Management Guru - 700 BC

Thank you to my friend J Kannan for your comments on my last posting that reminded me of one of my all time favourite leadership quotes:

Go to the people
Live with them
Learn from them
Love them
Start with what they know
Build with what they have

But with the best leaders
When the work is done
The task accomplished
The people will say
“We have done this ourselves.”

Lao Tsu (700 BC)

Question - How come some 'leaders' still don't 'get it' 2708 years later?

• 
  

5 Leadership Words

Feeling in a reflective mood, I thought I would list the most outstanding qualities of the most effective leaders I’ve ever worked with or for.

These were the 5 words that came into my head after not very long thinking about the question:

Integrity
Humility
Kindness
Support
Fairness

Strange how words like Hard, Decisive, Ruthless, and Disciplinarian did not come into my head. That probably says more about me than anything else.

Anyway, can you offer 5 words that describe the most effective leaders you have worked for or with?

By the way, I’m not saying I’m right. I’m just saying when I remember the best leaders I’ve known my five words Integrity, Humility, Kindness, Support and Fairness are the ones I personally would use to describe them.

Would love to have your take on this!

• 
  

Learning for business through drama

This was me as Sam Pickles pleading with my 'daughter'
Rosie to visit her estranged mother, Dolly.

Annie, as a drunken Dolly, tells her daughter Rosie
that she shouldn't hate her.

Annie and I got back from our week on a residential summer drama school and I didn't really give much feedback on my Blog. We were 2 of a group 24 completely unconnected people thrown together with two directors and two assistant directors. The task was, starting from scratch, to rehearse and perform in a public setting - within a week - the Australian play (set in the 1940's) called ‘Cloudstreet’ by Tim Winton

An amazing week for many reasons. I've been thinking about what I learned in that week from a business/organisation perspective;

1 – Getting out of the comfort zone …. A long way out!! ... is good!

2 – Seeing two talented directors illustrate real leadership

3 – The joy of being part of a team committed to delivering a product in a very tight schedule

4 – Realising how much we rely on others when the chips are down and when we feel vulnerable and out of our depth

5 – Seeing how much business can learn from the arts

6 – Keeping going when half way through the week our heads were telling us ‘we’ve made a big mistake coming here’

7 - Feeling the exhilaration of a successfully completed ‘project’ that customers enjoyed

8 - Realising life needs to be as much about doing different stuff as that stuff we are used to doing every day

More pictures can be seen here on Annie’s Blog

• 
  

Learning about how 'stuff' gets done .....

Well … amazingly enough (to me) I did it. I actually went a whole week without checking my inbox.

That’s not quite true. On my mobile phone I can access gmail and so I was able to read the odd email that was sent to my gmail address but I was disciplined and didn’t reply to any. I never checked my hotmail inbox … and even more surprisingly (to me) I never even glanced at Simplicity Blog.

I’m grateful to my friends David Wike, Dave Wheeler, Richard Lipscombe, John O’Leary, Joel Canfield, and Mark Foscoe. Looks like you guys had an interesting exchange whilst I was away and I hope David Wike fulfilled his promise of buying all the drinks!

Annie and I got home earlier this (Saturday) evening from sunny (not) Harrogate in Yorkshire and so far I’ve only had time to glance at your excellent comments. I want to read them fully, reflect a bit and then reply properly.

By the way we worked intensively for seven days on performing the Australian play 'Cloudstreet' by Tim Winton. I know that Richard is well aware of the work of Tim Winton.

Our week started from scratch as a group of 24 totally unconnected people under the leadership of two directors and two assistant directors building up to a public performance.

It was certainly a terrific learning experience for me. I was well outside my comfort zone. I learned a lot about leadership, front liners and team work.

Our public performance took place on Saturday morning; seven days after 28 people unknown to each other met for the first time. The performance was well received by the audience of approximately 125 people.

It was terrific 'learning by doing.' It reminded me yet again how focus, teamwork and good leadership can produce a 'product' that people seem to enjoy.

Smoking Ban Works!

Generally speaking I am not a fan of governments telling us what to do. Quite the opposite in fact, I am a great believer in citizens determining their own future through community development and ‘bottom up’ planning.

However there are times when direction from above is very effective and this week we’ve seen a great example.

The smoking ban in public places is one year old this week and it is reported that 400,000 smokers have quit since the ban was introduced.

That is fantastic news.

I think we should celebrate it and thank the government for the positive leadership. It’s not a party political point scoring thing on my part – just a statement of fact.

Sometimes we just have to be told what is good for us.

The future workforce?

My friend Brian Galbraith from Perth, Australia recently sent me a copy of a new report – published this month by IBM Global Business Services.

The report is called 'Unlocking the DNA of the Adaptable Workforce.'

There are 4 key isses to emerge for the future of workforce development - according to this worldwide research. The report was written after interviews with 400 Human Resources Executives in 40 countries

• Create an adaptable workforce – my take on that - encourage the frontliners who actually do the work
• Leadership Gap – my take - find inspiring leaders
• Talent – my take - find your talent and nurture it
• Workforce Analysis – my take - HR to use information to help transform business rather than simply gather and collate information for transactional purposes.
  

These 4 conclusions, needless to say, are music to my ears.

If you want to read the full report go to this IBM Website to download it:

http://www-935.ibm.com/services/us/gbs/bus/html/2008ghcs.html

Simplicity Blog in the Top 100

I was delighted to hear from one of my Simplicity friends John O'Leary that Simplicity Blog has been selected as one of the "Top 100 Management and Leadership Blogs" by HR World.

Click here for the evidence!

I'm never quite sure about these polls and who selects the Blogs but I am nevertheless thrilled to be mentioned in the same company as two of my heroes Tom Peters and Seth Godin.

I was particularly pleased that Simplicity Blog was in the category Creativity and Inspiration.

No fawning over Trevor please .... Compliments are very nice but just send me money....ONLY JOKING FOLKS!

PS - This is posting number 850 since I started Simplicity Blog in January 2005.

It's an almighty 'screw-up' Gordon.

Sometimes speaking the 4 words ‘I told you so’ can give one pleasure because we can feel smug when we are proved right. On this occasion, as a life-long Labour Party supporter I take absolutely no pleasure in saying ‘I told you so’

More than 7 months ago, I wrote on this Blog that I thought it was a huge tactical error on Gordon Brown’s part not to call a General Election immediately after he became leader of the Labour Party and our Prime Minister, succeeding Tony Blair.

