Leadership Quote: We can't solve problems…

Leadership Quote: We can't solve problems…

by Elisa SpainNo Comments

someone's hand pressing a service bell what could they want                     This month’s leadership quote:

“We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.”

-Albert Einstein

Typically when we discover a problem, we bring together the same team that was involved when we first launched the new product, new division, new whatever, that led to the problem we are now facing.

What if instead, we asked people who weren’t involved at the beginning to look at the situation and give us questions to consider and offer possible solutions?

Perhaps you can gather a new team to look at the problem with fresh eyes.

Or, consider asking people outside your business.

Each month Vistage members have the opportunity to ask their private advisory board to bring that different kind of thinking to the challenges they face.

Wherever you choose to go when problems arise,  it’s that fresh view that leads to better results.

Elisa K. Spain

Vistage Confidence Index: Optimism Reaches 2 Year High In Q4 2013

Vistage Confidence Index: Optimism Reaches 2 Year High In Q4 2013

by Elisa SpainNo Comments

2013--01-19 Confidence IndexThe quarterly Vistage Confidence Index is now available.

CEOs in the Q4 2013 Vistage CEO Confidence Index survey held more optimistic economic expectations than at any other time in nearly two years. The largest 4th quarter gains were in CEOs’ evaluations of the overall economy, although revenue and profit expectations posted healthy advances as well. The Vistage Confidence Index was 101.5 in the 4th quarter of 2013, up from 97.8 in the prior quarter and well above the 87.0 recorded in last year’s 4th quarter.

Below are some key highlights from the Q4 2013 Vistage CEO Confidence Index (all members surveyed):

  • 52% of CEOs reported the economy had recently improved
  • 76% of all CEOs anticipated higher sales revenues in the next year
  • 56% of CEOs planned on expanding their payrolls during the year ahead
  • 11% of CEOs reported that finding qualified employees was an easy task

Elisa K. Spain

Leadership Quote: Leadership: The Art Of Getting Someone Else To Do Something…

Leadership Quote: Leadership: The Art Of Getting Someone Else To Do Something…

by Elisa SpainNo Comments

2013-12-22 iStock_000016897704XSmallThis month’s leadership quote:

“Leadership:  The art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it.”

-Dwight D. Eisenhower

As human beings, we tend to choose to lead or follow. The role we choose is function of both our style and our circumstance. Even those of us who are leaders are often in a position where we choose to be followers.

As I stop and reflect on who I have chosen to follow in the past and why, this quote resonates, I did it because I wanted to. Here are my reflections on circumstances where I have chosen to follow, please share yours:

  • Something the person said inspired me
  • I observed what they were doing and wanted to learn
  • The person encouraged me, made me feel that I could do it
  • By doing it, I would benefit my business or career
  • I felt there was a “greater good” to be achieved by doing it

I look forward to hearing your stories.

Enjoy the holiday season! See you here on January 5th, 2014.

Elisa K. Spain

A Tribute To A Great Man, Who Also Was A Good Man

by Elisa Spain1 Comment

Those of you who know me have heard me talk about my Uncle Leon as a model for a life well-lived. He died this past week, at age 95+. I will be attending his funeral on the day this blog publishes. It seemed fitting to write this tribute to him on this day.

Balaji Krishnamurthy, one of my favorite Vistage speakers, talks about L3, Leadership, Leverage and Legacy. For me, Uncle Lee accomplished all three.

He was an entrepreneur who, in his early twenties, founded the nation’s first convention exhibition business, Mannecraft Exhibition Services. In the beginning he worked with department stores to “exhibit” their store windows. Soon thereafter Mannecraft was setting up conventions across the country. When the company was acquired by a public company in the early 80’s, he agreed to retire at age 65.

Retirement for Leon was investing in young entrepreneurs, providing financing and wisdom to grow their companies. He worked on-site, hands on, with these companies. At the same time, he was fully engaged with his philanthropic efforts.

He was a leader in the Miami Beach chamber of commerce and Kiwanis and was recognized multiple times by both organizations as “Man of the Year”. When it was time to renovate the Miami Beach Convention Center, Leon led the multi-year project – pro-bono.

Leon always said he had only one regret, that he was not able to attend college. His parents could only afford to send one of their three children and his older brother, because he was older, got the opportunity. So… he started a scholarship fund to sponsor young people wanting a college education without the funds to go.

As a child, Uncle Lee was always on my side; and as an adult he has been the person I most want to emulate. While he was always there for advice if I asked, what I learned from him was more from what he did, than from what he said.

