TEN SIGNATURE STRENGTHS

I promised I'd follow-up the flaws I saw with the signature strengths of 
actual CEO's I worked with closely.  No theory. Just experience. Another day we'll talk about the specific impact of both the flaws and strengths

10 Signature strengths--the right one at the right time for the company

—Crazy love for the business that was contagious. This CEO couldn't stay out of the stores and loved being with customers. New products and marketing ideas 
sparked the company. Passion, passion passion.

—Strong moral ethics of a person that followed several ousted top executives and the company needed the ballast and trustworthiness of a leader to hold things steady as a new clean leaf was turned,

—Steady and innovative, two often incompatible traits that were used to ride the wave of change with impeccable business insight was this CEO's signature strength

—Charisma, energy and vision were the signature strengths needed to wake=up
a tired beaten down company and rebuild optimism.

—Easy going affability to enjoy people at all levels of the company and the 
ability to be ingratiating personally kept many challenges during a time of acquisition less dramatic and traumatic then would have been.

—Charm, clarity and quick strategic instincts that led to quick decision and action with no regret was a needed signature strength to this CEO

—Restless curiosity, promoter of innovation, willingness to risk and determination to reach the goal through will power which helped move 
reluctant projects and initiatives through quite a bit of resistance

—Operational expertise and focus to cut through barriers to efficiency and 
logistical blockage combined with high personal work ethic and standards
needed to bring order from chaos

—Strategic and political brilliance and polish to move among various stockholders along with enjoyment of the industry that endeared this CEO to
most people in the company

—Marketing and Sales expertise with a natural leadership embedded not learned 
with likeability and skill in collaboration

Every one of these leaders wanted to be CEO, had a strong ego, a good sense of humor and willingness to adapt to demands of all kinds. And their signature strengtht was what was needed for that particular company at that particular time. There is no once size fits all CEO and there is no CEO without plenty of flaws. The signature strengths simple outweigh the flaws.


PS--I WILL BE CHANGING TO WORDPRESS TO GO WITH MY NEW WEBSITE THAT CAN'T GO LIVE UNTIL I MASTER IT.  SO, WISH ME LUCK AND BE AWARE I JUST MIGHT MISS A WEEK OR TWO!!  Talk about flaws! Let's home I dig up some strengths to do this!! As my dear 4 year old granddaughter says, "I can do this!!"

TEN FLAWS I SAW

I have had experience working closely with over twenty-five CEO's--working from inside the company, not from outside as a consultant. I certainly could have gone the consulting route but I like being 'in' the day to day moments of great achievement and huge messes.
Thinking of the CEO's here are ten flaws I saw:

—not telling the strategic message over and over again using the same language to all levels of the organization

—not being clear enough soon enough with poor performance so that improvement might happen

—not realizing every word and gesture of theirs is watched and put into the company grapevine

—being susceptible to flattery that blinds the ability to see clearly--self and others

—talking prudence and acting with indulgence

—not staying in touch with the grit of the business

—being impulsive about changes and then bored with them so they dwindle and confuse

—managing the Board and Wall St and not the business

—being too protective of people and not demanding enough

—not realizing the need for a trusted confidante--just one or two 

I wrote each one of these with a specific CEO in mind
Next time, I'll share  what they did very right
A competent CEO has flaws and big strengths

RANDOM THOUGHT FROM RANGELEY MAINE

We are 'upta camp' as they say in Maine when you go off into the wood to a cottage.
We usually are able to power Internet from a neighbor. Not this time.
So I am on the porch of a nearby Inn and need to look invisible.
My camouflage is pink and live green pj's!!  All the Deer wear them.

Anyway, I have to be quick.
I want to thank those of you CEO's who run a decent company with good policies and fairness and opportunity. You are the best place to find it. Much of government and formal religion are struggling to embody that.

So thanks. 
I know you know that it is good for your company, but it is also good for the world

OF COURSE, HANNAFORD BROS. CO. IS MY FAVORITE COMPANY

A few weeks back I wrote about a couple of companies I said I loved--as in felt a fondness toward them. One was LL Bean and one was Delhaize, Belgium. Both were family originated with a core set of values that were still alive. In fact it's odd how values permeate a company and won't let go even during times of change and challenge. Often you know the values are active and alive by the pain of the change. They may go underground, but in my experience the values are in the DNA and will stay alive to be prominent again. (That's a topic to explore more.)

But now I want to pledge my troth to the company I grew up in professionally--Hannaford Bros. Co. from 1985-2006 joining with the Delhaize Group in 2000.
How do I love it? Let me count the ways:

—From my first day, the company crackled with competence. It was striking to me after some of my other work experiences. People knew what they were doing, they got it done and expected others to do the same. One characteristic was that people walked fast. I promise. Visiting vendors or consultants were left in the dust trailing behind the Hannaford person. Urgency personified

—It had steady Eddy talent development systems in place. Good talent was brought in with a disciplined (and fun) approach.  Work was actually reviewed. Bonus' were given. A performance problem was addressed. Fairly.

—Innovation happened. There were far reaching experiments and pilots from self-managed
warehouses to home delivery to re-structures of functions to leadership retreats that were
bold in how they were designed.  And all innovation had the HBC approach of prudence and
tight relationship to the consumer i.e.the business

—We laughed. We had energy. We had confidence we could meet the challenge. We were
proud without honking about it.

—People were not fenced in. Talent was put to good use above and beyond formal roles.
As a new OD professional in the HR department I was immediately put to use with a group designing a new warehouse and another that was creating a new store format--while I did all the other parts of my formal role as well. 

