Today Is Giving Tuesday

Today is Giving Tuesday, a day dedicated to giving back. On Giving Tuesday, nonprofits, families, businesses and students around the world come together for one common purpose: to celebrate generosity and to give.

Many of you know about my passion for CARA, a true social innovator that helps motivated men and women, affected by homelessness and poverty, reclaim their voice and their vocation. My relationship with Cara began when a friend of mine invited me to experience Morning Motivations. Soon thereafter, the immediate past CEO of Cara became a member of my Vistage CEO Peer Advisory Board, and today, I am proud to count Maria Kim, CEO, as a current member. Through my relationship with each of them, I’ve come to see Cara as not just a place where people come to get and keep good jobs, but a place where their whole selves are reinvented and recovered in the process.

Like all well run Vistage companies, Cara measures their performance. They produce hundreds of jobs each year, at retention rates over 20 points higher than national norms, and with over 80% of employed participants moving onto permanent housing in which their families can thrive. They also produce a profound social return on investment, where for every dollar invested in this work, $5.97 is re-invested in society over a five year time horizon.

This year, once again, I have joined with Maria’s fellow Vistage member, Kevin Krak of Gallant Building Solutions, along with Eric Weinheimer, former CEO of Cara, and Jim and Kay Mabie in offering a $25,000 Challenge Grant. We will match every dollar up to $25,000 (for a total grant of $50,000)!  Click Here to give today and your gift will go twice as far.

Thank you in advance for joining us for a Giving Tuesday donation to the Cara Program, or to the social purpose organization of your choice.

Thanks-Giving

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving. It’s my favorite holiday because it is celebrated by all Americans, regardless of their backgrounds. While the “thanks” part of Thanksgiving is so meaningful, the “giving” part is equally so.

To celebrate the giving part, a delightful tradition, called Giving Tuesday, takes place on November 29th. It is a day dedicated to giving back. On Giving Tuesday, nonprofits, families, businesses and students around the world come together for one common purpose: to celebrate generosity and to give.

Many of you know about my passion for CARA, a true social innovator that helps motivated men and women, affected by homelessness and poverty, reclaim their voice and their vocation. My relationship with Cara began when a friend of mine invited me to experience Morning Motivations. Soon thereafter, the immediate past CEO of Cara became a member of my Vistage CEO Peer Advisory Board, and today, I am proud to count Maria Kim, CEO, as a current member. Through my relationship with each of them, I’ve come to see Cara as not just a place where people come to get and keep good jobs, but a place where their whole selves are reinvented and recovered in the process.

In a way, their mission, community and culture of accountability are not dissimilar to what I have grown to love at Vistage. We’re both about untapping the leader within and inviting her forward to be her best self. They do it through hope, jobs and opportunity; and we do it through skill-building and peer mentorship to develop world-class CEOs.

Like all well run Vistage companies, Cara measures their performance. They produce hundreds of jobs each year, at retention rates over 20 points higher than national norms, and with over 80% of employed participants moving onto permanent housing in which their families can thrive. They also produce a profound social return on investment, where for every dollar invested in this work, $5.97 is re-invested in society over a five year time horizon.

In this season of thanksgiving, I realize we have so much for which to be grateful – the roof over our heads, the hearty meals we share with our families, and the occupations we have that provide for our loved ones and give us a sense of purpose in the process. These things we may take for granted are not always available for the most vulnerable citizens among us.

This year, once again, I have joined with Maria’s fellow Vistage member, Kevin Krak of Gallant Building Solutions, along with Eric Weinheimer, former CEO of Cara, and Jim and Kay Mabie in offering a $25,000 Challenge Grant. We will match every dollar up to $25,000 (for a total grant of $50,000)!  Click Here to give today and your gift will go twice as far. (Don’t let the name fool you, we’re accepting donations today through November 29.)

Thank you in advance for joining us for a Giving Tuesday donation to the Cara Program, or to the social purpose organization of your choice.

Remember That First Date?

In my practice as a Vistage chair, I often find myself noticing the similarities between business and dating. After all, dating is a “deal” of a sort, and there are “rules” and best practices we follow in an effort to get what we want, i.e. more dates, and in that special case, marriage.

Like dating, when we want that new customer, new employee or acquisition deal, there are rules and practices that business people follow to get what they want. And like dating, the “rules” are generally not written and the practices are learned along the way both from our own experience and from others who have done it before.