At that time Gordon was still on his ‘honeymoon’ as PM. Everything in the garden appeared rosy. He was miles ahead of his rival David Cameron, the leader of the Tory Party in the opinion polls as the most suitable person to be Prime Minister. The Labour Party was way ahead of the Tories in the polls as the most electable party. How times change.

I believe if he had gone for a snap election last Autumn he would have won a comfortable majority. He would have had the comfort of knowing he had 5 years to stabilise things and build a Government that had his stamp on it.

Instead, he dithered and dallied and decided in the end not to go for the election – presumably advised by people closest to him. How come, if someone like me can see something as obvious as the nose on Gordon Brown's face, the massive machinery of the Labour party cannot see it?

I am not some sort of ‘expert’ on such things. It just goes to prove my long held view that the word ‘expert’ must always be challenged.

We are now faced with the certain defeat – probably obliteration - of the Labour Party at the next General Election in approximately 18 months from now. If that happens, Gordon Brown will be remembered as a dithering, indecisive, incompetent leader who snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.

And yet ….. It could have been so different.

Four more words spring to mind - ‘I hope I’m wrong’ - Sorry Gordon – I think you've screwed up big time - we will see.

Friend of Simplicity - John O'Leary

My Simplicity interview today is another US based friend John O'Leary. I first came across John when commenting on Tom Peters Blog and we have struck up a friendship through email and Blogging that continues to develop. John and I share some similar music tastes and we share many similar ideas about how organisations should value people working at the front line. John is based in the US.

TREVOR: Hi John – I know you have had a fascinating and interesting career. I would love to hear a quick summary of some of the stuff you have done.

JOHN: Thanks for the opportunity, Trevor! Well, I always feel my career is just beginning, but I guess that’s because of all the twists and turns and course corrections I’ve made. In 1968, after several years of college—and 6 years of studying Ancient Greek—I abruptly left academia (and a promising future teaching dead languages) to play rock & roll full-time. My campus rock band in New Haven had been picking up some prestige bookings in Greenwich Village, New York—opening for acts like the Grateful Dead, Frank Zappa, Sly & the Family Stone, and Joni Mitchell—and we were invited to play the Berkeley Folk Festival that summer. So the band and I didn’t need much convincing to take the leap. We never got the recording contract we wanted but we had a great ride for the next year as did my subsequent “almost famous” bands. It was a real kick to be a part of the NY and LA rock scene in the late 60s and 70s, hanging or jamming with the greats—Blood Sweat & Tears, the Byrds, Tina Turner, Jackson Browne. 15 years later I changed course again and landed in the training & development world. I lucked out again and got to study or work with luminaries such as Werner Erhard, Peter Senge, and Fernando Flores. 15 years later I started consulting under the Tom Peters umbrella. Oh, and in the early 1980s I took some time off to run for US President as an independent—though that was mostly for the fun of it and to write a book about, which is mercifully out of print. A lot of folks who saw me on TV in 1980 still haven’t made the connection to me now, which allows me to keep working.

TREVOR: I was born in 1952 and so I was brought up in England as a teenager in the 1960’s on The Beatles and the music revolution. We rightly remember with great nostalgia the 1960’s. Was it really such an influential decade or do we just have rose tinted spectacles when looking back?

JOHN: Every decade is influential in different ways of course. What interests me is the contribution the 60s made to popular culture, especially in the area of pop music. If rock & roll was born in the 50s, it got a license to drive in the mid-60s. Rock wasn’t taken seriously at first—despite the genius of songwriters like Chuck Berry. But after the Beatles & Dylan showed up, the universe changed. Someday I may write about the summer of 1965, the tipping point. Everybody was trying to outdo everybody else then—the Stones, the Byrds, the Beach Boys, the Kinks. All at once you were hearing songs like “Satisfaction,” “Like a Rolling Stone,” “Help,” “Mr Tambourine Man,” “Help Me Rhonda.” Not to mention some great Motown hits.

TREVOR: You do work for Tom Peters who is one of my management icons. Tell us something about working as part of the Tom Peters Company.

JOHN: Actually in the States we’re all independent contractors—in the spirit of “Free Agent Nation” (Daniel Pink’s book and Tom’s credo)—who come together to work on specific projects for clients who want to implement Tom’s ideas. We all share Tom’s iconoclasm and have a lot of fun contributing to the tompeters.com blog, which is a terrific worldwide forum.

TREVOR: What do you see as the greatest challenges for leaders in the future John?.

JOHN: In business, government, education, healthcare, even religion I see leaders trying to make sense of a world turned upside down. Leaders trying to get their organizations to work with user manuals that are obsolete. What’s desperately needed is some independent thinking, and some courage to improvise. This is not a good time to rely on traditional management wisdom, economics orthodoxy, or political dogma. Clinging to ideology can destroy everything. The wise men in robes don’t have the answer. That, in part, is what my book is about.

TREVOR: Tell us about the book.

JOHN: Well, it’s turning into my life work, given how long I’ve been hacking away at it. My focus is on business lessons we can learn from rock & roll bands. The book identifies 6 ways in which the great rock & roll bands are exceptional business teams: (1) they’re radical innovators and risk-takers; (2) they’re passionate and inspired about their work—and they have fun; (3) they manage differences and capitalize on conflict; (4) they create a distinct identity and brand; (5) they’re ambitious, focused, and result-driven, despite stereotypes to the contrary; and (6) they’re highly autonomous and independent-minded. Then I show how to instill—or liberate—these abilities in our organizational teams. And I argue that without an infusion of these qualities many of our beleaguered organizations and institutions, ill equipped to compete in this crazy economy, are headed for obsolescence or irrelevance. To keep it interesting I illustrate my points with lots of stories and anecdotes from boardrooms, bars, and recording studios. It will be a business book you can dance to. Hopefully I’ll finish it this year. I’m a slow writer, but maybe it will appeal to all the slow readers out there.

TREVOR: Have you any plans to come back to England?

JOHN: I’d like to go tonight, but I’m knee-deep in other projects. And to stay healthy I’m trying to trim back on air travel for awhile. I don’t think living on planes is particularly good for any of us. But London is one of my favorite cities. The last time I was there in 2002 I played guitar at an entrance to the Tube just for the fun of it, and I happened to leave my guitar case open. A homeless woman came along and threw in a few pence. Something told me I should just accept it with gratitude, so I did. For one hour I was part of that street community and they took care of me. I'll always remember that snapshot of London. After that I made my pilgrimage to Liverpool to pay tribute to the Beatle gods.

