Giving the Secret to Getting Ahead?

There's a very long piece from the NY Times (here if you're really interested) and the gist of it is that research has shown that sharing one's self towards altruistic goals - helping colleagues, mentoring, giving, caring etc. - actually nets positive results.  

It's a mixture of making yourself feel good and people wanting to deal with you - business-wise, at work - because of them actually liking you.

Some successful brands - The Body Shop, Human Nature, Toms come to mind - have, in fact, made benevolence part of their DNA.  

I'd reflected on that and realized two very recent examples:

- Our partnership with the cosmetics brand Ellana had started out on the basis of my Dad, Diego - my brother - and I wanting to just help out on some concerns Theresa, the owner, had with her business.  It had eventually turned into several sessions and into the realization that she'd a strong business with great potential and was someone we'd like to work with.  

 

- I'd gotten to know Fanny, our HR Head for our HR resources firm, as someone we'd contacted, through my brother, as the headhunter for a position we were trying to fill.  It had been a long process and through it had gotten to know her - solely by phone.  Towards the end, she'd shared her recent resignation after an arduous experience.  I'd offered to meet for lunch to offer support and encouragement.  

The scheduled one hour lunch stretched and with us hitting it off - reaching the conclusion she'd be perfect for us.  

It was no surprise, therefore, that her reply to my asking her recently what she thinks her reason for existence is was "to help others."

It'd reminded me of that line I'd shared a few posts back:  "Discover gifts, passions and purpose in life so you can help others  Happiness comes as a result."

And now, a few more leadership pointers from Lincoln:

XIII.  Encourage Innovation

- Don't lose confidence in your people when they fail. 

- Let your subordinates know that you are always glad to have their suggestions.  

- If you never try, you'll never succeed.

- Remember that the best leaders never stop learning.  

Written September 28, 2014

James Coburn and Lincoln

Lately, I’ve caught myself checking out a couple of films with James Coburn on YouTube.  To the young and uninitiated, Mr. Coburn was a star of around four decades starting in the ‘60’s. 

He was lanky, not particularly handsome, but, parlayed this self-assured walk and, more famously, an amazing grin to stardom.  He’d excelled in roles that had him employ those two attributes – confident, suave, criminal, devilish.  

That was his mark and that’s what made him memorable (check out his Skyriders here on YouTube should you happen to find the time). 

Some of the things I’ve learned having been back here for five years now:  With Filipinos, you can actually come up with lousy products, but, just be good in relationships and projecting some sort of positive image.  

Absolutely, absolutely nothing can be solved over a nice, long lunch.  Go ask the BIR, politicians, criminals and cops. 

I guess one should ask oneself, among others, these questions:  Am I relationship-centric?, what do I think of meetings - a venue to cultivate meaning with God's other creations or just absolutely boring time wasters?  What makes me indelible to others?

Lastly, we continue on with a few more nuggets from Abraham:

IX.  Lead by Being Led

- If you are a good leader, when your work is done, your aim fulfilled, your people will say, "We did this ourselves."  

- Try not to feel insecure or threatened by your followers.  

- Let disputing parties work out their differences by bringing them together and guiding their dialogue.  

- Write letters to your subordinates making the personal acknowledgement that they were right and you were wrong.  

Written September 13, 2014

Continuing on Lincoln...and the Spurs

Like I said, I don't think we've heard the last on the Spurs.  I'd miss this important item on them being the first team in any of the four major professional sports in North America to hire a female assistant coach. 

 

Part of the reason why Becky Hammon had been chosen seems to stem from a trip with Coach Pop:

Popovich may have a rep for being prickly, but he's also one of the smartest and most well-rounded coaches in the NBA, well versed in everything from politics to pinot noirs. When he and Hammon found themselves on the same flight home from the London Olympics, they spent the entire time talking — about everything but basketball.

"From the time that he got off that trip, he really had an intrigue about Becky not only as a coach but just as a person," Spurs general manager R.C. Buford said. "If you've spent time studying or watching Pop, it's not about basketball, it's about people."