A few years ago my cousin and I were talking about Uncle Lee and she asked me, “what do you think you have learned from him?” As I reflected on her question, I created this list of seven “Leonism’s”. He made each of these seem easy and yet for me they are aspirational words.

7. Accept what you cannot do and do all of what you can.

6. Stay active, physically and mentally.

5. Make new friends all the time.

4. Move on – learn from mistakes.

3. Live in the present.

2. Forgive – yourself & other.

And, #1, Make the people around you feel special.

Uncle Lee was loved and admired by his family and everyone who was fortunate enough to know him. When he turned 95, over 100 people, of all ages, showed up to celebrate the man who, as my aunt said so well, “was someone people didn’t just want to know, they wanted to be”.

I will miss him and his legacy will continue to inspire.

Elisa K. Spain

Leading What We Don't Understand

Leading What We Don't Understand

by Elisa SpainNo Comments

2013-12-01 Who What iStock_000017953256XSmall

 

I have hesitated to jump into the Obamacare website discussion, however it provides such a great leadership lesson that I feel I have to. The lesson is this, even when I don’t understand, when I am the leader, I must lead.

Sounds obvious and yet, so often when it comes to technology and other unfamiliar areas, CEOs choose not to lead. In fact, otherwise effective leaders when they find themselves in situations where they lack familiarity, hire experts and then fully abdicate responsibility for leading these experts.

My sense from reading the press, is this is exactly what happened with the Obamacare website. If you read Kathleen Sebelius’ (Head of Health and Human Services) background, she has held many leadership roles, including Governor of Kansas, and at one time was considered a potential presidential candidate. Yet, at least from what I read, despite her strong leadership background, she hired experts to build the website, left them to figure it out and then hoped for the best outcome.

As Ms. Sebelius discovered in the most public way possible, even experts need to be led.

So, how do we lead when we lack familiarity? I was discussing this question recently with one of my Vistage CEO clients who had hired an expert to install a new ERP/CRM system, here is what we came up with:

  • Accept that it is my job, as the leader, to monitor and evaluate when I am responsible
  • Ask for a project plan with specific measurable milestones and agree on a regular meeting schedule to monitor these milestones
  • Ask questions, and when I hear an answer I don’t understand, assume more information is required, and ask more questions (rather than assuming I don’t understand because I am unfamiliar)
  • Ask the people on the line what they are concerned about
  • Get enough information to know when naysayers are change-resistant or if course changes must be made

What else would you add to this list?

Elisa K. Spain

Leadership Quote: If I Had Only One Hour To Save The World…

Leadership Quote: If I Had Only One Hour To Save The World…

by Elisa SpainNo Comments

2013-11-24 iStock_000027536746XSmallThis month’s leadership quote:

“If I had only one hour to save the world, I would spend fifty-five minutes defining the problem, and only five minutes finding the solution.”

-Albert Einstein

How often do we jump in and start solving things before we know what the problem is? When we process issues in Vistage, the set goal is question, question, question until the person whose issue it is finds their own way to the solution. And yet, it is so tempting to jump in with answers. Socrates, like Einstein, tells us that wisdom comes from asking the better questions, defining the problem.

Perhaps us lesser mortals, have the opportunity to be just as wise…by pausing, asking questions, defining the problem, and letting the solution emerge rather than be told.

 

Elisa K. Spain

 

What Are You Willing To Give Up?

What Are You Willing To Give Up?

by Elisa SpainNo Comments

White finish line text and lane on red running trackWhat are you willing to give up to get what you want? This is a question I often ask my Vistage members and coaching clients.

One of my favorite books on marketing, admittedly an old one, is The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing by Ries and Trout. For me, many of these 22 laws are relevant to life as well as marketing. Law #13, The Law of Sacrifice – You have to give up something in order to get something, resonates for me in making life choices.

What I notice in my conversations with my clients is those that are willing to let go of something…. are those that move forward. They invent the new products, hire the person that is going to make the difference, take the next job or start the next business. These people are willing to give up something to get what they want.

The ‘give up’ may be something we believe, it may be fear (of failing, being wrong), or simply a comfort level with what we have or what we know. The ‘give up’ may be tangible, dollars that may end up as a sunk cost; or accepting that a long term loyal employee is not going to be the one to take the company forward.

In short, when we are talking about giving up something to get what we want, the key questions are these:

  • How much do I really want the “something” I say I want?
  • What am I willing to give up to get it?

