A Weekend With Ted Nugent

This weekend I'll be working through my chores while listening to the audiobook, "Ted, White and Blue" by rock star and activist Ted Nugent. I was taken recently by a quote from Nugent, "Quality control is always much easier and immeasurably less painful than damage control." Interested, I decided to find out where the quote came from, and thus my attention to his book.

I can't say whether I am a fan of Ted's ideas or not. Without investigation, I just can't know. And that's the point. Without investigation and a, "trying on" of ideas, one will never get closer to having beliefs of our own, or developing the knowledge base to become passionate about those ideas.

Like a healthy diet, and to develop your passion and style, you need to consume ideas from a variety of sources no matter how disparate or unlikely. According to a 2007 study:

• One-third of high school graduates never read another book for the rest of their lives. …
• 58% of the US adult population never reads another book after high school.
• 42% of college graduates never read another book.
• 80% of US families did not buy or read a book last year.
• 70% of US adults have not been in a bookstore in the last five years.
• 57% of new books are not read to completion.
• Most readers do not get past page 18 in a book they have purchased.Customers 55 and older account for more than one-third of all books bought.

One might point out that this excludes newspaper and magazine data but, for me, periodicals go through a distillation process that edits out data and varies in interpretation based on the leanings of the editorial staff. Books on the other hand, provide a singular voice and focus. It is that clarity of vision which allows the reader to form clear opinions of their own. When coupled with the habit of "grazing" for information, that is, gathering subject information from a variety of sources, a richer experience is created than if only a single source or bias is pursued.

As Homer Simpson once said, "I enjoy all the meats of the cultural stew, " and I encourage you to get information from a variety of sources, gather the tidbits that move you, and develop your own ideas. For now, I've got a date with the Motor City Madman, Ted Nugent. Cheers!

For an up to date view of the books I am reading, check out my profile on LinkedIn. If we're not linked yet, send me an invite mentioning this blog and I will accept your invitation.

Pick a side!

Leaders for better or for worse, elect a direction and move forward. Or that's the theory at least. Too often communications can become fraught with loop-holes, wiggle room and contextual back doors that weaken both the communication and the communicator. Worse, words that are so specific and leave no room to maneuver can cause problems as well. These weak words undermine success. Are these folks afraid that someone might hold them accountable for their words? That somehow they will be looked at differently for prognostications that don't go to plan? They should. That's part of leading. Making choices. Getting results. Learning and moving forward still. Declarations don't work and neither do fuzzy notions. And despite what you may have been told in grade school there is no, "permanent record." So dig in and get ready to make some decisions!

To build your credibility in your organization, start with these ideas.

#1 - No More Absolute Statements
Absolute statements are ones which are all encompassing. They are black and white or polar opposites. Words such as "always", "never", "everything" and "nothing" are key indications of absolute statements. Using language like this ensure one thing only - you have a 50% chance of being wrong. Which is to say you have a 50% chance of looking stupid. Or a 50% chance of loosing credibility. You choose. Unless you are 100% sure, stay away use absolute statements.

#2 - No More Non-Committal Responses
Worse than over committing to an answer is making no commitment at all. Using terms like, "maybe", "probably" or "I'll try" really say only one thing; you are unable to make decisions. People in charge make sure everyone knows how the feel about matters by making declarative statements. There is no ambiguity. For example, while I like the quote from Master Yoda, "There is No try, Only Do" I think it is used far too often by motivational types. But it fits here. I have declared my feelings, used the phrase, and moved forward. And wasn't that pretty clear?

If you have other tips to share, I'd love to hear them!

REDUX: A Review of BusinessWeek’s Best Companies For Leadership

Full disclosure - for a number of years I was engaged in a consulting relationship with BusinessWeek in their creative organization.

As I was writing my notes for this article, one song resonated in my head, James Brown’s, “Talkin’ Loud & Sayin’ Nothing.” While long in length, I found the article was short on substance. That said, here's my main points of contention with this article.

What’s In A Sample Size?
Respondents to this survey numbered 1,869 individuals from 1,109 organizations. With 740 organizations in the final ranking, the size of the data set is small and included some results being combined when respondents represented the same company. No mention was made of how many companies were “invited” to participate or what the criteria for participation consisted of.

All Big, No Small
Every company listed is a juggernaut in its’ category. Is one to assume that true leadership exists only in the very largest of global companies? Or, is it as the article suggests, that leadership can only be found where significant investment of time and money are made? For my money, one of the best guides to customer service and leadership is found at a small deli in Ann Arbor that made it very big by making the connection that great leadership is about great service.

Enter James Brown...
The article then asserts the need for Leadership is ever-present, in bad times and good times stating, “While the data suggest there is no one best way to grow leaders, the companies that do it best share certain key characteristics. The top 20 companies address leadership development on multiple fronts, from articulating how leadership behavior needs to change to meet the challenges of the future to managing their pools of successors for mission-critical roles. And, despite the chaotic, crisis-strewn atmosphere of the past year, they've continued to make leadership a top priority.”

Well, duh....

I Think We Can All Agree, Leadership Is A Good Thing
After finishing the article, I went back and read it again to make sure I didn’t miss anything. I didn’t. Though it whet my appetite and, “While the data suggest there is no one best way to grow leaders, the companies that do it best share certain key characteristics.” The article never goes on to unveil those characteristics or how to cultivate them. On this point, I have to say the article was a failure for me. I was expecting tips on how to find, cultivate and sustain leadership. Instead what BusinessWeek has proffered is a narrowly focused survey, insights culled from that dubious source, and sprinkled it with soundbites that hearken those awful motivational posters.

So, how do you develop leaders and leadership? Stick around to find out or better still, drop me a comment with your tips!