Leadership
Each decision you make reduces your ability to make good decisions. It can quickly reach the point that you’ll actually avoid making decisions once a certain threshold is reached. There are only so many good decisions you can make each day.
Decision fatigue also leads to impulse spending. Self-regulation also suffers during decision fatigue. There’s a reason you’re more likely to eat unhealthy food or do something else detrimental to your well-being at night.
Have you ever noticed that many influential and successful people tend to make inadequate decisions at night? These self-destructive decisions often come after a long day of making important decisions at work.
Use these strategies to avoid decision fatigue and make wise decisions:
- Make important decisions early in the day and during times of low stress. When you’re relaxed and in your safe space, you can kick back and make decisions without any pressure or distractions.
- Choose your clothes the night before. It’s mentally exhausting to search around for clothes that match when it’s time for work.
- You can also limit the scope of your wardrobe and achieve the same effect. Steve Jobs and Barack Obama were famous for their limited wardrobes. Both felt that the fewer decisions they had to make each day, the better.
- You can also limit the scope of your wardrobe and achieve the same effect. Steve Jobs and Barack Obama were famous for their limited wardrobes. Both felt that the fewer decisions they had to make each day, the better.
- Plan your day the night before. Then, you just need to put your head down and get to work. You’ve already made the basic choices of how you’re going to spend your day. All that’s left to do is perform the necessary actions.
- For example, know what you’re having for lunch, breakfast, and dinner before going to bed.
- What are the most important things you have to do tomorrow? When will you do them?
- This will leave you with a more exceptional ability to make good decisions the next day.
- For example, know what you’re having for lunch, breakfast, and dinner before going to bed.
- Keep your life simple. A complicated life is fatiguing. The fatigue extends to your ability to make decisions. Our brains weren’t designed to handle ongoing complexity. A simple life is easier on your mind and will allow you to make better decisions.
- Delegate decisions. Not all decisions have to be made by you. Let someone else pick the restaurant and the movie. Allow one of your employees to make the less-critical decisions. Let your kids decide what you’re going to do this weekend. Avoid decision fatigue by requiring others to make some decisions.
- Take a nap. A nap is a great way to rejuvenate your mental faculties. Sleeping for just 10-30 minutes will recharge your decision-making capacity. Make a daily nap part of your day, if possible.
- Know your priorities. When you know what is important to you, decisions become easier to make. Quick decisions don’t induce a lot of decision fatigue. You’ll avoid torturing yourself over all of your choices if you understand which decisions matter and which don’t.
The quality of your decisions influences the quality of your career, health, relationships, and overall success. Inadequate choices lead to personal challenges. These challenges include financial issues, work and school difficulties, health problems, and other personal and social issues.
Each decision you make has a biological cost. After making too many decisions, you’re more likely to argue with your partner, make unnecessary purchases, and eat junk food.
As your brain fatigues, it searches for shortcuts. One of these shortcuts is to make decisions quickly and recklessly. After all, thinking takes energy. The other alternative is to refuse to make a decision at all.
Decision fatigue is something everyone should be aware of. The consequences of inadequate decision-making can be severe.
Want to learn more about making sound decisions and becoming a leader others will gladly follow? Visit: https://prestonpoore.com
Thanks, and take care,
Preston Poore
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This blog was written during Atlanta’s 2020 racial strife…
My heart breaks for our nation and the great city of Atlanta. We must unite and create positive change. The time is now. It’s time to love. It’s time to lead. But how? Where do we start? I’m going to make a bold statement. Maybe even provocative. You may not want to hear it. But here it goes.
The solution doesn’t begin with what we do, it begins with who we know.
The world will not change unless your heart changes first. The only person that can change the human heart, bring it from death to life is Jesus. If I’ve piqued your interest at all, I recommend you keep listening or reading. If not, I get it. You can tune me out or turn me off. But if I’ve got your attention and you want to learn how a transformed life can transform the culture, stay with me. . .
The solution doesn’t begin with what we do; it begins with who we know.
If you’re a believer and disciple of Christ, your mandate is to make more disciples and influence the culture. A discipled leader’s conversion to follow Jesus must be demonstrated in your daily life and not be kept private. Through your transformed life, you must impact your world. Discipled leaders transform cultures through their own transformed lives.
Jesus said, “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:13–16 ESV).
To be salt means to preserve the culture. To be light means to show the way. To be both means to influence your entire world. As J. I. Packer wrote, “Christians are to involve themselves in all forms of lawful human activity . . . . As Christians thus fulfill their vocation, Christianity becomes a transforming cultural force.”[1]
Can something so large and complex as a culture—even your work culture—be transformed? Yes! But it starts with you. In How Now Shall We Live?, Charles Colson, former special counsel to President Richard Nixon and founder of Prison Fellowship and Breakpoint, wrote:
“Cultures can be renewed—even those typically considered the most corrupt and intractable. But if we are to restore our world, we first have to shake off the comfortable notion that Christianity is merely a personal experience, applying only to one’s private life. No man is an island, wrote the Christian poet John Donne. One of the great myths of our day is that we are islands—that our decisions are personal and that no one has a right to tell us what to do in our private lives. We easily forget that every private decision contributes to the moral and cultural climate in which we live, rippling out in ever-widening circles—first in our personal and family lives, and then in the broader society.”[2]
In other words, a discipled leader ought to be the same person on Sunday morning as he or she is on a Monday afternoon. There’s no sacred-secular divide. There’s only being a disciple and leading others toward Christ and discipleship—every day.
It is a discipled leader’s job to take Christ’s message to the world and, through that message and the power of the Holy Spirit, to change lives and change the culture. When you became a disciple of Christ, you became his ambassador and change agent through Christ. “A Christian is a mind through which Christ thinks; a heart through which Christ loves; a voice through which Christ speaks; a hand through which Christ helps.”[3] Through Christ, you can make a difference in the world.
It’s not about a cause; it’s about Christ. Be bold, vocal, and stand for Jesus. Will you join Jesus in the Great Commission of making disciples and transforming the culture?
Do you want to discover how to grow your influence and make a positive difference? Visit my website, prestonpoore.com, today!
Cheers,
Preston
[1] Packer, J. I. Concise Theology.
[2] Colson, C. How Now Shall We Live?. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale, 1999.
[3] Tan, P. L. Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations: Signs of the Times. Garland, TX: Bible Communications, Inc, 1996, p. 336.
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My no-nonsense manager surveyed the roomful of team leaders and commanded us, “Bring your three-year plans. Have them complete and on my desk in two weeks.”
We were supposed to nod our heads in silent assent. But I had to say something. If I didn’t, I knew my team would suffer.
“Catherine, we have so many priorities, and the team is under a lot of pressure to deliver on time. Can we delay the planning for a few weeks and allow them to remain focused on work that matters?”
I think those last three words made her face turn red. Noticeably agitated, she turned toward the other managers in the room, my peers, and rhetorically asked, “Do any of you have the same concerns?”
When all she received were shaking heads, she went around the horn and asked for verbal confirmation. Every manager said they’d be able to deliver on her request.