We could even go back to last week's piece about the culture that the Spurs had set as an organization.  It's highly probable that this environment allowed Pop to even consider making this decision.  

Now, let's segue on to our series on Lincoln's principles.  

To set up everything, let's note that the civil war in the US had been fought over, really, economic matters:  You see, the northern (and industrialized part) of the US thought it abhorrent that slavery was still the norm by landowners in the states that made up the southern part.  

The stand of the Southerners was that it was their way of life - the slaves were being used to work on their cotton fields - and those who did not understand this had no right to tell them what to do.

In this midst came Lincoln who was equally disgusted by the notion of forcing people to work for, essentially, free. The reality, though, was that he had to keep the country together and so it was with this that he held up as long as he could from imposing the law that would abolish slavery - to be able to try and work out a compromise first.  

I guess the teachable moment here is to try and see first if there's a way to work things out before, yes, declaring "war" on anybody. 

III. Persuade Rather Than Coerce:

- A good leader avoids issuing orders, preferring to request, imply or make suggestions.  

IV.  Honesty and Integrity Are the Best Policies:

- When you make it to the top, turn and reach down for the person behind you.  

- You must be consistently fair and decent, in both the business and personal side of life.  

V.  Never Act Out of Vengeance or Spite:  

- Have malice toward none and charity for all.  

- Touch people with the better angels of your nature.  

VI.  Be a Master of Paradox:

- Avoid major conflict in the form of quarrels and arguments.  You simply don't have time for it. 

VII.  Exercise a Strong Hand - Be Decisive:

- An entire organization is never wisely sacrificed to avoid losing one or two small parts.  

- When making a decision, understand the facts, consider various solutions and their consequences, make sure that the decision is consistent with your objectives, and effectively communicate your judgment.  

VIII.  Master the Art of Public Speaking:

- Be your organization's best stump-speaker, with droll ways and dry jokes.  

- Remember that there will be times when you should simply not speak.  Say to your listeners:  "Kindly let me be silent."   

All for now and see you next week - same time, same station.

Written August 31, 2014

It Really Starts at the (Very) Top....and Lincoln

Yup, couldn't help it, we're back in Spurs territory here.  Probably really the lastest this season...then again, wouldn't bet on it.  

We've discussed much about them - five championships over a 17-year span, core members who've stayed on out of loyalty, players not leaving for higher pay, etc - and I've pointed out their selfless philosophy and organizational discipline.  Yada, yada, yada stuff, right?  

A bit of research, lately, pointed out the fact, though, that it actually, really starts at the very top - the owner. 

Let me share these few lines about him - obviously a PR job, but, I think you'll get the idea:

Peter Holt believes in a values-based management philosophy, in which the community gains benefits from association with a company that is committed to proper business ethics. A company's responsibility leads to the company supporting community projects, leading to mutual benefit for the community and company. These values were one of the primary factors in Holt's 1993 decision to invest in the Spurs. His desire was to keep the team in San Antonio to help the community and vice-versa. 

So, essentially, the Spurs are who they are because of a top-down philosophy - that a culture has been built and that success, you could say, comes naturally. 

Series on Lincoln 

Speaking of top-down, we'll be starting a series on Abraham Lincoln.  I thought of giving the heavy tome known as the "The Board Book" a rest for a while and checked out another one Dad passed on and it's about the leadership style of America's 16th President.  

A curious case he - lost eight elections, twice failed at business and only had a few years of political experience before becoming president during the gravest time of that country's history - its civil war!

What he had done during that period - keeping the nation intact - is nothing short of miraculous and has put him down as one of the greatest leaders of all time.  

Yes, you are not at war, I agree, but I think you're faced with certain challenges and maybe some of his principles may come in handy.  The book is "Lincoln on Leadership" and it's by Donald Phillips and he breaks down what he thinks are the principles of honest Abe:

I. Get Out of the Office and Circulate Among the Troops:

- Explain yourself in writing and offer advice on how to solve problems.

- Seek casual contact with your subordinates.  It is as meaningful as a formal gathering, if not more so.      

