VIP – Feedback

Last week I wrote about my experience visiting High Point University. If you haven’t read it, please make a point to do just that before you move on. I have been blogging weekly now for almost eight months and my subscription base has now started to pick up. I want to thank all those who have subscribed and follow this blog. There are folks out there now commenting more on my LinkedIn and Facebook posts. 

This last blog post, called VIP,  got some really good comments. I also received a few calls from friends supplying me with great feedback. Folks related to subjects of leadership and paying attention to the details. For today’s blog, I’d like to expand on a few comments.

My good friend Dom from Rhode Island totally agreed with my statement “all this comes as a function of leadership. Something like that doesn’t trickle up, it starts from the top.” He said his boss believes a company’s org chart should be flipped with the leaders on the bottom simply enabling those who actually run the business to succeed on top. This is a great concept to apply because it highlights the fact that those employees are on the front lines doing all the heavy lifting.

I remember I once had a boss who developed an org chart that was circular and they were in the middle. Everything revolved around them. Nothing could get done without their approval. You felt you couldn’t make a decision because of the approval process put into place. Instead of asking what I would do in this situation, the question you had to wrestle with was what would I think they would do. It’s really tough being a mind reader. 

Another good friend, John from California, called me. He is a true believer that the devil is in the details. He gave an example of something he does not tolerate when it comes to business. This is appropriate because, on March 12th, we will go from Standard Time to Daylight Savings Time.

Have you ever walked into a company lobby or waiting area and sat down? It’s a busy place with employees walking back and forth. If they have a clock visible, he checks the time. If the clock is wrong, he probably won’t want to be doing business with that company. His premise is if employees continually walk past a clock displaying the wrong time and they don’t have the initiative to fix it, how are they going to handle my business?

I know what he means. At a previous company I worked at, there was a clock that did not get changed when the time changed. It was a big building so you would think it was someone’s job to change it. The time never changed. So when I couldn’t take it anymore, I would wait till no one was around, grab a ladder and move the arms to the correct time. People noticed and would inevitably ask, who changed the time? I never said anything. By default, I quietly became the phantom time changer.

It comes down to the details. Do you have the initiative to take care of the details without being asked? Successful people take care of the details. Those that don’t, may get by for a while but people will eventually catch on. My two friends Dom & John are extremely successful. Dr. Nido Qubein at HPU is extremely successful. You get the drift here, take care of the details!

Keep the feedback and comments coming. I am grateful for the attention you have given my blog. I have things to say. I am lucky to have this platform and excited that you find value in what I am presenting!