I couldn’t believe what I was seeing and hearing. In the days leading up to that meeting, every manager had shared with me how much pressure they were under and how challenged they felt because of Catherine’s demands. Yet there they were, throwing me under the bus.
Catherine turned toward me. “There you have it. No one else has a concern, and neither should you. Just go fill out one of your priority grids, and you’ll figure it out.” Her words dripped with sarcasm.
As I let the silence sit, my mind flashed back to a year earlier, when I’d been reluctant even to take this position.
During my interview, I was warned, “In the world of racks and point-of-sale material, everyone has an opinion on the merchandising elements: design, construction, cost, and deployment. You’ll have multiple masters and need to serve them all. It will be a tough role. Extremely stressful, demanding, and political.” Fearing I didn’t know what I was getting myself into, the interviewer asked, “Do you think you’ve got what it takes?”
Everything I knew about that division flashed to mind:
- Their team was dysfunctional.
- The supply chain was impotent.
- Just as my interviewer had said, there were too many chiefs.
Any amount of success appeared impossible.
“I have what it takes, but I’m not interested in the role. Could you remove my name from consideration?”
She nodded her head, but I could tell she was shocked by my reply.
However, other leaders kept suggesting I was the right fit in the coming days. Some even hinted that turning down this role could have future career implications. Hesitantly—and knowing what predicaments likely awaited me—I accepted the offer.
Throughout my first year in that new position, each of my fears came true. The team was overworked. They had low morale from feeling undervalued. Our suppliers always seemed to miss project deadlines. Designs weren’t relevant. The procurement team seemed to have more control over our projects than our marketing team. Our internal key stakeholders, customers, and bottlers weren’t satisfied with my team’s performance. Those entities offered suggestions for how we—I—could do things differently.
Our work environment was chaotic. Extreme stress was the norm.
I felt anxious all the time, constantly worrying about what would go wrong every day. When inevitable mistakes were made, I feared whiplash. I couldn’t sleep. I stopped exercising regularly because I had no time for it. In the rare moments when I was home, I was distant and easily aggravated. I was running scared, running on empty, and ready to burn out. I never felt like I was making a difference—anywhere.
I told my manager that I felt like I was failing daily. She was unsympathetic to my plight. I don’t know why I thought that would help. She’d seldom listened to my concerns before. If she had, I rarely saw the result.
So her singling me out during that manager’s meeting shouldn’t have surprised me. Her quick dismissal of my earnest request was status-quo leadership to her. It was nearly the last straw for me.
Being called out like that in front of my peers made me feel embarrassed, stunned, and flustered. Yet I knew I had an immediate decision on how I could respond. I didn’t want to give up, but something had to change. I needed to raise my team’s morale. I needed to empower them. I needed to increase our productivity. I needed to become a better leader. Rather than choose discouragement, I opted for perseverance.
If I couldn’t accomplish any of those tasks, anyone on my team could be out of a job. And if I couldn’t save my team—and complete my three-year plan—I wouldn’t be the one under the bus.
I’d be driving it at my next job.
After that demeaning meeting and after praying regularly, I developed a vision of becoming our key stakeholders’ most valuable partner and winning industry recognition. Then, I identified significant projects that would influence the company’s performance. With these priorities in place, I intentionally began instilling confidence in my employees. I knew that if I believed in them, they’d believe in themselves. I empowered the team to make decisions and enabled them to say no to irrelevant, unproductive work.
The team began to gel and became more productive. They remained focused on priorities and ignored distractions. Their morale improved, and their stress levels lessened. So did mine. Our internal and external customers moved from doubting our ability to trusting us to deliver. Together, we made a lot of progress. The tables were turning.
Nowhere was this more evident than during my annual review. My manager simply said, “You are a difference-maker, and thank you for all of your hard work.” Though she used few words, the words she used mattered greatly to me. Her affirmation was gratifying and validating. My team members received the highest annual rating: exceeds performance, which, for our team, was unprecedented.
Looking back, I’m so thankful for the experience, even in having a bus driven over me. I learned and grew more than I imagined through all of the stress, emotions, and obstacles. I was stretched to the limit and increased my work capacity.
With help from above, I stayed true to my original goals, persevered with the team, and helped transform the business.
After “Prioritizing the Priorities,” my charge to you is to empower your team. They will help you accomplish common goals and objectives with vigor. Do this, and you’ll reduce anxiety because people will feel more control and can take ownership. People feel more committed to working if they know they can make decisions and impact projects. If you don’t, people will disengage because of their perceived lack of influence.
Empowerment Mindset – A Self Evaluation
Empowerment is the transfer of your authority to individuals to help them reach their potential. Effective empowerment begins with the right attitude. Before you empower someone, ask yourself the below questions to see if you have an “Empowerment Mindset.” I recommend rating yourself on a scale of 1 to 10 on each question, 10 being perfect.
#1 Do I believe in people and feel that they are my organization’s most appreciable asset?
#2 Do I believe that empowering others can accomplish more than individual achievement?
#3 Do I actively search for potential leaders to empower?
#4 Would I be willing to raise others to a level higher than my own level of leadership?
#5 Would I be willing to invest time developing people who have leadership potential?
#6 Would I be willing to let others get credit for what I taught them?
#7 Do I allow others freedom of personality and process, or do I have to be in control?
#8 Would I be willing to publicly give my authority and influence to potential leaders?
#9 Would I be willing to let others work me out of a job?
#10 Would I be ready to hand the leadership baton to the people I empower and genuinely root for them?[1]
Now that you’ve rated yourself, what are your top three areas where you can improve your Empowerment Mindset? Now, what’s your number one area? Put an action plan in place to improve the identified area, determine when you want to accomplish your action plan, and ask someone to hold you accountable. You’ll improve your attitude toward empowering others and become an effective leader if you do.
Do you want to discover more about empowering others and becoming a leader others will gladly follow? Visit my website, prestonpoore.com, today!
Cheers,
Preston
[1] Excerpt From: John C. Maxwell & Jim Dornan. “Becoming a Person of Influence.” Apple Books. https://books.apple.com/us/book/becoming-a-person-of-influence/id607555354
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Recently at Colorado State University, I delivered the Sigma Chi Beta Tau Chapter 100th Anniversary Keynote Address to ~250 of my fraternity brothers and friends . . . I shared how to move from a success mindset to a “Significance Mindset.”
I encourage you to read the message because what I share may be game-changing for you as I provide some keys to living a meaningful, purposeful, significant life. . . The message may transform how you interact with people and how you influence your world. You’ll learn how the power of generosity, making waves, and enlarging others can make a positive difference. Now, “Developing a Significance Mindset.”
Good evening. It’s an honor to be with you, my Sigma Chi Brothers, and friends. Thank you for inviting me to share some thoughts with you. I want to introduce my beautiful bride, Carla – a University of Alabama grad, Chi Omega member, and wonderful mother of our two children, Caroline and Benton.
Tonight, I want to talk about something that may be a game-changer for you. It may transform your life, the way you interact with people, and how you influence your world.