- Be the very embodiment of good temper and affability.  

- Remember, everyone likes a compliment.  

II.  Build Strong Alliances

- Invest time and money in better understanding the ins and outs of human nature.  

- Showing your compassionate and caring nature nature will aid you in forging successful relationships. 

Written August 24, 2014 

Millennials, Magnum and Experience

I'd like to share this piece about TGIF which I think speaks to all of us on various levels:

- Casual dining chains in the US are dying.  

- "....and consumer behavior are constantly changing,  you’ve got to change with it.”  There goes that dinosaur analogy again.  Inescapable, isn't it?

-  The millennials (those born between the early 80's and early 2000's) are at it again.  Dictating how business is being done.  

For a country with such a young population (The Philippines' median age is 23.4 and this can be compared with Singapore's 41 and Thailand's 33) that is becoming the emerging economic force - thanks to the jobs that are coming in - the millennials should be on everybody's radar.  

-  “They’re going to need to look at creating experiences -- creating flavor adventures..."  

At my Dad's birthday lunch yesterday, we'd dropped by Magnum Cafe for dessert and were impressed by the set up that I interviewed our server  and asked - among other things ("Is there a reason why Magnum hires good looking people like you and others?"  just sounded so gay, I know.  Ahh, the perils of research) - what the secret of Magnum is (the place was close to capacity) and he used the word "experience," especially their "make your own."  

True, we saw millennials posing with their creations - presumably to be posted.  

Endless Appetizers 'Will Destroy' TGI Fridays: Analyst

Posted: 07/09/2014 12:35 pm EDT  |  Updated: 07/09/2014 12:59 pm EDT

By Alexander C. Kaufman

 

TGI Fridays is so hungry for new customers that it’s giving food away.

The chain restaurant launched an all-you-can-eat deal on Monday, offering endless helpings of any one appetizer -- potato skins, mozzarella sticks, spinach dip and other options -- for $10 per person. The promotion is meant to draw new customers, and it's getting heaps of press coverage of the sort not seen since the chain's 1990s heyday.

Yet analysts say the endless apps deal is basically Fridays' swan song, a last-ditch move that ultimately cheapens the company's brand. The apps may be endless, but Americans' desire to visit a so-called "casual dining" chain restaurant is just about over.

“In the short term, [Fridays] will definitely have more traffic, but in the long term it damages their plan and will really destroy them,” said Aaron Allen, founder of Aaron Allen & Associates, a restaurant industry consulting firm. “It’s the signal of a desperate brand.”

Sales nosedived at casual chain restaurants during the recession, sending once-popular eateries like Bennigan's and Friendly's into bankruptcy. Even as the economy has recovered, most of these restaurants have struggled to regain customers. Millennials want fresh, cheap fastish food from chains like Panera and Chipotle. The Mexican chain's revenue more than doubled to $3.2 billion from 2009 to 2013. The days of young "singles" flocking to TGI Fridays happy hours are long over.

Even Brian Gies, Fridays’ chief marketing officer in the U.S., said the company was stuck in a "combo-meal malaise" and admitted it needed to adapt to modern tastes.

“There are no silver bullets in this business,” Gies said in an interview with The Huffington Post. “The economy and consumer behavior are constantly changing, you’ve got to change with it.”

Sales are anemic at the 49-year-old company, which has more than 900 restaurants in 60 countries. The chain was sold in May by its longtime owner, hospitality firm Carlson Restaurant Inc., to two private equity firms for upward of $800 million.

Annual revenue at company-owned stores dropped 2 percent to $1.1 billion in 2013, according to numbers shown to HuffPost by PrivCo, a financial data provider on privately held companies. Including franchisees, sales revenue hovered at $2.7 billion last year, the same as the year before.

Gies declined to comment on those figures.

The “endless appetizers” promotion, which runs until Aug. 24, may eat into sales. But for the restaurant that claims to have popularized the term "happy hour" and the Long Island Iced Tea, the real money-maker may be alcohol.

