst was in the early eighties. It came on the heels of the 1973 and 1979 energy crises and the Fed deciding to tighten the money supply. This crisis was tough on home-builders with many of them unable to weather the storm. The only way some of the big builders made it through was that their lumberyards carried them for months and even years. Many years later, I worked for a different company here in Des Moines. One of the first stories I heard was how they'd carried their largest customer through a particularly difficult time. In both cases, when those companies came out on the other end of the crisis, they were incredibly loyal to the supplier who cared for them. This was, and I think still is, the kind of loyalty which does not go away over time.

So, what am I thinking about today? I wonder when this is all over, and it will end, will the leaders of companies making the right decisions today? Sometimes we are so short-sighted that we forget people and companies who do the right things for each of us. My hope is this is not the case here. We need to recognize those who take care of us in this uncertain time. When normal returns, we must remember and recognize them. All we have to do is to continue doing business with them and continue to expect to be taken care of the way we always have.

I don't know about you, but I find this amazing. Companies are doing incredible work right now to make sure we stay safe and continue to have items we need in our homes. On top of this, the companies doing this for us aren't even talking to us about it. They are doing the right thing because it is just what they do. They hope we will remain loyal when we come out on the other side. So simple.

If you can do anything to help any others, I encourage you to do it. Even if you can't, recognize those doing the extra and when we're back to normal, remember them. I will tell you with certainty there were home-builders who remembered lumberyards. Trying to sell to one of them from a different supplier was impossible; their loyalty ran deep. I can only hope I can remember that for those who are caring for me right now.

Krulak's Law

Krulak’s Law states that the "future of an organization is in the hands of the privates in the field, not the generals back home."

Some time ago I was in a conversation about excellent customer service. I didn't know this law at the time. Part of the discussion was a challenge to think of the most customer focused organization you could think of, and then ask yourself whether the CEO of the organization woke up every morning, wondering if customers were being taken care of.

Obviously, the answer to this has to be "No." If the leader of an organization has to ask if the most basic of activities is happening on a regular basis, they are doomed to fail.

The basics of the job have to be hard-wired, part of the DNA of the organization. There are some examples which come to mind. In Kansas City, if you enter a Gate's Barbecue, you will be immediately be welcomed with a round of "How may I help you." If you stop into a QT, at least the ones here in Iowa, someone will say "Good Morning" and if you pay in cash, I would virtually guarantee they have the change ready almost before you place the cash on the counter.

New employees are trained for these the types of behavior, but this is bigger. It has become part of the culture. Not behaving in the manner expected is a failure to the culture. In one way, it becomes almost magical.

When I was running lumberyards, we used to talk about teaching "perfect." Many times, the people you were training had never seen "perfect." So, you started improving things with the crew you had. The yard would come to a better place than ever before and everyone was proud. You knew there was still a higher standard. You knew it because you had seen it and managed it before. So you pushed the next level, talking about changes and behaviors and the yard became even better. And you hit a new level. Then, rinse and repeat.

When the yard was finally the way you wanted it, the challenge became keeping it at the level your team had achieved. And then, at some magical moment, it became easier to maintain that level. Why? Because the team saw and understood the level of execution you expected. It became part of the DNA of the organization. As difficult as it was to achieve, it was just as difficult to destroy. With a little effort and occasional maintenance the standard stayed in place and was the new norm.

I've made this sound much easier than it really is. There are so many things pulling us in so many ways every day, it is hard to stay focused. But when you do, the end is something you can be proud of.

I am fortunate to manage a great group of people. They work every single day to achieve/maintain excellence. I have had the good fortune in the last couple of days to be around many of them. It has been a joy. I have the right people in the field and they work every day to differentiate us from the competitors. This will continue to set us apart. And I know we have each others backs. I will look out for them and they will look out for me. This is a good feeling to have, from either side.

Okay, coronavirus. If you are at all like me, I'm not sure what to think about it. I know the extremes of the situation. I have people in my life doing the shopping and the work to be prepared for weeks of being locked in their homes. On the other side, I know people believing it is a complete hoax. I don't land at either of those extremes. I am much more pragmatic.

It looks as though my sister may well cancel her trip to come to Iowa over Easter because travel has been made so much more difficult with the virus. As you know, I was looking forward to her seeing the Teardrop and making plans to pull it all the way home. Not only will I miss seeing her, but it makes this all so much more ... difficult. More to come on this front.

Hope all is good and you are all healthy. Wash your hands and be smart about this thing.