If you’re experiencing a successful career but seem empty on the inside and wonder if there’s something more, this message may be for you.
If you’re struggling to determine life’s purpose and what truly matters, this message may be for you.
If you’re a student, early in life’s journey and or an alumnus enjoying retirement and want to learn about how to make a positive difference in the world, this message may be for you.
I encourage you to listen to what I share. It may be the most important 15 minutes of tonight, this month, this year, or your life.
Tonight, I want to share my thoughts on our need to mentally shift from success to significance. Meaning how we think about things, how we approach life, developing a “Significance Mindset.”
What does it mean to have a “Significance Mindset”? It means to move away from a self-focus to an others-focus; from using your time, talents, and resources for your own good to using them for the good of others; to swap adding value to yourself for adding value to others; to transition from spending time on things that don’t matter to investing time in things that do; things that have meaning and purpose. Serving others rather than serving self.
John C. Maxwell, the most prolific leadership author and speaker of our times, said, “A lot of people believe they are successful because they have everything they want. They have added value to themselves. But I believe significance comes when you add value to others, and you can’t have true success without significance.”
Does any of this resonate with you? Do you want to grow beyond success and develop a Significance Mindset? What would your family, community, business, school, or place of worship look like if you did? What would happen? How would you be able to influence your culture and change your world?
Let me share a simple story where I began to learn about developing a Significance Mindset, shifting to a life that matters. . .
I met Juan in a dump, a city dump. Juan was a “pepenador,” a scavenger. He made his living by rummaging through trash in the Tijuana City Dump and reselling what he recovered to local merchants. Everything that he owned came from the dump – clothes and food – one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.
Juan and 200 families that live in the landfill are among the poorest of the poor in Tijuana. Homes were created with tarps, pallets, tin scraps, and old garage doors – whatever residents could find and use to build a roof over their heads. The rancid odor that arose in the summer’s heat overwhelmed me but was barely noticeable to the dump’s residents.
Why was I in the Tijuana City Dump? I volunteered to go on a mission trip with my church to serve the people that lived in the landfill. We aimed to help those who couldn’t help themselves, shine light into a dark place and invest our time, talents, and resources to bring hope to the hopeless.
Once we arrived in the dump, we spread out across the canyon, knocking on doors, giving them a gift of rice & beans, and inviting them to a Vacation Bible School. We shared that the School would include games, music, and food. We also mentioned that we’d be providing personal hygiene supplies and services at the event. Why? As you might imagine, water was a scarce resource in the dump. The place was pretty much a third-world country. Showering, washing hair, and brushing teeth were all considered a luxury. But, it provided us an opportunity to show extravagant generosity, love in action, to the dump residents by providing hygiene supplies and services.
After making the rounds and inviting folks to join us, we set up the School location, including a long line of hair washing stations. Each station included a chair, buckets of water, and shampoo.
What was missing? Volunteers to wash hair. . .
A mission trip leader asked, “Who’d like to wash hair today?”
Okay, I have to admit, this is where I got a little uncomfortable. I put my head down and stepped back, not wanting to make eye contact with the leader.
The leader explained that women volunteers would wash women’s hair, and men would wash men’s. I grew a little more uncomfortable but remembered that the best way to grow is to move out of one’s comfort zone and into the awkward zone.
I raised my hand and said, “I’ll do it.”
Soon after, the Vacation Bible School started. I was amazed at the large number of adults and children that came. I found the dump residents a kind, warm-hearted, and gracious bunch considering their living conditions. We connected with people through translators, sang songs, watched skits, and broke bread together.
Then came the hair washing. Ladies first. A long line developed, and the pampering began. Next, the men lined up, and it was my turn to step up. I went to my assigned station and saw a middle-aged man urged by his significant other to wash his hair. He was hesitant at first but slowly shuffled in my direction. I smiled and introduced myself to Juan as he sat down in the chair. He didn’t look me in the eye. I could tell this was a very humbling experience for him.
I slowly poured the water on his head, applied the shampoo, and washed his lice-infested, thick black hair. It only took a few minutes, and when we were done, Juan offered no gratuity for washing his hair other than a bright smile and saying “gracias” as he looked me in the eye, man to man. He waved goodbye and left with his family.
I’m not sure I will ever see Juan again or know how his life turned out. I do know that he experienced a moment of happiness and refreshment and that I played a small role in it.
What may seem like a trite experience to you was huge for me. It was the genesis of my shift from a success mindset to a Significance Mindset. It was a moment that mattered, one where I took the focus off of myself and placed it on others to help someone who couldn’t help themselves.
This led me to ask: How does one develop a Significance Mindset? Here are three principles I discovered:
- Be Generous. “The greater the giving, the greater the living.” [1] Invest your time, talents, and resources to benefit others. Instead of spending hours on social media, invest time serving your family, community, school, or place of worship. Leverage your strengths and talents to help build something that lasts, that matters. Lastly, give money to people, churches, and charities. You’ll care more about to whom or what you give money – The good book says, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will also be.” King Solomon wrote, “The world of the generous gets larger and larger; the world of the stingy gets smaller and smaller. The one who blesses others is abundantly blessed; those who help others are helped.” [2] Even industrial magnate Andrew Carnegie got it. He said, “No man becomes rich unless he enriches others.” [3] Be generous.
- Create Waves. Mother Teresa said, “I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples.” [4] Cast stones in the water to make a positive difference. What do I mean? Do you see injustice at work? Speak up. Is someone being bullied? Stick up for them. Is someone you know feeling down? Encourage them. Is someone lacking resources? Meet their need. Shift the focus off yourself and onto others. Look for opportunities to make a positive difference in your sphere of influence and change your world. Do things that matter. Help the helpless. Be a light in our often dark and chaotic world. Create waves.
- Enlarge Others. Help people reach their potential through coaching and mentoring them. Invest in them. Think for a moment about who’s had an impact on your life. Play along with me for a minute. Close your eyes for just a moment. Picture the individual. Can you see them? Was it a teacher, coach, manager, friend, or family member that inspired you to grow? Did they believe in you? Did they bring out the best in you? Looking back, how did they help you? Now, tell someone next to you the name of the individual. Let’s turn it around. How do you take what you were given and pour it into others? Imagine someone you can build up, enlarge. Share the name with someone. I encourage you to intentionally build your identified person up. Invest your time, talents, and resources in them. Help them reach their potential. What if you don’t invest in people and enlarge them? “Composer Gian Carlo Menotti forcefully stated, ‘Hell begins on that day when God grants us a clear vision of all that we might have achieved, of all the gifts we wasted, of all that we might have done that we did not do.’ Unrealized potential is a tragic waste. And as an enlarger, you have the privilege of helping others discover and then develop their potential.” [5] Enlarge others.
I want to drive home one more point. You don’t need to be a president, CEO, famous actor, or billionaire to live a meaningful life. Why? Did you know that sociologists say that even the most introverted individual will influence up to 10,000 people during their lifetime? That’s right. 10,000 people. Whether you realize it or not, you have incredible influence. Develop a Significance Mindset by being generous, creating waves, and enlarging others. You’ll be a positive influence and change your world.