“They’re probably hoping they can make it up on drinks,” said Joel Cohen, a restaurant marketing expert.

But a quick boom in booze sales may just further erode the struggling brand.

“If they’re just up-selling the alcohol, the promotion just looks like a ploy,” said Joseph Szala, a restaurant branding expert at the marketing firm Iris Worldwide.”They’re saying, ‘We’ll do anything to get you into a Fridays for a meal’ -- it’s too kitschy, too car sales-y. It’s low class.”

To survive, Fridays may have to raise prices, Allen said.

“That’s the only way you can compete,” he said. “A casual dining restaurant can never be as casual and as fast and convenient as a fast-casual one.”

Potato skins is one of Fridays' 10 main appetizer options

Or it can jazz up its menu. Sure, Gies said the mozzarella sticks now include asiago cheese and a dusting of parmesan. And, yeah, the potato skins have more cheese and are “more potato-y,” he said. But, according to Jeff Fromm, an advertising consultant at Barkley who co-authored the book Marketing to Millennials, the key to attracting the coveted 20-something consumers Fridays is losing to fast-casual chains is offering some culinary pizzazz.

“They’re going to need to look at creating experiences -- creating flavor adventures,” Fromm said. “Less uniqueness means bigger problems for Fridays.”

Written July 10, 2014

The Flywheel, Bus and....Pop

Hey, promise, promise this will be the last reference on the Spurs....for this year.  Before, though, I'd like to have a little lesson on engineering.  The flywheel is a rotating mechanical device that is used to store rotational energy.  Its application can be seen from anywhere from tractors to those toy cars on friction motion.  

Maybe the ladies out there may be more familiar with those old-style sewing machines where a few presses on the foot pedal created energy that allowed the spindle to keep turning long after.  

Now, before I lose you guys I just want to say there's a point to this.    

You see, Jim Collins, author of the "Good to Great" series pointed out that in a study of 1,435 companies over a 40 year performance period saw that it had seemed that some companies reached a "flywheel" point where, seemingly on some sort of own energy, had grown from, yes, good to great.  Jim illustrates this this way:

"Right now, the flywheel is at a standstill. To get it moving, you make a tremendous effort. You push with all your might, and finally you get the flywheel to inch forward. After two or three days of sustained effort, you get the flywheel to complete one entire turn. You keep pushing, and the flywheel begins to move a bit faster. It takes a lot of work, but at last the flywheel makes a second rotation. You keep pushing steadily. 


It makes three turns, four turns, five, six. With each turn, it moves faster, and then—at some point, you can’'t say exactly when—you break through. The momentum of the heavy wheel kicks in your favor. It spins faster and faster, with its own weight propelling it. You aren't pushing any harder, but the flywheel is accelerating, its momentum building, its speed increasing."

"This is the Flywheel Effect. It's what it feels like when you’re inside a company that makes the transition from good to great."  

He lists down a number of factors on how they got there, but, what am bringing up today.....I'd like my partner to continue:

"In fact, leaders of companies that go from good to great start not with “where” but with “who.” They start by getting the right people on the bus, the wrong people off the bus, and the right people in the right seats. And they stick with that discipline—first the people, then the direction—no matter how dire the circumstances."

Now, keeping the right people on the bus is a story in itself.  This is where the story of Pop and the Spurs come in.  You see, a constant in their success of four championships in 12 years is the fact that it's been the same three core players and coach. 

The key in this story is that all three players turned down the opportunity to make bigger money elsewhere - staying for million dollar discounts.  Why did they?

The team's French point guard (and ex-husband of Eva Longoria) says it best:  "Everybody asks me that.  I was talking with a couple of my friends and they were asking that. I was like, I don't know. I think it's just the atmosphere here, the family atmosphere."

"For me personally, why I did it was because, deep down in my heart I know Pop will take care of me until the end of my career. So that's why I felt like I can take less now and help the team out. And we were able to sign Danny [Green] and Boris. And I know when I get a little bit older, I know Pop will take care of me. I really feel that."

Like my Dad says, "It's not all about the money."  

Written June 26, 2014