What Do Tim Tebow and the Indy 500 Have in Common?

Posted by Nancy Reece | January 18th, 2012

I grew up in Indiana.  Every Memorial Day my parents washed the windows on the house and listened to the Indy 500 on the radio.  We wanted to know who would win.    The “Greatest Spectacle in Racing” was more exciting when cars, wall, and drivers collided.  Who was it? Was anyone seriously hurt? 

There’s a whole army of people out there just waiting for Tim Tebow to crash and burn.   Tebow is that rare person who is publicly living his life with integrity.  He lifts up his faith in Jesus, he thanks God for his blessings, he shares his wealth with others, and he helps those in need.  For many of us, he is an inspiration.  For others, he is “the greatest spectacle in football”.  They are waiting, like vultures, for the first mistake he makes so they can say “I told you so.  He’s a hypocrite like the rest of us.” 

The reality is – Tim Tebow will make poor choices.  He’s human, after all – we all make mistakes.  It will be in those moments that his character and integrity will be tested, refined, and strengthened. Will he be sincerely regretful and make amends as quickly as possible?  That is the mark of an ‘Integrity Fanatic’.  We don’t do everything right, we’re not perfect – in fact we screw up a lot.  But my prayer for Tim Tebow, myself, and fellow fanatics is that when we do, we’ll repent, sincerely apologize, and make amends. 

It’s the crashes of life that build character, integrity, and faith.

Churches aren’t sanctuaries for saints – they are hospitals for sinners.

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4 Tips to Develop Gen iY Employees

Posted by Nancy Reece | January 10th, 2012

 

Are you struggling to work with Generation iY employees?  Tim Elmore’s research (Generation iY:  Last Chance to Save Their Future), www.GrowingLeaders.com   indicates that one of the “lies” we’ve told those born after 1991 is “you are special”.  Parents and educators want the kids to know they are loved and deeply cared for.  As a result, the last half of Generation Y’s believe they are truly remarkable.  They encounter culture shock when an employer delivers a message that they aren’t measuring up.  When performance reviews are completed, the statistical bell curve says 10% of employees should receive an outstanding rating.  But coming from a world of grade inflation and self-esteem building, Generation iY think they are much better than average.  After years of hearing the “you are special”  message,  they experience culture shock when they are reprimanded or they don’t advance quickly.  They quit, or they feel stuck and frustrated, affecting their attitude at work.  What can you do as more and more young people enter the workforce?  Here are some suggestions from Elmore’s research:

(1) Mentor your young employees.  Let them know you believe in them and have their best interest in mind. 

(2) Give them short term projects to experience wins and help them acclimate to the realities of working in the real word. 

(3) Take the time to affirm what they do well before discussing improvements they need to make.  Celebrate when they do perform well. 

(4) Be alert to signs of depression or other stress-related illnesses in young employee and steer them toward appropriate employee assistance programs. 

If this sounds like more effort than you‘ve spent with your employees in the past, my advice is to get used to it.  The next generation of employees will do best when their employers build intentional relationships that mentor, challenge, and role model integrity.  Then they can indeed be “special”.

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Customer Loyalty – HP vs. Costco

Posted by Nancy Reece | January 3rd, 2012

 

Sixteen months ago, I bought a new HP (Hewlett Packard) 6500 wireless printer.  It was the top recommendation in Consumer Reports, it was easy to set up, and seemed to work well initially.  I did have some problems with it going offline for no reason, called HP for support in the first 30 days and they helped me set it up differently.  That solved the problem then, but over time the going offline problem got worse.  I would have to unplug the machine to get it come back on line.  Finally this fall, it got so bad, I went out to the web and searched the problem.  It became pretty obvious that this model had a major problem and no obvious fix, so I called HP customer support.  The polite representative told me to hold my comments until he’d finished( nice way of warning me I wasn’t going to like what I heard)/  He then proceeded to tell me I was 135 days out of warranty, that this was a hardware issue and because I was a “valued customer of HP”, they would sell me a new printer for only $99.00.  I told him I’d called for a fix, that it was obvious they’d had a manufacturing flaw with this model, and that I thought they should make it good in a better way than offering me a printer that I could find on line for the same price.

I went to do some research, and found that the new generation of HP printers was having the same problem.   So somewhere, HP knows they have a big problem, and rather than stand behind the product, they’ll see if you’ll trust them another time.  I felt used.