Elisa K. Spain

Are There Subtitles In Your Conversations?

Are There Subtitles In Your Conversations?

by Elisa SpainNo Comments

2013-11-03 what_a_jerkEver wish your conversations had subtitles?

How often do we begin what seems like a casual conversation, only to realize that something has happened. Emotion has entered and we are no longer talking about the subject at hand. Yet, we keep trying to talk about the casual subject while our thoughts wander to the meta message.

There is a scene in Annie Hall that I often think about when this happens.

We see in this film clip, a classic first date, where both of them are saying one thing and thinking something totally different. Their thoughts are shown as subtitles. What makes this scene so memorable is that these subtitles or “meta messages” frequently occur in conversation, including business conversations. And, in life, there aren’t any subtitles.

In the film, Annie Hall chose to end both the conversation and the meta messages by reminding Woody Allen that he had to leave.

In my experience, the more history we have with another person, the more likely we are to step on historical land mines in the course of our conversations. Ending the conversation and continuing later is an option. If the conversation becomes heated, sometimes this is the best option. Alternatively, we have an option to pause and talk about the meta message. In other words, have a conversation about the conversation. 

‘Meta’ from Greek is a prefix which means ‘about’ or ‘beyond’.

Here’s how you might move from a conversation that’s getting difficult to a meta-conversation:

  1. Pause. Once you observe either you or the other person is feeling anything other than neutral.
  2. Name what you observe, about each of your viewpoints, e.g. I have the sense we started out talking about the agenda for our next meeting, and there is something else on the table.
  3. Follow the Vistage model, stay in a questioning mode, “What is it about the next meeting that is giving you concern?”
  4. Keep your language neutral. Stay away from the 5 “fighting words”. “You” (use I), “Always” (use frequently), “Never” (use seldom), “But” (use and) “Why” (use what).
  5. Work toward mutual understanding, rather than being right.
  6. Allow the other person to respond. I find that restating what I believe I just heard is helpful. And, then continuing to stay in a questioning mode.

And, allow the possibility that the intended conversation may have to wait until another day.

 

Elisa K. Spain

 

Leadership Quote: Becoming A Leader, Becoming Yourself….

Leadership Quote: Becoming A Leader, Becoming Yourself….

by Elisa Spain2 Comments

2013-10-27 Success Dice iStock_000010594159XSmallThis month’s leadership quote:

“Becoming a leader is synonymous with becoming yourself. It is precisely that simple and it is also that difficult.”

-Warren Bennis

The challenge of course is gaining this self-awareness.

  • Identifying our genius
  • Learning how we show up to others and the impact we have
  • Learning when to lead from the front of the room and when to lead from the back

Whether we have been in a leadership role for a long time, or the experience is more recent, each day is an opportunity to move toward this simple, yet difficult goal.

One of the great benefits of Vistage private advisory boards is the opportunity to learn all these things from our peers. We can then  take what we learn back into our organizations and become the best version of ourselves.

 

Elisa K. Spain

 

Vistage Confidence Index: CEO Optimism Grows In Q3 2013

Vistage Confidence Index: CEO Optimism Grows In Q3 2013

by Elisa SpainNo Comments

2013-11-10 Confidence Index Q3The quarterly Vistage Confidence Index is now available.

CEOs held more optimistic expectations for gains by their
own firms in the Q3 2013 Vistage CEO Confidence Index,
even though they held less favorable views about the overall economic environment. The Vistage CEO Confidence Index was 97.8 in the 3rd quarter 2013 survey, just above the 96.7 in the 2nd quarter survey but substantially above the 89.0 recorded in last year’s 3rd quarter.

Below are some key highlights from the Q3 2013 Vistage CEO Confidence Index (all members surveyed):

  • 54% of all CEOs expected their firm’s profitability to improve. This is the highest figure recorded since the start of 2012.
  • 71% of all CEOs anticipated higher sales revenues, up from 68% last quarter and 66% a year ago.
  • 40% of CEOs said a proposal to raise the federal minimum wage to $9 or $10 an hour would have a negative impact on the growth of their business.
  • 53% of all CEOs said the minimum wage hike would not have a significant impact on growth, perhaps due to the higher wages already paid to their employees.
  • 68% of CEOs said the U.S. debt burden of $16.7 trillion has an impact on their business growth.
  • 73% of CEOs believe that Congress must enact a dollar of spending cuts for every dollar used to increase the debt ceiling

Elisa K. Spain