I want to end tonight with a piece by Michael Josephson titled What Will Matter: [6]
“Ready or not, someday it will all come to an end.
There will be no more sunrises, no minutes, hours, or days.
All the things you collected, whether treasured or forgotten, will pass to someone else.
Your wealth, fame, and temporal power will shrivel to irrelevance.
It will not matter what you owned or what you were owed.
Your grudges, resentments, frustrations, and jealousies will finally disappear.
So, too, your hopes, ambitions, plans, and to-do lists will expire.
The wins and losses that once seemed so important will fade away.
It won’t matter where you came from or what side of the tracks you lived on at the end.
It won’t matter whether you are beautiful or brilliant.
Even your gender and skin color will be irrelevant.
So, what will matter? How will the value of your days be measured?
What will matter is not what you bought but what you built; not what you got but what you gave.
What will matter is not your success but your significance.
What will matter is not what you learned but what you taught.
What will matter is every act of integrity, compassion, courage,
or sacrifice that enriched, empowered, or encouraged others to emulate your example.
What will matter is not your competence but your character.
What will matter is not how many people you knew but how many will feel a lasting loss when you’re gone.
What will matter is not your memories but the memories of those who loved you.
What will matter is how long you will be remembered, by whom, and for what
Living a life that matters doesn’t happen by accident.
It’s not a matter of circumstance but of choice.
Choose to live a life that matters.”
In closing, may I get personal with you for a moment and ask a few provocative questions?:
- Do you have a desire to live a meaningful life, one that matters? If so, why?
- What do you need to do to shift from a success mindset to a “Significance Mindset”? What actions will you take?
- When will you do it? – don’t hesitate – do it now. Why wait?
- Who will you share your plan with? Who will hold you accountable? Tell someone you can trust and who will help you make the mindset shift.
- Lastly, if you are curious in matters of faith, in whom do you find your significance? I find mine in God.
If any of tonight’s messages resonated with you or the questions I just asked inspired you to think or behave differently, I’d love to hear from you and learn how I may be able to help you along your journey.
May you choose a life that matters, develop a Significance Mindset, and make a positive difference in your world. God bless, In Hoc, and thank you.
Do you want to learn more about living a significant life and becoming a leader others will gladly follow? Visit my website, prestonpoore.com, today!
Cheers,
Preston
[1] John C. Maxwell Today Matters
[2] Peterson, E. H. (2005). The Message: the Bible in contemporary language (Pr 11:24–25). Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress.
[3] Excerpt From: John C. Maxwell & Jim Dornan. “Becoming a Person of Influence.” Apple Books. https://books.apple.com/us/book/becoming-a-person-of-influence/id607555354
[4] https://www.inc.com/john-brandon/38-quotes-to-help-you-become-a-change-agent.html
[5] Excerpt From: John C. Maxwell & Jim Dornan. “Becoming a Person of Influence.” Apple Books. https://books.apple.com/us/book/becoming-a-person-of-influence/id607555354
[6] https://whatwillmatter.com/2011/10/what-will-matter-745-3/
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Evan, my co-worker at our multi-billion-dollar consumer products company, stopped me in the parking lot. “Have you noticed how execution’s gotten sloppy over the past year?”
I nodded.
He looked down. “Not too long ago, this was one of the best-executing markets. I’m very disappointed. What’s happened?”
I paused. I did know what had happened, but if I told Evan the truth, I knew there’d be consequences. Maybe even for Evan himself. But integrity is a word that means something to me, so I mustered up my courage and told him what I knew. “Did you know the local management team is running a side business out of the office?”
Shocked, he just said, “No.”
“The local team is focused on building their side business, and they’re using company assets for personal gain. They’re violating our Code of Business Conduct, and they’ve lost focus on their primary job responsibilities. That’s the reason execution is so sloppy.”
I could tell that Evan didn’t quite believe me, so I walked him over to a manager’s company vehicle in the parking lot.
“See that?” I pointed to a window decal on the manager’s windshield. “That’s the logo for their side business.”
He shook his head.
“That’s just the tip of the iceberg too. If you poke around, you’ll probably find out what’s going on.”
“I will, Preston. I will.”
True to his word, Evan poked. He discovered that the local management team had invented a new sports gadget and were leveraging the company’s people, tools, and supplies to build their side business. Over time, they’d become so consumed with growing their business that they neglected their primary responsibility: marketplace execution.
If questioned about negative business results, the team deflected the inquiries and pointed to factors “outside their control.” They disguised their side interest by saying all the right things to upper management. Consequently, the team was left alone to work on their own business on our company’s dime. Eventually, their audio and video didn’t match. Without accountability, the team had abandoned their integrity and slowly moved into corruption.
After my conversation with Evan, I knew that the circumstances and potential consequences would escalate. I called my manager and told him about the conversation. My manager told Human Resources and other leaders about the likely Code of Business Conduct violation.
Several local market leaders were fired for leveraging company assets and personally gaining from their efforts after an investigation.
Looking back, I’m glad I made the right decision even though it was tough and even though I was saddened that some employees lost their jobs. But the experience reminded me of the necessity of integrity—with others and with myself.
I learned that when you become a person of integrity, you can become a leader, others will follow because of your honesty.
Unfortunately, one more potential consequence came to pass due to that side-business hustle operation going on right under my nose. The investigation also revealed that Evan might have seen the signals but had turned his head and ignored them. Regardless, he was found to be complicit and was forced to retire.
It was a bittersweet moment. I’d worked with the team for years and didn’t want any harm to come to them. At the same time, I knew I needed to expose the wrong I saw. For years after these displacements, I worked in fear of retribution, thinking that someone would take revenge for my standing up for what was right.
Gratefully, that never happened, and I remained true to my value of integrity. Now, anytime I’m tempted to skirt the truth in my words or actions, I think about that side-business logo that ultimately cost multiple people their jobs.
It doesn’t take much for a house of cards to fall.
That’s why leaders need to lead with integrity. If you’re the one responsible for building a strong team or a strong company, your peers and employees need to know they can trust you.
Being integrous is hard but worth the cost because it will be your best friend and help you achieve your goals. So, how does one measure their integrity? In John C. Maxwell’s book, Becoming a Person of Influence, he offers ten questions to evaluate your integrity [i]. As you read the questions, rate yourself from 1 to 10, with ten being fully integrous and 1 with no integrity:
1. How well do I treat people from whom I can gain nothing?
2. Am I transparent with others?
3. Do I role-play based on the person(s) I’m with?
4. Am I the same person when I’m in the spotlight as I am when I’m alone?
5. Do I quickly admit wrongdoing without being pressed to do so?
6. Do I put other people ahead of my personal agenda?
7. Do I have an unchanging standard for moral decisions, or do circumstances determine my choices?
8. Do I make difficult decisions, even when they have a personal cost attached to them?
9. When I have something to say about people, do I talk to them or about them?
10. Am I accountable to at least one other person for what I think, say, and do?
Did any of those hit home? Take some time to reflect and choose your three areas that need the most improvement. Then, pick your top area of needed improvement. Ask yourself, why is it essential for me to improve in this area? How will I become a better person and a better leader? Why will it be necessary to others? What actions will I take to grow, when will I start, and who will hold me accountable?