TREVOR: And finally John you know I can’t possibly interview you without asking what you honestly think about The Eagles – Just how iconic are they and how will they be remembered when they finally hang up the instruments?

JOHN: I believe the Eagles, who came out of the same LA folk-rock crowd I used to get in trouble with in the early 1970s, will be forever honored for their alchemy of rock & country. The Byrds and Flying Burrito Brothers got that started but the Eagles took it to a new level, with a little Don Henley soul mixed in. And from the beginning they were a triple-threat band, which is a hallmark of the top bands. They could sing, play, and write. Don Henley and Glenn Frey were among the best songwriters that came of age in the 70s. When I first heard “Best of My Love” on the radio in 1974 I had to pull over to the side of the road, it hit me so hard. And of course “Hotel California” belongs on a short list of perfect rock songs. It should be launched in a time capsule documenting the whole era. The Eagles are also a wonderful illustration of a business team that learned how to harness their conflict—interpersonal and creative—to put out strong product for a fanatic customer base. And they’re back at it!

For love or money?

A wonderful example of the entirely different priorities and cultures of two teams in football on Wednesday as Manchester United won the European Champions League.

The organisers decreed that a non player representing each club should lead the team up the steps to receive their winners and losers medals.

The losers, Chelsea decided that their club ‘icon’ was Peter Kenyon the Chief Executive – a pen pusher – the man who controls all the business interests at Chelsea on behalf of the billionaire owner of Chelsea football club.

The winners, Manchester United decided to give the honour of leading then team up the steps to Sir Bobby Charlton – one of United’s all time great players.

Summary:

The Chelsea view of the world of football is all about business, money and profit and they choose a pen pusher as the most appropriate person to represent them to the watching audience of millions of football fans worldwide on TV.

Manchester United believe that a front liner – one of the greatest ever players to wear the red shirt - is the best possible role model to represent the club. Of course United have pen pushers too but they are in the background - where they should be - doing vital work.

SAYS IT ALL DON’T YOU THINK?

Cometh the Hour Cometh the Man

Someone will be a hero or a villian in a few hours time!

My beloved Manchester United play Chelsea in Moscow in the Final of the European Champions League later today - Wednesday.

I've been a passionate fan of Manchester United since 1963 when I was 11 and this is without a doubt the biggest match for United since I began supporting them. This match also makes history as the first all English European Champions League Final.

I am nervous but I have faith in my team and in our unique and immortal manager - Sir Alex Ferguson - a living legend.

Friend of Simplicity - Dave Wheeler

My Friend of Simplicity interview today is with a good friend and fellow simplifier Dave Wheeler who lives in Little Rock Arkansas in the United States. I met Dave a few months ago through the Tom Peters Blog. He and I immediately hit it off as two people sharing similar opinions about leadership, front line employees and simplicity.

TREVOR: Hi Dave – Tell me a little about your career.

DAVE: Well, the majority of my professional life was spent in the U.S. Air Force. The first 12 of my 24 years were spent as an Aircrew Life Support/Survival Training specialist. We inspected and maintained a wide variety of aircrew survival equipment from oxygen gear, life rafts, survival kits, and parachutes for example. We loaded tons of equipment on aircraft. But the best part of this field was training. We trained them how to use the equipment, how to escape and evade and how to survive in five different biomes. I essentially got paid to go camping in places like Guam, Thailand, the Philippines, and got to duct tape officers to trees when they screwed up in evasion scenarios. It gets no better than that.

My last 12 years were spent as the military equivalent of a Business Consultant. The title was Director of Quality, Performance, and Productivity Management. I worked directly with Group and Squadron Commanders to "design and deploy" a complete performance management systems for their each organizations in the part of the wing. We started at senior leader level worked down to the lowest frontline group they had. I also trained and certified an “in house” consultant to keep them on track and moving forward. I facilitated strategic and human resource plans, built balanced scorecards of key performance metrics, customer and supplier identification and relationship management strategies, survey design, semi-annual audits of their systems to find strengths and areas for improvement, and training, training, training were the basics. It was the best job on the planet and an invaluable "hands on" education on the challenges and barriers to "doing” effective leadership on the job from the Boardroom to the Floor. I sometimes will pick up a book on leadership and management and wonder "Buddy, have you ever seen a workplace or spoken to a frontliner in your life?” Many can tell you a bunch about "what" to do, but they often don't have a great deal to say about the specifics of execution, the “why’s" or the “hows". I think that's the one thing the "Boardroom to Floor" scope of the consultant's role gave me. After leaving the military I went to back to school, was the Warehouse and Delivery Manager for a furniture store for a time, and have spent the past 6 years progressively as a customer service representative/technical support specialist/Manager/Training Manager in the Telecommunications industry. Decades of leadership and management experience to be sure. Blue collar and frontline to the core.... that would be me!

TREVOR: What stirred your initial interest in leadership?

DAVE: I think the one thing that unites everyone who has had a job is that at some point we have said to ourselves "if I ever get to be in charge here, things would be different". We had a list of things in mind we would change if we had the chance. . Funny thing is those lists were usually 1000% on point as to what the real issues were or what needed to be done to work smarter, more productively, and more efficiently. This is why I went straight to the folks on the frontline when I was told to figure out a way to work around a 25% reduction in staffing and 18% less funding. I always told myself if I ever got to a supervisor position, I would not forget what it was like to sit in that chair on the frontline and I would be the leader that I wanted to work for. I’ve managed to keep that attitude in every job I’ve had and it has served me well. I worked for some terrific leaders early in my career who kind of went against the "rank=knowledge" paradigm of the military and gave me a opportunity to “get out of the chair” and do some low level leading on some project teams. My interest in leadership was simple. First, I wanted to make sure I didn’t disappoint the folks who showed trust and confidence in me. Second, I didn’t want to go back to that frontline chair. The Air Force is unique in the fact that although, I was a relatively senior enlisted person the position I had essentially made me the V.P. of Quality. I had a seat at the conference table with “the big guys” and was a regular backbencher in meetings with the even bigger guys. I was able to listen, watch and learn. There are few folks I respect more than the Air Force officer corps from the lowest ranking Lieutenant to the most senior General Officer. The competition for advancement begins day one and the slightest mis-step can effectively keep a person from getting a position of command. They were generally assigned to a unit for 2-3 years and then move on. In that period that get constant assessments of their units performance, a degree of accountability not seen in the corporate world today. I was definitely lucky to work for and learn from some terrific leaders and I got to observe up close some terrific bad examples as well.