Turns out I bought my HP printer at Costco.  They have customer concierge services  http://shop.costco.com/en/Customer-Service/Concierge/2nd-Year-Warranty.aspx , and extend the manufacturer’s warranty.  So I boxed up the non-working HP printer, took it back to Costco, and they gave me a full refund – no hassle. They even looked up the transaction at the store, since my bookkeeper had my receipt.   I turned around and bought a new printer at Costco – this time a Canon.  I didn’t trust HP anymore. 

So, who won my loyalty as a customer?  Costco – I’ll purchase all my electronics there in the future, I’ll tell my friends and family to do the same – and I ‘m blogging about it.  Costco wins with integrity, big time.

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Kudos to These Companies who Honor their Word!

Posted by Nancy Reece | December 27th, 2011

 

I specifically signed up for a Gmail account to use for on-line ordering.   Of course, once you’ve ordered from a company, they use your email address to send sales alerts – some companies send them more than once a day.  I know this is part of life on line, and that’s why I only use the Gmail account for ordering.   Almost all sites, when you order, give you the option to uncheck a box so you won’t receive their email alerts.    I always ask not to be put on a list at a store, as well, and the clerk will assure me I won’t receive the alerts.   70% of the time you get them anyway.  I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve unchecked the box that says send me email alerts, only to receive them anyway.  Then I have to go and unsubscribe.  That only works about 50% of the time.  When they won’t honor their word in this way, there is a cost.  I no longer do business with that company. 

Rather than a long list of offenders, here’s a list of those companies who have honored my request on whether or not to receive their email this season. 

  • Zappos.com
  • Canon
  • Staples
  • Southwest Airlines
  • The Container Store
  • Chico’s
  • White House/Black Market
  • Famous Dave’s

 Thanks for doing what you say you will do.

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Take This Christmas Story Quiz

Posted by Nancy Reece | December 22nd, 2011

 

As children, we hear the story of Jesus birth told.  Over the years we continue to hear different versions,  so I was surprised when I first took this quiz years ago to realize how distorted my view of the story was from Scripture.  Here are a few of the questions – see how you do.  Answers are at the bottom.

1) What did the innkeeper tell Mary and Joseph?

a) no room in the inn  b) you can use a stable  c) both a & b  d) none of the above

 2) Jesus was delivered in a

a) barn   b) manger  c) cave   d) unknown

 

3) The wise men found Jesus in a:

a) manger   b) stable   c)  house   d) none of the above

 

4) Who told Mary and Joseph to go to Bethlehem?

a) the angel    b) Mary’s mother   c) Herod    d) Caesar Augustus

 

5) Who saw the star in the east?

a) shepherd    b) Mary and Joseph   c) three kings   d) none of the above

 

Answers:

1) D  Luke 2:7                      2) D –Luke 2: 7 –  possible a cave since stables were usually in one, but unknown

 3) C – Matthew 2:11                       4) D – Luke 2:1,4               5) E – Matthew 2:1-2

 

Merry Christmas

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace good will toward men.”   

 Luke 2:14

 

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The Good, The Bad and The Ugly of Being an Integrity Fanatic

Posted by Nancy Reece | December 5th, 2011

Let’s start with the ugly.  I recently had a lapse in integrity – and was challenged on it by a neighbor –because I branded myself as the Integrity Fanatic.  He was right and it was painful.  At the same time, we’re all human and none of us is perfect.  It’s about whether we make amends and fix our bad choices that enables us to live out our commitment to integrity.  I had made a poor choice and voluntarily confessed and tried to make amends.  Unfortunately, he believed that as the Integrity Fanatic I should never, ever make a mistake.   That’s the ugly – unrealistic expectations.

Next is the bad.  It’s the word fanatic.  It means a person with extreme zeal – so I believe it defines who I am around integrity fairly well. But depending on which generation you are in, being a fanatic can be bad.  For the oldest generation in our society – born before 1945 – the word fanatic means passionately crazy – in other words, out of control.  And being out of control isn’t something they value.  I actually knew this when I picked the name, I just didn’t realize how prevalent the dislike would be in that generation. That’s the bad – there’s a group of people who simply don’t relate to the idea I’m trying to convey.