Take time to write down your answers to the above questions. Let the words from my lips move to your fingertips. If you do, you’ll know what you think by reading what you write. Also, share what you’ve written down with someone you trust and ask them to hold you accountable. Real change begins when you are vulnerable and transparent with someone and ask for their support.
I’ll end with a quote from Thomas Jefferson, “God grant that men (and women) of principle be our principal men (and women).” [ii] May you be integrous in all of your ways and be a man or woman of principle.
Want to discover how to level up your leadership skills and become a person others will gladly follow? Visit my website, prestonpoore.com, today!
Cheers,
Preston
[i]Excerpt From John C. Maxwell & Jim Dornan. “Becoming a Person of Influence.” Apple Books. https://books.apple.com/us/book/becoming-a-person-of-influence/id607555354
[ii]Excerpt From John C. Maxwell & Jim Dornan. “Becoming a Person of Influence.” Apple Books. https://books.apple.com/us/book/becoming-a-person-of-influence/id607555354
I attended a team reunion in sunny Sandestin, Florida. It was an excellent time to reminisce and reflect on one of my favorite periods in my career. Why? As a team, we accomplished great things. Personally, I was considered a strategic business partner and was empowered to make a difference. Before I tell you about the reunion, let me give you a little context…
In 2001, I was my company’s representative in Montgomery, AL, responsible for gaining alignment, developing relationships, and delivering positive business results with the local bottler. A more massive bottler recently acquired the family-owned operation. The family ownership was well respected, had great community relationships, and delivered outstanding customer service.
The transition didn’t go smoothly when the new bottler took over operations. The new operators lost credibility with the customers and the community because of missed deliveries, inferior execution, high turnover, and many broken promises. Most of the original leadership team was released, and new leaders were assigned to clean up the mess.
I was part of the new leadership team assigned to turn things around and knew I was stepping into a challenging situation. The relationship between the company and its bottlers was tenuous. I knew that to become a trusted team member, I’d need to win their hearts by investing time with the bottler’s leaders and connecting with them personally. I started by learning about the local market, going on trade rides to get a sense of what the front-line associates needed, asking many questions, listening, and breaking bread together – the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, right?
I quickly realized that the new Montgomery market leaders were the real deal. To gain a seat at the table and align with them, I provided thought-leading insights and value-creating solutions to help the business grow. I built credibility with the team leader. Over time, I was entrusted with developing and driving the local market strategy and stewarding key marketing asset relationships (e.g., University of Alabama, Auburn University). I’d moved from just aligning with the bottler’s leadership team to become their strategic business partner.
How? Through being trustworthy, sharing a common purpose, promoting transparency, being humble, and always maintaining a sense of humor when things got tough. More on the five steps to developing strategic partnerships at the end of the story.
Our team’s execution improved significantly after a lot of hard work, and our business results exceeded expectations. The team was nationally recognized for its efforts, and a number of us were promoted due to the successful market turnaround.
Back to the reunion…
I was honored to be part of the Sandestin, FL festivities. Only a handful of company representatives were invited to the reunion, but I was the only one to attend. It was great to see all of the people. We hugged and shared fond memories. During dinner, about 15 people stood up and shared funny stories about something that happened during our time together. We all enjoyed laughing at the stories and ourselves.
As we went around the table, I realized that I’d be the last person to speak that evening. I sat thinking to myself, “What am I going to say that hasn’t already been said?”. . ..
Then it hit me. Talk about partnership…
You see, my current role has me in a position to influence strategic partnerships around the globe. It’s easy for me to do because I experienced being a strategic partner with my former teammates in the room.
After a few opening comments, I started, “Thank you for modeling what a successful partnership looks like. You embraced me and gave me a seat at your table. I can’t tell you how much I appreciated it then and now.”
“Why?” I continued, “I remember unifying phrases like, ‘One team, one goal’ or the many days traveling together to different sales centers where we got to know each other. Despite all the obstacles we encountered, we accomplished much. We created shared values and a shared vision. The way you treated me and the partnership we developed modeled what success looks like.”
I went on, “I don’t say this to impress you but to impress upon you what an impact you’ve had on me. You laid the foundation for the work I’m now doing. I can pass it on. I’m leading a project helping others in North America and around the globe to build strategic partnerships – Peru, Canada, Russia, the Philippines, and beyond. Who would have thought a little kid like me in a small market like Montgomery, AL, would have such an opportunity to make a worldwide impact?”
I paused and passionately said, “Don’t ever take for granted what we had. It was special. Through our partnership, we turned around the market, and many of us went on to new opportunities because of what we did here.”
“More importantly, let’s take this one step further. It’s said that people won’t remember what you did, but they will remember how you were treated. I’ll always look fondly on our time together because I was treated well, and you embraced me as a partner. You treated me well, and for that, I am thankful.”
That’s the truth. . .. I became a strategic business partner and ultimately a friend to all involved in our accomplishments – friendships that lasted a lifetime.
Partnerships are essential to you and your team’s success. The Bible says, “It’s better to have a partner than go it alone. Share the work, share the wealth. And if one falls down, the other helps, but if there’s no one to help, tough!” (Ecclesiastes 4:9–10 The Message). Great partnerships enable extraordinary results.
Do you want to become a strategic partner and increase the likelihood of success? I recommend following the below five steps.
- Become Trustworthy: Build credibility through doing what you say you’ll do and adding indispensable value. Earn your seat at the table by providing thought leadership, developing solutions, and delivering results.
- Unify through a Common Purpose: Clearly define where you’re headed, the collective ways of working together, and what the partnership wants to achieve – ultimately, partners want to improve their business results.
- Promote Transparency: Drive open and honest, two-way communication. Accept feedback as a gift. Be willing to challenge thinking and push the envelope. When faced with problems or conflict, talk things out, always focusing on the issue at hand, not the person.
- Be Humble: Take the position of a servant. Think less about yourself and your goals, and think more about how to help others.
- Keep a Sense of Humor: Remember, laughter is the shortest distance between two people. Know when to interject humor into situations and put others at ease.
If you become trustworthy, unify through a common purpose, promote transparency, be humble and keep a sense of humor, you’ll develop strategic partnerships and become a successful leader.
And, who knows? You may even develop some life-long friendships as I did.
Do you want to learn more about growing your leadership skills? Visit my website, prestonpoore.com, today!
Cheers,
Preston
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Have you ever dealt with a head-scratching, complicated problem, and you weren’t sure how to solve it? I have… Here are my story and seven steps to solving unsolvable problems – if you follow them, you’ll gain credibility and increase your influence…
The anticipated announcement was made: The large beverage company I worked for agreed to purchase two competitive beverage companies. The incoming water and juice brands were fantastic and complementary acquisitions to our existing portfolio.