TREVOR: I know you are a great advocate of the Baldrige Quality Framework – can you briefly outline why you think this is important in a business?

DAVE: Well, to put it “Simplicity” I hope, if you have read a book about management or business practices over the past 30 or 40 years you will notice a few recurring themes. They talk about the need of involved and engaged leadership, customer focus and relationship management, data driven decision making, strategic planning, employee well being and satisfaction, managing the processes that produce your products and services, and using a balanced scorecard of metrics to continuously monitor and improve performance. These are the seven core things that an organization “manages”; it’s the stuff that we do on a daily basis. Most management books tell you what to do. They offer little as to why it is important and even less on how to go about doing it. That’s why The National Malcom Baldrige Quality Award’s Criteria for Performance Excellence is such a “value added” tool.

What exactly is the Baldrige Quality Framework? The Criteria for Performance Excellence is a framework that any organization, in any industry, of any size can use to design, “deploy”, and continuously improve a “world class” closed loop performance management system. Oh, and it’s free as well. Each of those seven core items listed above is addressed as a part of the system. The system has two pieces. There is a Leadership Triad that is the leadership, strategic planning, and customer and market focus categories make up. This is the piece of the puzzle that Senior Leadership is responsible and accountable for in any organization anyway. The “Results Triad” are the things that Senior Leadership and the rest of the organization “do” to produce the products and services the company is in business to produce. The categories in the this part are employee focus, process management and the actual data of the “balanced scorecard” of key customer, operational, financial, work force, and process/supplier data. The Measurement, Analysis, and Knowledge Management category is the data driven decision-making piece. It gives the management system the agility and continuous improvement capacity to react and adjust quickly to changes in customer needs and expectations or the competitive environment. Nothing difficult about the basics to be sure, just a better way of organizing the stuff we need to be doing anyway.

Why is a systems based approach a better way of doing business? In many organizations stuff often gets done in isolation. How often do key initiatives not get funded, or folks don’t get the training or other tools needed to produce good results? How many people look at a vision statement or mission statement and not see where their job links to the big picture? “That would be all the time Dave” you reply? The major benefit of a systems based approach is it enables all levels to link and align with company strategy. The Senior Leadership of air mobility might say departure reliability is a strategic imperative. If my army customer is waiting at “Base A” and needs to be in place at “Base B” with x number of troops and equipment at x hour, we had best be launching our planes on time from my base to be at Base A on time to get them moved. My piece of the puzzle in Life Support to make sure planes left on time was to make sure they were properly configured with all the survival equipment required for that type of mission and insuring all aircrew members were certified and current in their training. The Wing Leaders strategic imperative became one of mine so I could plan, train, and allocate resources to make sure that a late departure wasn’t because we didn’t do our job. Aircraft provisioning and aircrew training became key processes that we monitored and continuously tried to improve. Knowing the CRITICAL processes enabled me to identify the customers and suppliers for each. I knew their requirements and limitations, who to talk to for feedback or get involved in trying to do it better. A great snowball effect and possible only because we could align and link to what was really critical rather than spend time on the worthless many. Systems rule!

How does it work? Go out to www.nist.gov and you’ll see the link to the National Quality Award site. Next, just download a copy of the Criteria for Performance Excellence and read the overview and core values. The Criteria doesn’t tell you what to do because it’s not prescriptive. For example, the Strategic Planning Category has two Areas to Address. One is Strategy Development. The other is Strategy Deployment. The Criteria just asks questions and asks you define what process you use to align with that item. For example, Strategy Development will ask you to describe the processes you use for strategic planning, who are the participants, or how do you determine what your strategic advantages and challenges. How can you produce an effective plan if you don’t know those for goodness sakes? In Strategy Deployment, it asks you to describe how you translate goals and objectives into action plans and how do you insure that these items translate into resource allocations company wide or what human resource plans do you have to insure you can meet your key goals and objectives. If you have a process to meet that item…great. If you don’t, develop one. You will easily recognize many of the “questions” as concepts the books you have read pointed out you need to be doing. The Criteria take it a step better by giving you a framework to align with that helps show you how to make it work in your company.

Simple, free, and a process that leads to improving performance, productivity, and results. It gets no better than that.

TREVOR: Like me you have great faith in front line employees. How can managers get the best out of front line folks?

DAVE: You build a relationship with them. You become a team. You share accountability for producing results with them so you have a choice. The folks you lead can be your allies or your enemies and your actions help them decide which category they will place themselves in. I have found that making sure they know what the performance expectations are, understand how their performance is going to be measured, and getting the hell out of their way works great. We create an environment that promotes trust, teamwork, and continuous learning and improvement. My job is making their job as easy as possible. I give feedback, coach and develop, and get them the stuff they need to excel. It actually is easy, I’m just the kind of “boss” I wanted to work for when I was sitting in that chair on the frontline.

TREVOR: What do you see as the three greatest qualities of an effective leader?

DAVE: Number One is credibility. Second, would have to be credibility. Finally, yeah, credibility for sure.

My credibility is my leadership capital. Credibility + Consistency = Trust. Trust + Collaboration = Teamwork. If I’m not credible, we won’t be able to work in an environment of trust, teamwork, and continuous improvement. I can have allies or enemies. The best piece of leadership advice I received was from a General I worked for who said he would rather have everyone inside the tent “pee-ing” out than on the outside “pee-ing” in…paraphrasing the Lyndon Johnson quote about J. Edgar Hoover. Crowded but dry immediately became my goal for both the condition of my tent and my leadership ability!

TREVOR: Do you think the leadership model that you knew so well in the military is interchangeable in business or not?

