Monthly Archives: January 2009

Patrick Lencioni

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Here’s another author whose work adorns the bookshelves of many organization presidents and C-Level leaders (CEO/CFO/CIO). I also find his books in many of the corporate libraries I browse among our clients all over North America … and for good reason.

Lencioni’s books feature fictional characters facing familiar organizational problems. Readers at every level of the organization can relate to complex issues being addressed, the characters facing those issues, and the settings in which they evolve.

Lencioni’s work will never be confused with that of your typical academian. I’m quite certain that’s by design. Each of his eight bestsellers, selling 2.5 million copies in 20 different languages, is a quick and easy read. Readers quickly identify with his fictional characters and welcome his simple solutions to these complex challenges.

A former Bain consultant and HR exec at Oracle, Lencioni, started his business, The Table Group, in 1997 because he felt most consultants ignored organizational health. The name of his firm speaks volumes about the man and his associates. The name is based on their belief that the single most important and effective tool in business, even in this era of technological advancement, remains the table. There is simply no substitute for the basic idea of people sitting down together around a table to resolve the critical issues around their business, whether those issues relate to operations, strategy or teamwork. Yet, how many organizations invest the time and energy to do so in today’s chaotic business environment?

The Table Group is a firm dedicated to helping organizations, and the people who work within them, become “healthier” and more effective. They provide consulting and speaking services, as well as a host of products and tools to leaders who want to improve teamwork, clarity and morale within their companies.

Over the past decade, the firm has worked with a variety of world-class organizations, including Fortune 500 companies, hospitals, churches, schools, military and professional sports organizations.

As a consultant and keynote speaker, he has worked with thousands of senior executives and executive teams in organizations ranging from Fortune 500s and high tech start-ups to universities and non-profits. He has delivered dozens of keynote addresses on leadership, organizational change, teamwork and corporate culture.

He is frequently interviewed for national media including features in the Wall Street Journal and USA Today. Fortune Magazine has listed him as one of “10 new gurus you should know.” He is on numerous advisory boards and sits on the National Board of Directors for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

In addition to his seven successful business books, he has recently applied his management insights to assist overwhelmed families—who, he says, need the same kind of help his clients do. The 3 Big Questions for a Frantic Family: A Leadership Fable about Restoring Sanity to the Most Important Organization in Your World is destined to be his next best seller.






About Harry K. Jones

Harry K. Jones is a motivational speaker and consultant for AchieveMax®, Inc., a company of professional speakers who provide custom-designed seminars, keynote presentations, and consulting services. Harry's top requested topics include change management, customer service, creativity, employee retention, goal setting, leadership, stress management, teamwork, and time management. For more information on Harry's presentations, please call 800-886-2629 or fill out our contact form.

How Much Is Enough?

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According to ASTD (American Society for Training and Development), the average American worker spends 26.3 hours in the classroom annually.

Read that sentence again slowly and let it sink in. How do you feel about that number? Does that seem high to you? After all, that’s a full day plus a couple of hours. Long time to sit in a classroom, don’t you think?

Of course, all of that training doesn’t take place at one time. If you want to take it to the other extreme, we’re each investing a full SIX MINUTES a day working to improve ourselves for future success! Now how do you feel about that number?

Now let’s re-frame once again and view that training time as a little over 3 eight-hour days a year investing in our future as well as that of our organization. How do you feel about that investment? Is that enough? Not if you expect to compete in today’s global environment!

There’s a good chance that anyone reading this article is a professional based on the following definition: “A person who earns his living from a specified activity; Of, pertaining to, or in accordance with the standards of a profession; That is carried out for money, especially as a livelihood.”

Let’s take a quick look at some other professionals … airline pilot, brain surgeon, engineer, clergy, architect, social worker, professor, electrician, plumber, clinical lab tech, pharmacist, veterinarian, certified public accountants, financial analyst, professional athlete, entertainer, astronaut, etc.