However, the acquisitions came with complications and created internal competition. Each acquired company had its own sales team and developed its business plan. My role was similar, focusing on my company’s legacy brands.
During my tenure, I’d established strong relationships with the bottler. However, my influence slowly eroded as the new sales teams began integrating. The new team members leveraged exciting incentives, expensive dinners, and premiums to woo the bottler. Excluding me, they tied up meeting times and market visits. Our mutual bottling partner became enamored with the shiny new penny and took their eyes off the ball.
Execution of all the legacy brands began to slip, and total sales stagnated. I discovered that the newly acquired companies only contributed 10% of the bottler’s total revenue; all of the legacy brands I represented contributed 90%. I determined that our problem boiled down to focus; we wouldn’t make our collective business plan if we didn’t re-calibrate our focus on the 90%. At the same time, we needed the newly acquired brands to flourish.
I began considering my alternatives. The only solution I could think of was to fight fire with fire. I’d need to double my efforts. Get back in the game with more attractive incentives, fancy dinners, and premiums to woo the bottler’s attention back. I wasn’t entirely comfortable with this approach but believed there was a solution somewhere. I didn’t know where.
I was stuck…
I prayed to God and asked for wisdom to meet the challenge and identify a game-changing solution.
Then it happened… Inspiration hit…
I remember watching my all-time favorite movie, the 1959 Academy Award-winning Ben-Hur. There’s a scene when the movie’s main character, Judah Ben-Hur, observed a chariot race practice. The chariot was pulled by a team of four strong and fast horses. However, the chariot driver lost control of the horses as the team ran wildly down the track. Just before the chariot approached a curve, Ben-Hur commented that the chariot would never make the turn.
And he was right… The horses ran straight through the turn and off the track. When asked how he knew that the chariot would run off course, Ben-Hur told the owner he raced in the Roman circus. Based on his experience, he observed that the horses were strong and fast. Still, they weren’t positioned to leverage their individual strengths. They were running as individuals, not as one. Ben-Hur rearranged the horses with the slower, more steady horse on the inside to anchor the team during turns and the fastest horse on the outside. The owner said, “Show me.” Ben-Hur raced the chariot around the track in record time without incident to the owner’s amazement.
The parallel was striking to me. We have a strong team of people representing our brands to the bottler. I wondered, “What if we worked together and everyone achieved their goals? What if I harnessed the team, positioned them by strength, and we ran as one?”
Said another way, if you can’t beat them, join them.
After some internal alignment and planning, I invited 15 new brands and bottler representatives to a groundbreaking “Brand Partner Summit.” Our objective was to build trust, open lines of communication, initiate collaborative planning, enable dynamic execution, make the plan, and most of all, stem internal competition.
The meeting’s theme was “Running as One.” We began our time together horseback riding in the Smokey Mountains, a chance for everyone to connect outside the office and get acquainted. After the team-building exercise, we gathered for a Roles and Responsibilities dinner—all of the individuals shared how they added value to the company. The next day, I opened the Summit with the Ben-Hur chariot practice movie scene and asked the team to consider how we begin to run as one. Participants started making connections and collaboration recommendations as we reviewed each other’s business updates, priorities, and plans.
Ultimately, the Brand Partners concluded that our initiatives needed to be integrated into a comprehensive monthly Sales Plan. The Sales Plan captured and communicated all of the execution priorities allowing the Brand Partners and our bottling partner to be on the same page.
The Sales Plan solution mitigated internal competition, collaboration improved, execution excelled, and everyone hit their business plan. We ran as one. So much so that our Brand Partner Summit and Sales Plan were deemed a best practice and adopted by other parts of the company.
If you’re faced with a problem like I was, I recommend you follow my seven steps to solving challenging problems:
- Define the Problem. Articulate the problem in writing. Distill the problem into its simplest form. For my above example, the problem was focus. Identify the implications and consequences of not solving it. Also, ask repeatedly why? that is a problem. This will help identify root causes.
- Provide Context. What is the history of the challenge you’re trying to solve?
- Believe There is a Solution. Have the attitude that all problems are opportunities and can be addressed. Be creative, use your imagination, and brainstorm with others.
- Identify Alternatives. It’s always best to determine multiple solutions and evaluate which one will best solve the problem.
- Develop a Recommendation. Based on your alternative evaluation, allow the best one to surface.
- Plan and Act. Once the recommendation is made, put a plan in place and execute it.
- Pray. I highly recommend praying and seeking God’s wisdom when faced with problems or decision-making for the person of faith. The Bible says, “Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don’t try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he’s the one who will keep you on track. Don’t assume that you know it all”. (Proverbs 3:5-6 The Message)
The surest way to gain credibility and increase your influence is to solve problems. If you define the problem, provide context, believe there is a solution, identify alternatives, develop a recommendation, plan and act, and pray, you will become a leader who makes a positive difference.
Do you want to discover more about establishing credibility and gaining influence to make a positive difference? Please visit my website, prestonpoore.com, today!
Cheers!
Preston
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On a sunny Summer day near Branson, Arkansas, a group of folks embarked on a duck boat tour; 31 people in all. Little did they know the tragedy facing them as the amphibious vehicle entered Table Rock Lake.
Before the tour, Captain Scott looked at the weather forecast and noticed a severe thunderstorm warning. The warning didn’t deter him. He was an experienced captain and was confident that the tour could proceed as usual.
After the passengers embarked on Stretch Duck 7, Captain Scott shared brief safety instructions. He mentioned there were life jackets on board, but the passengers wouldn’t need them.
Then it hit. An intense thunderstorm seemed to come out of nowhere. The storm’s 75mph straight-line winds created four-foot waves. Captain Scott struggled to keep control of Stretch Duck 7. As part of standard operating procedures, he didn’t speed up the boat and try to make it to shore.
Water began swamping the boat. Trying to appear calm and confident, he told the passengers not to worry, that they wouldn’t need their life jackets, and stay seated.
Trusting Captain Scott’s words, none of the passengers put on the easily accessible life jackets. Then, the boat’s plastic curtains were lowered, blocking the exits for some reason. The passengers were trapped and couldn’t abandon the ship even if the order was given.
Stretch Duck 7 began to sink and quickly submerged, taking its passengers with it. Tragically, seventeen people drowned; nine members from one family perished in the accident. Fourteen people survived, including Captain Scott.
View accident video here: https://youtu.be/d5TCXz3taJk
For some reason, the Table Rock Lake tragedy captured my attention last Summer. I was curious about Captain Scott’s alleged negligence and inattention to duties. I began to wonder how I would act in a crisis? What leadership lessons can be learned by examining what not to do? Why did Captain Scott dismiss the warning signs? Why did he not direct the passengers to put on life jackets? Why didn’t Scott speed up the boat and head to shore? Why did he put the boat’s plastic curtains down, trapping the passengers even if an abandon ship order was given? Why did the passengers merely comply with the captain’s orders and not act?
I don’t know the answers to all of the above questions. The accident is still under investigation, and Captain Scott is awaiting trial on negligence and inattention to duties charges.