DAVE: Absolutely. I just finished a great book “Leading from the Front, No Excuses Leadership Tactics for Women” that was written by former Marine Corps Captains Angie Morgan and Courtney Lynch. They take their “lessons learned” from their time in the Corps and describe ten key practices to become a great leader. One that struck a chord with me and reminded me of a cornerstone of my leadership style was the “True Leaders Dedicate Themselves to Service~Take Care of Those You Lead” concept. My Father was also in the Air Force and he was a disciplinarian and stickler for detail. I recall he would show up in at his troops barracks early Saturday morning and escort them to the barbershop for a haircut or to inspect the cleanliness of their quarters. He was accountable for their appearance and condition of their quarters and he was doing his job. But he also knew them. He was forever in his pocket when folks needed something, if he had troops deployed somewhere he was always making sure their families were cared for and ok. I grew up thinking I had 20 brothers because there were always extra folks at the table on holidays that couldn’t be with their families. As Captains Morgan and Lynch point out “Be it on the battle field or off, I made sure the needs of my troops, both personal and professional, were met.” Take care of those to the right of you and the left of you and they will take care of you. I just shake my head when folks say that being a leader means you can’t discipline someone or hold them accountable for their performance and their actions. That couldn’t be further from the truth. Let one person slide or not pull their weight on a high performance team and see what that does to the team’s attitude and your credibility. “Leaders constantly recognize and demonstrate how important those under their command are to them and their mission,” observe the Captains. That captures it perfectly because it is the absolute truth.

TREVOR: What do you see as the main challenges for modern leaders?

DAVE: I think leaders will be fine. I think Managers however are in trouble. I really found your friend Brian’s observation that leadership is a decision, not a position to be most profound. Some would argue that the difference between being a manager and a leader is semantics. I would disagree. You don’t have to be a manager to assume a leadership position on a team or in the workplace. You also shared some research from your dissertation with me Trevor that pointed out the differences between the two were in their attitudes and actions… proactive versus reactive. Issues like employee retention, service quality, and an ever-changing competitive environment will place a premium on maximizing the skills, talent, and knowledge of the front liners. Credible leadership can make that happen. A manager who only has positional authority will most likely fail because their folks will bail. The costs of turnover are incalculable on damaging a company’s reputation with their external customers and in their community as being an employer of choice for those seeking career opportunities

TREVOR: Finally Dave – I know you have connections with England - tell us about that – and are we likely to see you over here in the UK at any time in the future?

DAVE: My Dad was stationed at RAF Northolt and I lived in Ruislip from 1958-1962. It is strange but I can’t remember stuff from three days ago but I do recall a great deal from the days in England. I think my screams are still echoing in the halls of the Chamber of Horrors at Madame Tussard’s, I recall rides on the tube to London, fish and chips wrapped in newspaper. I recall a Pan American 707 sitting on the ramp at Northolt on flat tires when the pilot mistakenly thought he was landing at Heathrow. I lived at 12 Cranley Drive and recall a nice couple up the street that always had a kind word and a tin of sweets for the kids in the neighbourhood. I knew them as the Krogers. It turns out however that the folks at 45 Cranley Drive were actually named the Cohen’s and in 1961 they were arrested and charged with espionage as Soviet spies. Those were interesting days indeed and a great time for sure. A trip to the U.K. is a possibility; one that I would say is more distinct than remote. Trevor, I promise you will know when it happens. I’ll be knocking on your door to pry you away from the keyboard long enough to go play a round or two (or twenty) of golf!

Manchester United and Sir Alex - CHAMPIONS!

I am on cloud nine on this glorious Sunday

Manchester United won the Premiership Title this afternoon for the 10th time in the 16 seasons of the existence of the Premiership. An unparalleled record in English football. The Manager Sir Alex Ferguson is 66 years young and still has the enthusiasm and passion of a teenager! I would say if you really want to study leadership – look no further than Sir Alex. Click here for the BBC Report of this afternoon's wonderful historic events.

Friend of Simplicity - Roger (Rocky) Noe

Recently I was lucky enough to hear my hero 83 year old former Labour MP, Tony Benn speak. Tony said something that has stuck with me.

‘‘If you are looking for a leader don’t look up to a platform – look next door’

This definition fits perfectly today’s Friend of Simplicity Roger (Rocky) Noe who lives in Mt. Washington, Kentucky, US.

I’ve been a friend of Rocky since we first hooked up on Brian Ward’s discussion board (a pre curser to Blogging) some 7 years ago. Rocky is one of the most genuine, humble and down to earth people I have met through the internet. He is also one of the best role models for leadership.

You can catch up with more Rocky wisdom at this link http://hillbillyphd.blogspot.com/


TREVOR: Hi Rocky – Why Rocky?

ROCKY: I am not sure how the moniker “Rocky” came about. I have answered to that name for as long as I can remember. I have always been known as Rocky until recently in my professional career. Most of my friends do not even know me as Roger. In fact, when I was in my senior year in high school a girl I had been in school with for several asked me if I was any relation to Rocky when the teacher called roll and I answered to Roger.

TREVOR: I know you’ve spent a large part of your career working with young people who are troubled – tell us a bit about that Rocky

ROCKY: Working with at risk youth has been my passion. I really like having the opportunity to give back in that way. Young people are at risk for so many reasons. The drug culture is racing out of control and so many fall victim to being second and third generation victims of drugs, violence, and gang affiliation. Taking these kids and helping them to become “generation breakers” is the ultimate satisfaction. When you have the opportunity to change one person you are affecting whole generations. I have been in the business long enough to see many of the young people I worked with years ago grow up and start their own families. I love it when I meet their children and they are honour students and participating in meaningful social activities. There is no payday like it. There is nothing like having to be a part of positive change.

TREVOR: With such challenging situations how do you make sure you don’t take the stresses home with you?

ROCKY: It is a very challenging job. There are so many hidden stressors. Not only do I have the pressure of working with young people who often don’t want my help, they usually don’t think they need it. That is a huge burden in itself. Young people heading for disaster and not only thinking they do not have any problems, they often think that I am their problem. Trying to stay focused can sometimes be difficult. More than that, I have the added burden of the youth’s family members that will sometimes work against the system. I also have the staff and their problems along with outside forces such as attorneys and various outside workers. The major problem is that I am never right. As the lead administrator in my program I often walk in the door and I have over 100 hundred people that are not very happy with me and that is just in my building alone. That is not including the outside personnel. The biggest problem is that everyone wants to tell me how to do my job and how they would do it differently.

I have learned to deal with that. I do this by relying on my wonderful family and constantly revisiting the thought of what my passion is. I recently had a discussion with a colleague about the importance of passion and its role in staying focused. My colleague asked "what happens if you begin to lose your sense of passion?" She stated that she often feels overwhelmed and thinks that maybe she has lost her passion. Then she took it a step further and asked that if you lose your passion could it really have been a passion all along?