Do you think they train more than 26.3 hours per year? Of course they do! Why is it that all of those professionals listed above feel the necessity to continue to learn new tools, techniques, technologies, and strategies? Why do they benchmark regularly? Why do they study those they serve and those with whom they compete? Why do they feel the need to learn more, continually grow, and enhance their skills? Why do these professionals continually train … and only “businesspeople” don’t seem to think it’s necessary? It’s also a very safe bet that these other professionals invest more than 26.3 hours per year in their pursuit of excellence! How about you?

About Harry K. Jones

Harry K. Jones is a motivational speaker and consultant for AchieveMax®, Inc., a company of professional speakers who provide custom-designed seminars, keynote presentations, and consulting services. Harry's top requested topics include change management, customer service, creativity, employee retention, goal setting, leadership, stress management, teamwork, and time management. For more information on Harry's presentations, please call 800-886-2629 or fill out our contact form.

Are You Tapping Your Full Potential?

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I’m currently in the process of facilitating several leadership programs with some terrific clients. Each is a long-term series in which we cover a wide variety of leadership tips, tools and strategies.

We tackle one exercise which is a lot of fun but, at the same time, illustrates the power and importance of tapping our full potential as individuals by simply utilizing the many resources we possess but often overlook or take for granted.

In asking just ten basic, very simple questions, I quickly illustrate that seldom can any one individual in attendance answer all ten queries correctly. In fact, rarely does anyone even come close. However, at the same time, we quickly discover that collectively, by combining the education and experience of everyone in the room, we quickly answer all ten questions correctly in less than 30 seconds!

The point of course is quite obvious. This same truth holds true in the workplace as well. We all bring something different to the table in the areas of education, experience, creativity, enthusiasm, and attitude. By tapping the collective resources of the entire team, there are few, if any, challenges which can’t quickly be transformed into opportunities.

It is only the wisest and most successful organizations that practice this obvious strategy on a regular basis. This simple philosophy leads us to the following Generational Gem. To better understand the true moral of this story, one must be aware of the definition of resource: “a source of supply, support, or aid, especially one that can be readily drawn upon when needed.”

A very young boy wanted to play catch with his daddy. However, there was a stone in the middle of the baseball diamond that needed to be moved before they could play. The enthusiastic youngster told his dad, “I’ll move it and then we can play.” He struggled very hard but simply couldn’t budge the stone.

His dad asked, “Are you sure you’re using all your strength?”

“Yeah Dad, I am.”

He tried again but the stone simply wouldn’t move. His dad then walked over to the youngster and helped his son move the stone. As he did so, he said to his little-leaguer, “Son, until you ask me to help you, you aren’t using ALL your strength!!!”

What a great lesson for all of us. We each have many resources at our disposal at all times that we may very well be overlooking. We need to use ALL our strength, all our resources at all times!

PAUSE, IDENTIFY, UTILIZE, SUCCEED, APPRECIATE, CELEBRATE!

About Harry K. Jones

Harry K. Jones is a motivational speaker and consultant for AchieveMax®, Inc., a company of professional speakers who provide custom-designed seminars, keynote presentations, and consulting services. Harry's top requested topics include change management, customer service, creativity, employee retention, goal setting, leadership, stress management, teamwork, and time management. For more information on Harry's presentations, please call 800-886-2629 or fill out our contact form.

A Universal Indicator of Tough Times

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During a recent trip to the west coast, I had occasion to spend some time with a client in the historical Silicon Valley.

Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California, this high-tech economic center is home to a large number of innovative business leaders, such as: Yahoo, Google, eBay, Oracle, Microsoft, Intel, Hewlett-Packard, and Cisco.

It seems peculiar, indeed, to be able to view so many iconic trademarks gracing state-of-the-art structures situated in such close quarters. In short, it’s quite a neighborhood!

The Silicon Valley originally referred to the region’s large number of silicon chip innovators and manufacturers but eventually came to refer to all the high-tech businesses in the area; it is now generally recognized as a leading high-tech sector. This technical hub boasts a large number of engineers and venture capitalists.