What I do know is that leadership has consequences, good or bad. The decision of Captain Scott resulted in lost lives and a sunken ship. So, what should you do when faced with a crisis and avoid Captain Scott’s mistakes. I discovered the following principles:
- Hope for the best; prepare for the worst. Optimism and confidence come from preparation. But if one fails to prepare, they prepare to fail. Ask what’s the worst thing that can happen before a crisis strikes, and do everything within your control to be ready for it. Captain Scott didn’t appear prepared for the emergency in front of him, or he had a false sense of confidence that he could navigate through the storm.
- Assess the situation. A leader’s job is to define reality. Ask what happened, what are the root causes, alternative solutions, and implications? Where do you want to be? Determine the facts and let them guide your decision-making. Captain Scott’s circumstances arose very quickly, and he exercised poor judgment.
- Act quickly but not carelessly. Once you define reality, act but don’t act in haste. Captain Scott acted negligently as he tried to maintain control of the ship. Had he chosen to accelerate toward the shore and ordered the passengers to put on their life jackets, the outcome may have been entirely different.
- Convey confidence. Leaders must respond in a crisis; people look to you for assurance and direction. You must remain calm and appear confident, so your followers will be confident as well. But like Captain Scott, appearing confident won’t help the situation if you don’t prepare for the worst, assess the situation and act wisely.
What does the tragedy at Table Rock Lake teach us? That leadership has consequences, good or bad. Our decisions and actions matter. I recommend that you take the time to think through how you’d handle a crisis – professionally or personally. Your mental preparation may make all the difference.
Want to discover how to become a leader others will gladly follow? Please visit my website, prestonpoore.com, today!
Cheers,
Preston
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Soon after a merger between two large organizations, our newly formed group was infected with infighting and chaos. I remember one group member constantly stirring the pot, continually criticizing our manager, team, and work. She never provided solutions. When something went wrong, she’d “dog pile;” jump on top, joining in to criticize others.
Her attitude began to spread; it’s like what happens when you put an apple and an onion in the refrigerator together. The apple, although initially sweet, will begin to taste like the onion if they are left together long enough. Bad attitudes are contagious. Anyway, everyone began pursuing selfish agendas, jockeying for position, which resulted in a disjointed and non-cooperative group.
We also suffered a credibility gap with our internal client. The new group wasn’t sure of our role and how we added value to the business. Our lack of clarity became a fog in our client’s mind.
I was very uncomfortable and unsatisfied with our circumstances. Then I remembered what the Bible says, “Where there is no vision, the people will perish” (Proverbs 29:18 King James Version). Meaning, people will experience chaos, division, unproductiveness, and scatter without vision. If there is an idea of a preferred future, people will thrive with direction, passion, and focus. They will experience the hope of a better tomorrow and accomplish great things.
Where there is no vision, the people will perish
Proverbs 29:18 KJV
Reflecting on the scripture, I grew even more discontented with the group’s interaction and knew something had to be done. I prayed that God would grant me wisdom and the ability to influence the team positively.
During a one-on-one meeting with my manager, I asked him if he had a vision for the group and what he wanted to accomplish. He said, “nope.” No surprise. He confirmed what I could clearly see; without vision, our team wouldn’t ever be productive, useful, or considered our client’s strategic partner.
We talked about the challenges the newly formed group was experiencing. I shared with him that I had a burning desire to make our new organization and the team a great place to work. To help be part of the solution, I asked him if I could help develop a team vision statement – articulate who we want to become, create an idea of our preferred future. He told me, “I’m no good at vision stuff and not sure it will help. But I’m fully supportive if you can help me turn the ship around.”
Over a period of weeks, I connected with my peers and asked them what was on their hearts and minds. I asked them if they saw the same challenges and problems that I did. Then, I asked them what they wanted to become as a group. They all told me they wanted to become a collaborative team, be valued as strategic partners, make a positive difference and deliver strong business results.
Based on their thoughts, we crafted the below vision statement:
To win the hearts of our teammates, customers, and consumers and positively influence our company’s future by:
- MOLDING world-class commercial strategies through distinguished collaboration.
- ENABLING exceptional execution that delivers winning results.
- BUILDING an authentic team that trusts one another and takes pride in its work.
- NURTURING and equipping our people to lead in the future.
- CELEBRATING wins frequently to build momentum.
Over time, we embraced the vision, and it made all the difference. The ship turned around. We became a collaborative, thriving team, valued as strategic partners, and delivered outstanding results.
Seven Steps to Develop a Compelling Vision
How do you change the game as we did? Follow our example and apply the below seven steps to develop a compelling vision.
- Start with prayer. I sought God’s insight, wisdom, and discernment on developing a vision.
- Look Inside. My passionate desire was to make our team a destination, a great place to work where people grew, produced superior results, and found meaning in their work. I envisioned a future where we were a collaborative team and considered an indispensable business partner.
- Take ownership. I approached my manager and asked how I could help. I intentionally volunteered so I could shape our team’s future.
- Define the problem. Our division and unproductiveness were a result of no vision; we didn’t know who we wanted to be, to be known for, or to accomplish; all undefined. We needed to become a team and then add value to our business partner, solve problems, inspire superior execution and become a trusted resource.
- Collaboratively develop a solution. Through the interviews, I listened to others, sought common ground, and understood where the team wanted to go. Through this process, the vision became shared among the team members.
- Gain Commitment. Partnering with my manager, I explained why we should pursue the vision and instilled a sense of urgency.
- Tell Stories. Every week, we shared examples of how the vision was being brought to life – allowing the team always to refer back to the bigger picture, share stories – learnings, successes, and failures. This simple act moved the words written on a page to being written on our hearts. The vision became real to us.
I’ll end with one of my favorite vision parables:
Three bricklayers are asked: “What are you doing?”
The 1st says, “I am laying bricks.”
The 2nd says, “I am building a wall.”
And the 3rd says, “I am building a cathedral.”
The 1st bricklayer has a job to do. The 2nd lays bricks for a living. The 3rd has a VISION and builds with purpose.
Which bricklayer are you? Do you aspire to move beyond bricklaying to cathedral building? Do you want to become a visionary leader? Follow the Seven Steps to Develop a Compelling Vision. If you do, you’ll lead well, positively influence your culture and change your world.
Want to discover more about becoming a leader others will gladly follow? Visit my website, prestonpoore.com, today!
Cheers,
Preston
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After completing my short-term stint with Hershey’s Sales Development department, I anxiously awaited my next assignment. I’d invested two years learning everything about the confection business and knew that my new role could be anywhere in the U.S.
The phone rang. “Hi, Preston. This is Dave. We’d like you to become the Giant – Carlisle key account manager and stay in the Hershey area.”
My heart began to sink because I’d heard how difficult it was to call on Giant.
Dave continued, “Your role won’t be easy at first. As you know, Giant is in our backyard. A majority of our employees shop in Giant’s stores. You’ll be under a microscope.”
Microscope? – I imagined thousands of Hershey employees complaining about something.