My take on it is that maybe how she is carrying out her passion is not the right avenue. More importantly, I asked her to really think about what she is passionate about. What led her to be in the business that she is in? Is it for the passion or did she settle into a business while trying to meet other needs? What is the end result she is looking for, Is it for riches or for something else? I think the true test of a passion is that it has a relentless drive to it. It is not tied to any business or bank. It is attached to your heart and will drive you regardless of the circumstances. Your passion does not get overwhelmed. Your passion tends to be overwhelming. The avenues by which you pursue your passions may get worn and become overwhelmed, but the passion tends to keep burning. Your passion may lead you to different avenues to pursue it, but it tends to keep burning.

My passion is to help others and it continues to burn. I have changed the avenue of how I pursue my passion from time to time, but my passion remains the same- helping others to grow and overcome their life obstacles.

TREVOR: You award Hillbilly PhD’s – can you explain what the Hillbilly PhD is all about?

ROCKY: The Hillbilly PhD is about not letting the circumstances of life dictate the outcome. Many of the most successful people I know do not have high academic qualifications. What they do have is a relentless drive to overcome their circumstances. We have often talked about Sir Richard Branson and how he achieved a great deal in life although he struggled with academics. He is a perfect example. He is far from a Hillbilly in the traditional sense. He is wealthy and lives very well. (He owns his own island) So I think it is important that I define what I mean by the term Hillbilly. The Hillbilly part comes from the idea of living by good solid values and character traits and not letting things or circumstances rule your life. The PhD stands for putting in a hard days work. I believe that those are the main ingredients to be successful. It is by no means a knock or put down of education, but a statement that everyone can be successful regardless of their circumstances

TREVOR: I love your TERRIFIC leadership model – can you tell us more about that too.

ROCKY: The TERRIFIC model is actually the values and character traits I think that are important to be successful. It stands for Trustworthiness, Effort, Respect, Responsibility, Integrity, Forgiveness, Initiative, and Caring. Those are by no means exhaustive to success principles, but I believe that if you can live a life governed by them you will have a good start on success.

TREVOR: We co-authored ‘Three Amigos with one Message.’ Do you have plans to write more books?

ROCKY: I would really like to write a book based on ‘Not letting circumstances dictate your Destiny’ I think there are 5 steps to overcoming life’s circumstances

a. Defining your life passion or purpose
b. Being persistent in the pursuit of that purpose
c. Taking an honest inventory of your talent and weaknesses. Capitalizing on your talents and leveraging the talents of others. (I think it is important to note that I think that your talents must be used to help others and to give back)
d. Being resilient and continuing to focus on your life purpose during failures and set backs
e. Finally, exercising the golden rule of all successful people- Taking action in line with your life’s purpose.

TREVOR: I know you and both your sons support Manchester United - and as far as I am concerned that just proves how well you guys have been brought up. Soccer as you call it in the States is becoming much more popular over there – do you plan to come over here to watch Manchester United one day?

ROCKY: That would be an absolute dream. Both my sons are doing well in soccer and we are huge Man U. fans. We don’t get to see a lot of live game broadcast, but we do watch a lot of the replays. Seeing a live performance would be surreal.

Where are our world Icons?

I‘ve been thinking about the great world icons of the last 100 years who are best remembered for their integrity, their caring, their humility, their compassion, their selflessness and their desire to improve the lives of millions through peace.

Martin Luther King, Mother Theresa, Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu are the five that spring to my mind immediately. These people have an aura and an authenticity that makes them outstanding leaders.

I look around and wonder where our icons of today are?

One place I will certainly not look to is politics. With the notable exception of my hero Tony Benn I see politicians who are opportunists, blatant self-promoters, all looking and sounding the same and they show no evidence whatsoever of selflessness, compassion or humility.

Maybe I look in the wrong places (I don’t think so).

Can you identify anyone on the world stage in 2008 that will be remembered with the same affection and respect of a Nelson Mandela, Mahatma Gandhi or Martin Luther-King?

I can’t.

Friend of Simplicity - Brian Ward

Brian Ward of Affinity Consulting, Edmonton, Canada

Today I'm launching 'Friend of Simplicity' a new feature on my Simplicity Blog. I intend to publish a series of interviews with people who have influenced my thinking about leadership and management.

I am delighted to say the first interview is with my good friend Brian Ward who is based in Edmonton Canada. Brian and I first ‘met’ about 6 years ago through a discussion board on Brian’s excellent leadership website.

TREVOR: Hi Brian – Can you tell me a bit about how an Irishman ends up living Edmonton, Canada?!

BRIAN: Hi Trevor. What a penetrating question to start with! I came to Canada mainly to afford my three daughters a better life, better opportunities. They are all adults now, and have graduated from university, and are well on their way to making a success of their lives. Dublin at that time, in the mid-eighties was in a bad state economically…not like now!

When people ask me why I emmigrated to Canada, I tell them that, but I also sometimes reply by saying ‘greed’. As you can imagine, this normally sets them back a little. But it also sets up the conversation to focus on the topic of motivation. This topic has always fascinated me. We all act out of self-interest, even when we are acting to help others. When others benefit from our self-interest, then we have what is often referred to as a win-win outcome. I believe that we need to be totally honest about our motivations, AND we need to pursue our goals in an ‘ecological’ way. By ecological I mean that we maintain a balance of fairness, we don’t play zero-sum games i.e. you must lose in order for me to win.

TREVOR: So tell me about what Affinity Consulting can offer online to folks here in the UK?

BRIAN: We work with leaders to help them and their teams achieve their goals. We help them get focused on what matters to them, and to maintain that focus. In organizations today there are so many distractions and competing entities and priorities, it’s very easy to get sidetracked and achieve mediocrity. To start with, folks in the UK can visit our articles website Excellence 2.0 at www.excellence2.com

TREVOR: I am very interested in the FACET model – can you explain what it is about?

BRIAN: Gladly. FACET is actually an acronym. It came about when I was coaching a senior leader, and we got talking about servant leadership. This resonated with him, but he was struggling to put the pieces together. So he asked me if I could come up with a 360 degree questionnaire that he could give to his staff, his boss and some other folk. We looked at a number of ‘off-the-shelf’ surveys, but none of them appealed to him. We had been using a customer satisfaction survey in a previous project with this organization, and he asked if he could just take that survey and give it to his staff, whom he saw as his customers. Well, it didn’t fit very well, but it did inspire the development of the FACET Model.