In this lap of luxury, one could easily assume that local residents were weathering the nation’s current economic storm better than most. Then, of course, one should never assume.

My first night in town, I visited a grocery store located a few blocks from my hotel in the center of the city in search of a few office supplies. Entering the store, I must admit I was shocked to see a large end-cap display of SPAM luncheon meat … known to many as “America’s Mystery Meat.” SPAM, a gelatinous 12-ounce rectangle of spiced ham and pork, may be among the world’s most maligned foods, dismissed as inedible by many food elites. However, through several wars and recessions, Americans have turned to this glistening canned product from Hormel as a way to save money while still putting something that resembles meat on the table.

Apparently, it’s happening again. At a time when U.S. unemployment numbers continue to grow, employees at the Hormel Foods plant are currently working at a furious pace and piling up as much overtime work as they want.

Two shifts of workers have been making SPAM seven days a week since July, and they have been told the relentless work schedule will continue indefinitely.

Apparently consumers are rediscovering relatively cheap foods, SPAM among them. A 12-ounce can of SPAM costs about $2.40 and is reported by many to be quite tasty. The Hormel plant is producing about 150,000 cans of SPAM per shift. This iconic hard-times food must be popular as it has produced a SPAM fan club, a SPAM museum, a SPAMmobile, a SPAM store, and even SPAM festivals.

How ironic to find this economic offering stacked head high in the heart of what is considered to be one of the wealthiest regions of our country. It is certainly a sign of the times.

About Harry K. Jones

Harry K. Jones is a motivational speaker and consultant for AchieveMax®, Inc., a company of professional speakers who provide custom-designed seminars, keynote presentations, and consulting services. Harry's top requested topics include change management, customer service, creativity, employee retention, goal setting, leadership, stress management, teamwork, and time management. For more information on Harry's presentations, please call 800-886-2629 or fill out our contact form.

The Gift that Keeps on Giving

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I recently enjoyed a very productive kick-off session to another leadership seminar series. Part of our focus dealt with the development of front-line employees. The subject of reading arose, and we discussed various authors and books which should appear on any must-read list.

A few days later I received an e-mail from one of the vice presidents who had attended the session. I must admit his personal note warmed the cockles of my heart. He explained that he had visited our web site to check out our collection of 180 book reviews. He did so for two reasons:

  1. To look for a few books he was personally interested in
  2. In hopes of getting some ideas as to what titles he and his wife might want to consider to include in a personal library they are building for their son.

Their son is in his junior year of college, majoring in business while working on a minor or even another major in marketing. Thus far, he seems to enjoy leadership classes so his parents are considering books in that category as well. What they plan to do is purchase books from time to time that relate to his current and future studies, potential career, personal preferences and spiritual favorites … in hopes of assisting him in his chosen line of study.

At the same time, unbeknownst to him, they want to compile other appropriate titles to build “His Personal Library” which will be presented to him as a gift upon graduation. What a fantastic idea! This is truly a “Gift That Will Keep On Giving” … for decades! Years from now this young man will still be thanking his folks for this exceedingly precious and obviously priceless gift.

This caring and thoughtful father concluded his note with a request for any suggestions I might have to add to this valuable library. Needless to say, I felt honored by the request and replied with a list of authors and titles I felt might be suitable for such a magnificent gift.

Wouldn’t it be nice if more parents thought along these lines? It certainly is an investment not only in their son but in his future as well.

“A book is a gift you can open time and time again.”
~ Garrison Keillor

“The person who does not read good books has no advantage over the person who can’t read them.”
~ Mark Twain

“You will be the same person in five years as you are today except for two things, the people you meet and the books you read.”
~ Charles “Tremendous” Jones

About Harry K. Jones

Harry K. Jones is a motivational speaker and consultant for AchieveMax®, Inc., a company of professional speakers who provide custom-designed seminars, keynote presentations, and consulting services. Harry's top requested topics include change management, customer service, creativity, employee retention, goal setting, leadership, stress management, teamwork, and time management. For more information on Harry's presentations, please call 800-886-2629 or fill out our contact form.