—I was never bored. Right, when I might have been, I would be promoted or assigned to something challenging--a downsizing done right, a major strategy retreat, a Board presentation on Diversity. 

—I liked the leaders when they were my bosses and when they became my colleagues. 
We all had flaws, some huge, most laughable, but I liked them as people. I liked going to work.

—All people at all levels were real. We talked about the grit of our lives, the pain of our lives,
funny funny stuff that happened to us, stories at our own expense. No one put on airs, least of all the CEO's. 

—It was a decent company. Analysts joked about HBC being boring--well managed, good profits,
great talent, high integrity (code for boring). I believe they may have said we were like a Scout troop in being wholesome.  

I think I'll stop on that last statement. Wouldn't you like to hear people say that about where they work or about the government?  It is so far from boring. It is extraordinary.

So, for those of you who asked--Hannaford Bros. Co. is my favorite company. 

BE YOUR VERY HIGHLY INDIVIDUAL WEIRD SELF

This article (The Offbeat Habits of 7 Famous Leaders (Infographic)
http://www.lifehack.org/610515/the-offbeat-habits-of-7-famous-leaders-infographic-ap-pinterest-infographic?utm_campaign=coschedule&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=talktokununu&ref=e )  led me to think about the CEO's I worked with and some of their "Offbeat Habits".  My point is to encourage you top leaders to have some quirks and flavor that suit you. If not bizarre or inappropriate (hate to even have to say this) they become a kind of personal hash tag that your associates enjoy. You are a person with your own habits and it makes you real and not role bound.

Here are some that became endearing:

—A CEO of an electric utility ate with the custodial staff everyday when in he office to get away from 'work'. He also insisted on going out with crews during disasters of any kind--like an enthusiastic kid not like a CEO inspecting work. Crews kidded about who would win him in the next hurricane or blizzard. He was one of the smartest CEO's I worked with and was universally loved.

—Another CEO when musing about a big dilemma (and that is mostly what is on a CEO plate) would head for his car and visit his retail businesses and do errands and stay in the car until he saw a clear path. People would say, "Watch out, He's in the car again."

—A CEO with a smoking habit he didn't like took his breaks with all of the other smokers huddled together outside the building. People loved to kid him about it and he sure found out what was going on in his company.  He was charismatic and well-spoken but when passionate about what he was saying, he would accidentally kind of spit. People brought umbrellas to the first row of a large meeting and opened them when he began to speak. Loving teasing.

—Here's one more.  One CEO who hated meetings but had an open door always would manage to get rid of people quickly by standing up and meeting people at the door and talk in the doorway, no matter what the topic. If she stayed seated, then people knew he wanted to chat and laugh and argue baseball teams. People would ask, "Did you get a doorway meeting or a sit down?"  

I snuck in a game of solitaire on the computer either after or before a tough meeting and would play til I won if at all possible. I never closed my door except to do this and so everyone knew, (besides my admin told them). Before a meeting people would ask, "Did you win?"  

So be real. Go ahead and have your unique goofy habit.  PS--I advise this only if you are competent and have a lot of goodwill in your pocket. The right to be eccentric has to be earned. 

ANOTHER NEW INTANGIBLE PRODUCT

I am about to go offline for a week.
There will be no signal available.
(I do live in Maine)
It feels luxurious and, in a sense, forbidden.
Remember, when things actually were forbidden??
Anyway, privacy and solitude will become things people will pay for.
They are now.
What does that mean for your business?

Happy Fourth of July to the world.
A solid Constitution is a great product.
Not to be taken for granted, which can happen when it's doing its work well.

Another invisible product is hope that comes from a world well run.
Leaders--it's on you

DON'T DENY THE NEGATIVE--MANAGE AND MINIMIZE IT

Top leaders need optimism to meet challenges with hope and to encourage 'can do' energy in their organizations. Many leaders come by optimism naturally. Many others learn to fake it which others smell fast and becomes seen as false. I want to raise the blind spot of ignoring negative feelings
for fear they will spread. Not realizing them can cause all kinds of surprise and disaster.
I read the following about how to know and identify what you are feeling and how to 
acknowledge it (so you don't get stuck in denial) but also how to move on quickly so you don't grow the negative.

I did not write the following and when and if I find out where it came from, I will let you know.
(It was in my notebook)

In our current feel-good self-improvement culture, we’re encouraged to only acknowledge positive emotions and feelings. Shove down the negative stuff and pretend it doesn’t exist. All that is fine until you have a negative emotion that won’t be silenced, and I’m betting all of you have been there before.

It’s stupid to pretend everything is fine and that you don’t experience negative, even humiliating, emotions. What is smart is to use neuroscience to figure out what to do with them so they don’t sabotage your best efforts to move forward.

How to make it work for you

—Nip negative thoughts and emotions in the bud when they first appear and are at their weakest.

—Label each emotion for what it truly is, not just what sounds good to you.

—Call out the emotion by name: shame, envy, anger, jealousy, lust, etc

—Describe the emotion in a word or two; be succinct and to the point.Do not enter a dialogue about the emotion; anything more than one or two words will only give it legs with which to run wild.

—Resist attempts to justify the emotion. Notice it and move on

It's a tricky balance to face reality head-on and to model and maintain the optimism needed for you organization to move forward with confidence.  Start by knowing what you are feeling because the organization will reflect it back to you. The company is your mirror of its emotional tone which, ironically, is set by you. So choose what you want to perpetuate.