“And, our company has a lot of baggage with Giant. Things haven’t gone well with them over the past few years. We’ll want you to “bend the trend” – restore relationships, turn the business around and deliver results. Are you up to the challenge?”
With a lump in my throat, I quickly processed the opportunity and said, “yes.”
Dave said, “Great, and welcome aboard. I’ve already set up a meeting with Giant’s confectionary buyer tomorrow. I’ll brief you on the way to the meeting. No better way to do than to begin.”
Boy, this will be a quick transition. It’ll be sink or swim.
Dave briefed me on Giant and Matt, the candy category buyer, in the car ride to our appointment. He told me that Matt was one of the most stringent buyers in the Northeast. In his opinion, Matt was arrogant, very demanding, and hard to get along with. He was ambitious and only approved innovation or promotions that made him look successful. No one at Hershey had been able to materially breakthrough with him. The most recent Key Account Manager was run over by Matt and was highly ineffective.
The two company’s relationship was purely transactional with little hope of developing a strategic one. To complicate matters, our key competitor took advantage of Hershey’s challenges with Matt, and he showed a preference for their brands. It didn’t look or feel good having our key competitor beating us in our home market.
Dave and I met Matt for lunch. Right off, Matt was defensive and began telling us all of the things that were wrong with Hershey’s customer service. He said we had great brands, but we didn’t deliver on promises; he’d throw us out if he didn’t absolutely need us.
The conversation turned to the “baggage” Dave mentioned. Giant made big plans to promote Hershey brands during last year’s Halloween season. However, Hershey couldn’t deliver the product due to an untimely SAP data platform conversion; multiple candy truckloads were “lost” in the system and never made it to Giant’s warehouses. And as a result, Giant lost millions of dollars in sales. Matt felt burned – he didn’t receive an incentive, and he’d lost favor in management’s eyes.
After lunch, Matt looked at me and said, “I’m not sure you want this role. I’m not going to be of any help to you or Hershey.”
Leaving the meeting, I wasn’t fearful; something arose in me, and I embraced the challenge. I figured if I could somehow breakthrough with Matt, we could turn the two company’s relationship and business around.
I began with a series of short sales calls to connect with Matt. I asked him questions about Giant’s strategy, operating model, and what mattered to him. I listened to him with an open mind and a solution bent.
After learning what was essential to Giant and Matt, I began proposing promotion or new item opportunities aligned with Giant’s strategy. . .. He said “no” to me so many times I lost count, but I kept plugging away.
Matt continued to keep me in the penalty box because of the previous year’s Halloween delivery debacle. To prove his point during my first few months working with him, Matt only ordered 10% of his regular Halloween candy order. The small order put our business in a huge hole, and I needed to figure a way out of it.
I decided to take a different approach and win Matt’s heart first; then, I’d ask for his hand. I took a risk and invited Matt and his girlfriend to a Washington Redskins football game. Why? Matt told me that he was a huge Redskins fan but hadn’t ever been to a football game in D.C.
My wife and I rented a chauffeured limousine, picked up Matt and his girlfriend, and made our way to the stadium. I secured four company tickets in the second row. Matt wore his Redskins jersey; he was like a kid in a candy store (pun intended). He was genuinely excited and seemed to loosen up. I was very intentional not to bring up business during our conversations and wanted to connect with him personally.
Shortly after we arrived at our seats, Matt brought up business. He told me that I’d been in the penalty box too long; “nothing personal,” he said. He’d seen how hard I’d tried and really appreciated some of the business opportunities I’d shared with him. I asked him what it would take to turn our business around and restore the relationship between Giant and Hershey. He told me, “do what you say you’ll do.”
I responded, “Ok, I’ll do everything in my power to deliver. With that in mind, what can I deliver?” We began brainstorming ideas for a game-changing promotion where both companies would benefit. He shared best practices other manufacturers used to help grow Giant’s business. I listened to all of his ideas, and we aligned on a plan. I asked him if Hershey delivered on our collaborative concept, would Giant be aligned? Matt answered, “yes.”
I went to work with my cross-functional team to develop a “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” movie tie-in and partnership with Coca-Cola. We developed a shopper marketing program before shopper marketing was cool. The program included joint POS, in-store merchandising, an exclusive movie premiere, and supporting radio promotion.
I presented the plan to Matt, and he loved it. I showed him how the plan’s execution would grow his business and align with Giant’s strategies. The proposal met all of the promotion elements we discussed. Only hitch. . .. The moment of truth. . .. The close. . ..
I took a risk and asked for an unprecedented order. I asked Matt to quadruple his Holiday candy order versus last year. I knew that If Matt did, the order would overcome the Halloween deficit and put Hershey over our annual plan. Matt didn’t hesitate and said, “Ok. Write a suggested store level order and have it to me by next week.”
“One other thing,” he glared and demanded, “you’d better deliver!”
I confidently grinned and replied, “We’ll do what we said we’re going to do.”
And, we did. The promotion was a smashing success. Giant and Hershey both exceeded their annual business plan. It was gratifying to play a role in bending the performance trend and restoring relationships. To boot, my team won Hershey’s prestigious “President’s Cup” – the highest sales performance in the company versus the prior year. And Matt got promoted.
What about me? Well, that’s a story for another time. Let’s just say that bending the trend sometimes comes with a price.
If you are faced with the opportunity to drive positive change, I recommend you:
- Connect with Others. John Maxwell’s Law of Connection states, “Leaders touch a heart before they ask for a hand.” [1] Begin implementing a change by getting to know the key stakeholders. Find out their interests, ambitions, hopes, dreams, challenges, and fears. Listen intently and be authentic. Make changes based on the feedback you hear. You’ll find trust and credibility begin to develop as you make the genuine effort to connect with others.
- Create Momentum. Once you know what makes someone tick and understand what they want, help them get it. Secure quick wins that will help you create and build momentum. Work hard and follow-through; deliver on your small commitments, and they’ll have the potential to turn into big ones. Create momentum and consistently pursue your goal. You’ll eventually experience a breakthrough and go beyond what you thought possible.
- Be Persistent. Change doesn’t happen overnight. Don’t give up. Always be willing to try something new if what you’re doing isn’t working.
If you’ll connect with others, create momentum and be persistent, you’ll become a trend bender too.
Want to discover more about becoming a leader others will gladly follow? Please visit my website, prestonpoore.com, today!
Cheers,
Preston
[1]Maxwell, J. C. (2007). The 21 irrefutable laws of leadership: follow them, and people will follow you. Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
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Preston Poore
I’m a disciple of Christ and an executive at a Fortune 500 Company. In my blog, The Discipled Leader, I draw on my diverse business experience to help Christians connect their secular and spiritual lives at work.
As a certified coach, speaker, and trainer with the John Maxwell Team, I help others grow their relationship with Christ, develop their leadership skills, and understand how they can make a positive difference in today’s chaotic world.
Let me help you reach your potential.
I draw on my diverse business experience to help Christians connect their secular and spiritual lives at work. I invite you to subscribe to my blog and learn how to develop Christlike character, influence your culture and change your world.