Here are some dating and business best practices I’ve learned along the way:

  • Be authentic.
  • Be respectful.
  • Be clear on what you are looking for in a partner, a customer, an employee or potential acquisition.
  • Be clear what it is you bring to the table and be realistic. That high powered CFO may be great in a Fortune 500 company, but is she really what your $30mm company needs?
  • Put yourself in situations to meet new people that fit. No matter what anyone tells you, it’s not a game of numbers; it’s all about defining and measuring fit.
  • Be clear about what fits with your culture.Unless your culture is one that fits, that wild guy or gal you wouldn’t bring home to Mom is probably not going to be your SO or your best customer, no matter what you are willing to pay.
  • As soon as you meet “Mr. or Ms. Right”, go out with someone else (when we get fixated on winning one partner, customer, employee, or acquisition candidate (buyer/seller), we can appear desperate).  In short, play like you have nothing to lose.
  • Go on a date with anyone once (okay, not someone you know is an ax murderer).
  • Go on a second date, if there was a spark of interest.
  • When she says she needs some time alone, or the prospect doesn’t get back to us right away, its not the time to call a day later and suggest coffee.
  • Once you have made a commitment, be committed. Give your customer, employee, buyer/seller a chance to right a wrong.
  • And… when a relationship fails (or the service is consistently poor), don’t drag out the exit. End it. Learn from your mistakes. Decide what to look for next round and start the cycle again.

Please click on comments and share your additions to this list.

 

Why Vistage Works

Elisa K. Spain

Wait I Am An Entrepreneur, Not A CEO!

In my practice as a Vistage chair, I often hear entrepreneurs say, “I don’t want to lose the culture as I grow this company” or “We are like a family; I want to keep this feeling as we grow”. And yet as the company grows, the culture inevitably changes and the owner no longer knows the name and the family of every employee.

In the early days, everyone is equal and it is all about getting the job done, getting the orders out, meeting the customer needs. Typically the owner is the chief sales officer and innovator. As a company adds more people, “management” becomes necessary and terms like “building a leadership team” come into play.

Suddenly the owner is thrust into the role of CEO. Some enjoy the change, and most long for the simpler days when everyone was pulling together without any hierarchy. And, while longing for the “old days” s/he is excited about the growth and excited about having a broader impact.

So… s/he hires some executives and asks them to show the way. All well and good, except these folks are focused on their own career path. These key executives want the opportunity to innovate and have an impact themselves. The CEO while still expected to define the vision, must also become a coach and mentor, allowing others to grow and develop as leaders.

This transition from entrepreneurial management to professional management is what Vistage is all about. Members come together to discuss these challenges and inspire each other to make the necessary changes to achieve the results they desire. The ultimate goal for most is to build a sustainable enterprise, one where the CEO’s vision can be achieved without the CEO’s handprint.

Those that are able to make these changes are those rare few that build and lead the less than 1% of companies >$100mm in revenue.

 

Why Vistage Works

Elisa K. Spain

 

The Unintended Consequences Of Mentorship

During my career I have been fortunate to be a mentor to several talented individuals, and to have had wonderful mentors myself.

For me, there are few rewards in leadership that are as good as those that come from mentoring someone and watching them grow into successful leaders themselves. Similarly, I can attribute much of what I have accomplished to the mentorship I have received throughout my career. Mentors who generously gave their time and wisdom to me and modeled behavior I wanted to emulate.

And at the same time, I have discovered some unintended consequences of both being a mentor and having a mentor.

Occasionally, we are seen as mentors without realizing it. We become role models for others sometimes without knowing it. So what’s the issue? Being a role model equates with expectations. When we don’t meet those expectations, the impact can be crushing. After all, we are supposed to be wise and set a good example, and, know what to do, and, do it right… and guess what? We all fail sometimes; we all do things we aren’t proud of sometimes. In short, mentors are humans and if we expect our mentors to always do the right thing, the best thing, we will always be disappointed.

And as mentors, we forget sometimes that mentorship is not forever. We must recognize when it is time to evolve the relationship and recognize when our mentee grows beyond their mentor. It’s not that we don’t benefit from mentoring at every point in our lives; rather it is that a single mentor fulfills a role at a point in time. And then it gets sticky. What happens next? The relationship was uneven. Can it move to a peer relationship? Or does it end? Endings are sad, and sometimes necessary. In my experience, it is delightful when a mentor becomes a friend and peer. For this to happen, it takes awareness, intention and ego set aside by both people. Not easy.

So, the next time you become a mentor or seek a mentor, ask yourself, and even better ask your mentor/mentee:

  • What do I expect from me in this relationship?
  • What do you expect from me in this relationship?

Why Vistage Works

Elisa K. Spain