FACET stands for Focus, Authenticity, Courage, Empathy, Timing. You can read an article on our Excellence 2.0 website at www.Excellence2.com which explains it more fully.

TREVOR: I have often used your quote ‘Leadership is a Decision, Not a Position’ – can you elaborate on that for me?

BRIAN: Certainly. I come across many managers who are in management positions and doing a reasonable job, but have not made the decision to lead. By that I mean they have become caretaker managers, with a focus on control. To be a leader, you must decide on a new destination where you want to take people. That’s where the FOCUS in the FACET Model comes into play. Examples include Jack Welch of GE ‘Be the No1 or No 2 in each of our businesses’; Sam Walton of Wal*Mart with everyday low prices; Fred Smith of FedEx with overnight parcel delivery. I’m sure you can probably add to that with UK leaders such as Sir Richard Branson, Sir Alex Ferguson…I’m quite certain that they didn’t get their knighthoods by being ‘managers’!

TREVOR: From your experience of both the UK and the Canadian business cultures do you see differences and/or similarities?

BRIAN: Yes, there are many similarities and differences. I suppose you could describe Canada as being ‘mid-Atlantic’ as far as its culture is concerned. There are many British ex-pats here, and they bring a tremendous work ethic to this country, which everyone benefits from. Of course we are also part of the Commonwealth, and any time members of the Royal Family come here they get a great reception! There is a proud British heritage in this country…we still have the Queen adorn some of our currency!

On the other hand, we have a lot in common with the USA. We drive on the same side of the road, for one! We have an open and vast country, with major cities and highways that draw a lot of their architecture and culture from the USA, who are our greatest trading partner.

So I think I see a blend of European and North American cultures here, with cities such as Toronto and Vancouver having a more cosmopolitan feel.

From a management perspective, US research and practice exerts a great amount of influence on us, especially in the field of marketing and sales management. We tend to have a more ‘hyped’ approach to marketing and selling, less than the US but more than the UK.

TREVOR: What do you see as the main challenges for business leaders in 2008?

BRIAN: Well, for 2008 and beyond, I see so many challenges. The biggest one for CEOs is how can they keep their jobs, and keep their integrity. In many instances they are under intense pressure to produce results that are short-term, and this can make them lose sight of some of the fundamentals to long-term growth. Foremost amongst these is trust. WorldCom, Tyco, Enron and Conrad Black being really clear examples of where greed (there’s that word again) results in a zero-sum game. I think it is critical for CEOs to focus on playing a win-win game, and being truly authentic.

TREVOR: When we met in Dublin a couple of years ago you were doing some voluntary work building homes – can you remind me what that was all about?

BRIAN: Yes, thank you for asking. When we met in Dublin, along with our good wives, Judy and Annie, I was a Board member for the Edmonton affiliate of Habitat for Humanity. Judy and I were visiting Dublin with a group from the USA on an international build, which they call Global Village. Habitat for Humanity is a cause that is near and dear to me, and this gave me the opportunity to work on building homes (and building hope) for low income families in Dublin, my city of birth. It was a wonderful experience. And of course we got to meet you and Annie for the first time and had a few pints of Guinness together!

TREVOR: Finally Brian is there anything you miss about the UK apart of course from Manchester United with whom we both share a passion?

BRIAN: Oh, yeah, Man. Utd. Come on the Reds! I miss the telly a lot. Game shows especially, such as Terry Wogan (a fellow Irishman)…the ones here are all about the money; the weather believe it or not, as we get long sub-zero winters here; and fish and chips…not the same here I’m afraid!

TREVOR: Thanks a lot Brian.

William Wilberforce - A 'fanatic' who changed the world for the better

I’m sure the word ‘fanatic’ sparks different emotions for all of us.

‘Fanatic’ can be a description of an extremist, even a dangerous person … or not

William Wilberforce, the famous Member of Parliament (MP) was described recently by the Archbishop of Canterbury as the greatest Englishman of the last millennium.

As a Christian and an MP, William Wilberforce led the battle, for 20 years, to abolish the British Slave Trade. He was hated by many because slavery was big business and people ‘in the business’ were strongly against abolition because their livelihood would be threatened.

Nevertheless Wilberforce remained single minded and determined mainly because of his faith in God. Despite numerous defeats of his Bills to abolish the Slave Trade in the House of Commons he persevered.

Eventually the British Slave Trade was abolished in 1807. Wilberforce carried on for another 27 years leading the battle for slavery itself to be abolished. Three days after the abolition of slavery Wilberforce died.

He had battled for almost 50 years to rid the world of this appalling testimony in the history of mankind.

At the height of his battles Wilberforce was described as a ‘fanatic’ by his many opponents. In a speech to the House of Commons, William Wilberforce said;

“If to be feeling alive to all sufferings of my fellow creatures and to be warmed with the desire of relieving their distress, is to be a fanatic, I am one of the most incurable fanatics ever permitted to be at large.”

What fabulous words from an incredible man.

Honest Guvnor - We are not stupid!

I have just started a series of 9 leadership training sessions for 37 employees who work in the ‘care industry.’ These are front line folks aspiring to be leaders and it has rekindled my passion for studying leadership.

I did my MA Management (Healthcare) at the University of Plymouth for 3 years from 1996-98 and my dissertation is called ‘Leadership in Practice’ which was the final 20,000 word piece of my qualification.

For those who enjoy reading I’m happy to share my dissertation. Just send me an email at trevor.simplicity@gmail.com

In revisiting my dissertation I came across discussions I had at the time with ‘followers’ of leaders and how most of all wanted they want their leader to be authentic.

This brings me to recent TV appearances of our Prime Minister, Gordon Brown.

I have been very fortunate to meet Mr Brown a few times in the last year or so in both small group settings and large gatherings. I liked what I saw. On each occasion one thing that comes across is his concern for people and his interest in them. I admit he does not come across as a particularly extrovert or charismatic person but that didn’t matter to me because he seemed authentic.

The image folks have so obviously been trying to ‘change’ Gordon’s image because I have noticed a few things:

*Gordon is ‘smiling’ much more - and the smile just does not look genuine – actually Gordon, let's be brutal - it looks less genuine than Paul Daniels wig. So contrived!

*Last week there was a TV news item showing Gordon talking ‘live’ to an American TV audience on some charity show in the States about a large donation the UK is making. Gordon looked like he was advertising toothpaste such was his wide permanent smile - it was so ‘cheesy’ it was embarrassing quite frankly as a British citizen. So contrived!

