Recently I was delighted to see two great case studies written by good friends of mine appeared on Gary Hamel’s MIX. Both case studies reflect elements of the Connection Culture that I wrote about in Fired Up or Burned Out. The first case study written by Deborah Mills-Scofield is entitled “The 160-year old Startup.” The second case study written by Drew Williams is entitled “Restoring Faith in the Institution: How Mission Shaped Communities Revitalized St. Andrews.” I encourage you to check them out!
Category Archives: Human Value
Pixar’s Competitive Advantage? A Connection Culture
At the Technical Academy Awards ceremonies held in Hollywood, the Associated Press reported that it wasn’t the host, actress Jessica Biel, who attracted the most attention. Instead, it was an understated, bespectacled, computer engineer named Ed Catmull. When Catmull’s name was announced to receive an Oscar for his lifetime of work in computer animation, the crowd went wild, whistling and whooping. And rightly so. The impact Catmull and his collaborators have had on Hollywood may last for decades to come.
Ed Catmull is the president of Pixar and Disney Animation Studios. He has rejected the traditional Hollywood star system and its often toxic work environment and replaced it with an environment that emphasizes community and long-term relationships. Catmull described it this way in a Harvard Business Review article he wrote: “[Pixar has] an environment that nurtures trusting and respectful relationships and unleashes everyone’s creativity…the result is a vibrant community where talented people are loyal to one another and their collective work, everyone feels that they are part of something extraordinary, and their passion and accomplishments make the community a magnet for talented people…”
What is it about Pixar’s environment that attracts talented employees and helps them produce outstanding movies such as the blockbuster hits Toy Story, Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Ratatouille, and WALL-E that have made Pixar the envy of Hollywood?
Overcoming Leadership Myopia
Howard Behar and Michael Lee Stallard
American leaders need to wake up and smell the coffee. Research from two well-respected organizations makes it clear that we have a big collective blind spot that’s dragging down productivity, innovation and economic performance. Earlier this year, a Conference Board research report showed that job satisfaction is at the lowest level since the organization began measuring it more than 20 years ago. The report went on to show this has been a long-term downward trend rather than a temporary decline due to the Great Recession.
Another well-respected organization, the Corporate Executive Board, came out with a research report last year that showed 90 percent of employees are either not aligned with organizational goals or not engaged and giving their best efforts. It’s nearly impossible to pull out of difficult economic seasons when nine out of ten employees are just showing up for the paycheck. We need everyone to pull together in the same direction to lift us out of this slump. What can be done?
Free Linkage Leadership Webinars
Jason Pankau and I spoke on a webinar for Linkage about maximizing employee engagement and alignment. You can see the 60-minute webinar at this link. You may also be interested in other free webinars offered by Linkage at this link.
Mrs. Hesselbein: “To Serve is to Live”
Frances Hesselbein, To Serve Is To Live. from Leader to Leader on Vimeo.
In Fired Up or Burned Out, we wrote about Frances Hesselbein, the former CEO of the Girl Scouts of the USA and current chairman of the Leader to Leader Institute As we were about to part following lunch, I’ll never forget Mrs. Hesselbein looking me directly in the eyes and saying “just remember, to serve is to live.” Here is an outstanding video about Mrs. Hesselbein’s life entitled “To Serve is to Live.” Check it out.
Serving a Cause Greater than Self
Recently when Jason Pankau and I spoke at an internal meeting of the ITA Group, we learned that one afternoon their employees split up into teams and went out into their community to serve non-profit organizations. One group of employees went to help a food pantry, others went to serve the Boys and Girls Club, etc. Some teams painted walls or performed other much maintenance-type projects while others just spent time with children or adults who longed to connect.
By doing this, ITA Group employees were serving a cause greater than self. They were exercising compassion, kindness, empathy and other emotional muscles of the heart that make them better connectors and will help them develop a Connection Culture. I’m encouraged to see that more companies are doing these types of service projects.
Later this week at the United Nations, several organizations are gathering to talk about serving a cause greater than self. The conference is organized by the Foundation for Social Change, a group that is lead by super connector Louise Guido. I encourage you to learn more about the Foundation and its conference entitled “Global Conference for Social Change: How Profitability Can Change the World.” In addition to the many fine organizations participating at this conference, there are certain to be a lot of movers and shakers, including this year’s honorees, Sir Richard Branson and Shakira.
We Need More “Heart and Soul” in the Age of “Mind and Strength”
Wise organizations distinguish themselves from competitors by developing their heart and soul. Organizations that have heart and soul enrich their owners, customers and communities in both economic and non-economic ways.
What do I mean by heart and soul? Let me explain.
While out running errands one day when we were relatively new to town, my wife stopped in at one of several jewelry stores on the main shopping street. The cases were filled with beautiful pieces, new and heirloom. The salespeople, however, were more than aloof. They ignored her. No eye contact. No smile. No “hello, my name is X, may I help you?” This lack of connection made her feel as if they thought she was unworthy of their attention. Not surprisingly, she has never gone back. These salespeople lacked the qualities I describe as heart and soul.
The absence of heart and soul in the workplace is not unusual. This is the age of mind and strength. So often we focus on the tasks of our work and neglect the relational aspects. As human beings we have emotions, hopes and dreams, a conscience, and deeply felt human needs. Research from a variety of fields has shown that when we recognize these realities and treat others in ways consistent with them, we thrive. When we don’t, it is damaging to our mental and physical health and to the health of those around us.
Get to Know Colleagues’ and Customers’ Stories
Here’s a stirring video from Chick-fil-A to remind us that every human being has a story. In our endeavors to develop Connection Cultures we encourage people who work together to get to know one another’s stories and to reach out and learn customers’ stories, if at all possible. Learning the stories of the people in your life is just one aspect of Human Value, the second element of a Connection Culture. When you know a person’s story, it helps you empathize and connect with them. It’s also more difficult to grow extremely disconnected with someone when you know their story.
Free Download: Best-Selling Book on Leadership, Employee Engagement
For those of you on today’s webinar and readers of the articles Jason Pankau and I write for Crosswalk.com, here is a link to sign up for our email newsletter and receive a free digital version of our book Fired Up or Burned Out. (Note: To save it on your computer you will need to click on your browser’s “file” and “save as” menu options.)
Servant Leaders Outperform Because They Connect
Servant leaders connect with the people they lead and create Connection Cultures that are essential to achieve sustainable superior performance. Connection is defined as a bond that exists among a group of people based on shared identity, empathy and understanding that moves self–centered individuals toward group-centered membership. Here’s an example of a servant leader that brings the force of connection to life.
Retired CNO Admiral Vern Clark was formerly the chief of the U.S. Navy from 2000 until 2005. When Admiral Clark became the chief, first term re-enlistment didn’t meet the Navy’s goal of 38 percent. Within a little more than a year, it soared from under 38 percent to 56.7 percent and the Navy had more sailors that it needed. Although I don’t have space in this article to tell you all of what Admiral Clark did, his actions can be summarized in three words: Vision, Value and Voice.