*Yesterday when he met the 3 US Presidential candidates he had exactly the same time with each of the 3 and the walk he did along that corridor was identical even down to the hand gestures and the eye contact with each of the 3. So contrived!

This is not leadership – this is ACTING – and Gordon, sorry to say, you are not a good actor. Please leave that to the folks from Equity. Sometimes it is better to be told the truth by people who like us – even if the truth hurts.

Dare I suggest Gordon is trying hard – and failing miserably – to become as charismatic as Tony Blair? We just don’t ‘become’ charismatic – we either are or we are not – and it doesn’t matter if we are not - as long as we are authentic

It reminds me of the days back in the 1980's when Mrs Thatcher was 'worked on' by the image people to try and make her come across as a ‘caring’ person ….. That was just as impossible and silly as it is to make Gordon Brown appear 'warm' and 'cuddly.'

FOR CRYING OUT LOUD GIVE US CREDIT FOR SOME INTELLIGENCE - WE HAVE NOT JUST FALLEN OFF THE CHRISTMAS TREE – WE CAN SEE RIGHT THROUGH THIS.

The most annoying thing about politicians as far as I’m concerned is that too many of them lose their authenticity and therefore credibility when they allow the image folks to take over. I’m sorry to say it appears Gordon Brown is now more concerned about his image than his authenticity.

Sorry Gordon – this does not fit with you I’m afraid and I am sad about that ‘cos actually, I like you!

I MAKE THIS PLEA TO GORDON - TAKE A LEAF OUT OF TONY BENN’S BOOK PLEASE ….. AND JUST BE YOU.

Maybe I have misread the signs and Gordon really has had an epiphany!!

I fear not …..

Front liners know best yet again!

I think it is timely for me to say I feel honoured to have so many fabulous readers who make outstanding comments to Simplicity Blog. Thank you all so much.

Among many comments on my Simplicity posting on Wednesday this week, my friend John O'Leary said this:

“I was working with frontline workers to redesign workflow in an Ontario sawmill. When we solicited cost-saving suggestions from one worker and learned of a simple and quick fix that would save the operation millions of dollars, we asked him why he didn't mention it before. He replied, "I did 10 years ago, but my supervisor told me to just stick to my job, so I did."

Everyone who reads my Blog, my articles or my books will know I have a passion for enabling front line workers to just get on with the job with no interference. I also call for the obliteration of petty, silly rules and the 'control' attitude of some managers.

John's powerful comment reminded me of one of my favourite quotes from the great management guru – perhaps THE greatest – the late Peter Drucker who said;

“Ninety percent of what we call ‘management’ consists of making it difficult for people to get things done.”

Sums up the supervisor in John’s story perfectly wouldn’t you say?

Amen to Mr Drucker's words and thanks again to John – I just had to make a special posting of this one!

‘Example is not the main thing in influencing others. It is the only thing’ - Albert Schweitzer

I remember my first week in the first senior healthcare management job I ever had. I was 22 and had got this job at a relatively young age in those days. Any ideas of pretentiousness were quickly dispelled by events.

I discovered that I had walked straight into something of a mini crisis in the Transport department. The Transport department consisted on one van driver and a relief driver who covered in the absence of the full time driver. My arrival coincided with a long spell of sickness for the relief driver and then after I had been in post for less than a week the full time driver went sick. I was assured this was not linked to my arrival!

Although my job was of course much wider than merely managing the transport it was nevertheless a small but important part of my duties and so I was immediately on the spot.

I had numerous demands from all the other departments who had been awaiting my arrival as the new hospital manager and yet there was a mini crisis in one small department.

I searched around and asked people what were the contingency plans for such an event. There were no plans as this had never happened before.

I suddenly became aware that I was alone here and had to do something. The only solution I could think of was to 'become the van driver' for a week until the regular driver came back to work after his sickness. And so my new smart office clothes that I had been proudly wearing for just three days were hung up and I donned the overalls and tunic of the van driver. I read the shift duties and asked around to become familiar with the duties. I was loading dirty laundry and unloading clean laundry I was a courier service delivering post and blood samples between hospitals and health centers. I was a 'people carrier' transporting nurses back and forth to the neighboring town for their training sessions. At the same time I was trying to fit in learning about other and bigger elements of my exciting new job.

Although this was not exactly how I had envisaged starting my career as a manager I still remember it well and I think it stood me in good stead for future challenges.

Having ‘been there and got the tee shirt’ I felt in a good position when challenged about the efficiency of the department – I was speaking from an informed position.

Over 20 years later when I was managing mental health services we had a staff crisis owing to industrial action and a work to rule.

I was telephoned by the Manager of a residential unit for Older People with mental health problems to say that the weekend coverage was stretched to breaking point and there were concerns that patient safety may be at risk unless we could approve overtime.

We were not allowed to pay overtime and so I offered to work two 12 hours shifts on the Saturday and the Sunday as an unqualified Nursing Assistant if it would help. The manager of the unit was grateful if a little suspicious about my motives and agreed that I could provide a pair of hands for two shifts to help cover the immediate crisis.
Those two days were as informative and instructive for me as any in my whole career and I learned so much. Working alongside the front line staff in such difficult circumstances was a profound experience that I will never forget and although I had always prided myself in how much I felt I could empathise with front line staff, this experience proved to me that we never truly know what it is like until we do it.

Moving on another few years I started a job as a Locality Manager and I wanted to get a feel for what it is really like to work as a District Nurse or Receptionist or Health Visitor and so I planned to spend at least one day working with a member of each of the professions I was accountable for. I planned it in partnership with the professionals concerned and there were a few cynical people who again were presumably suspicious of my intentions and motives. On the whole though I was received very well and again I found the learning to be very special. I felt privileged to be able to share the time with those staff and I am convinced it gave me much greater awareness of some of the things they have to deal with in the everyday sparring that goes on. There is simply no better experience than ‘doing the job.’ When circumstances dictate you have to ‘get your hands dirty’ and remember where you came from and why you are there.

I feel it should not be something we only do as leaders when there is a crisis. I would suggest all leaders or aspiring leaders would be well advised to build into their regular regime some time spent alongside their front line staff.

Leadership Lessons

‘Walking the talk’ means getting your hands dirty. You never lose the responsibility of making sure the job gets done. Your credibility is linked to how dirty you are prepared to see your hands become.