Finally, the good.  Calling myself an integrity fanatic has made me hold myself to a higher standard.  I was recently in line to enter a club with a cover charge – famous for it’s dueling pianos.  As I struck up a conversation with another person in line, she invited me to use the special entry word for the birthday party being held upstairs and save on the cover charge.  I found myself seriously considering it – and then remembering that wasn’t an option.  Similar challenges happen more often than I expected.   So while I could beat myself up for not having the right first response, I know that being an integrity fanatic has set a higher moral compass for me.  And that’s the good.

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What Do Joe Paterno and Juan Williams Have in Common?

Posted by Nancy Reece | November 19th, 2011

Both Joe Paterno and Juan Williams were fired by telephone.  Both had served their organizations and brought name recognition and success to the brands of Penn State and NPR.  Both deserved more respect than they received from their leadership. 

Whether you agree with their being fired, no one who has spent much of their career building the reputation of an organization deserves to be fired by telephone.  Leaders with integrity have the courage to go face to face to the people they’ve decided to release.  It demonstrates dignity and respect – and it keeps those who are still employed from wondering when they’ll be the next to receive “the call”.  Steven Sample, in his great book, The Contrarian’s Guide to Leadership, called it “shooting your own horse”.  A horse owner never asks someone else to put down his horse, and a CEO should never ask someone else to do the firing.   Leadership is about holding people accountable – even when you’ll take heat in doing so.  It’s also about having the ethics and  integrity to make that hard call in person.

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Celebrating 60 Years of Marriage

Posted by Nancy Reece | November 8th, 2011

This past weekend was my parent’s 60th wedding anniversary.  We didn’t expect them to make it.  My dad, now 91, had been given 30 days to live last Christmas while in the hospital.  The doctors said he went downhill so fast, they didn’t expect to stabilize him.  He has congestive heart failure and his kidneys aren’t working well.    As he says, “I proved them wrong.”   So Saturday, we had Christmas on the Farm – an open house to celebrate 60 years of marriage.

A lot of people don’t make 60 years.  In fact, when Bill and I say we’ve been married 31 years,  we get expressions of surprise.  It’s a sad world we live in when long marriages are rare.  So celebrating 60 was a way of showing our kids, the grandkids, and friends that it can be done.   Dad and Mom love each other deeply – he’s there for her in the early stages of memory loss, she’s there for him when his arthritis starts screaming.  It’s what marriage is all about – trust, love, and perseverance .  Congratulations Mom and Dad – you are incredible role models.

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Another Leadership Lesson from our German Shepherd

Posted by Nancy Reece | October 12th, 2011

 

Last week I described the leadership lesson our new Shepherd, Evie, taught me about perspective and integrity.  This week I’ve learned a whole new lesson.  Turns out Evie, who we rescued 3 weeks ago, is a very highly capable working dog.  That means she has exceptional capabilities to be a search and rescue dog or a police dog.  It also means she has lots of energy and drive.  The implication for us as owners is that we have to manage her drive with activity, training, and exercise – at a much higher level than most pets require.  It’s like she’s a gifted German Shepherd.

Only 20% of employees feel that they use their true strengths very day in their job.  That means 8 our 10 employees are miscast in their roles.   As a leader, I would point the finger right back at myself – did I hire appropriately?  Or just put a warm body in the job?   Just as we now need to work with Evie in special ways to ensure she lives up to her potential, supervisors need to customize they way they work with their employees – to ensure they live up to their potential. 

It takes more time and energy on my part – whether training Evie or supervising to an employee’s strengths.  But the results?   Priceless!

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A Lesson from our German Shepherd

Posted by Nancy Reece | October 2nd, 2011

Last week we adopted a German Shepherd rescue dog, one her family couldn’t keep.  Unlike our other Shepherds, she is all black, with brown eyes and beautiful.  She has a wonderful personality – sweet and loving.   But she looks so unlike a usual Shepherd  that a thought would keep flitting through my mind – “Demon Dog”.   This caused a real disconnect, because her personality is great, so I kept wondering why I had those thoughts.  One afternoon, she was running  - sleek, black, and skinny with her ears up in the air – and an image from The Lion King of the black and bad hyenas flashed in my mind.   In the pictures they always had yellow eyes, black bodies and pointy ears – just like our new dog.

Our past experiences so easily color our current circumstances.  I don’t suppose I’ve seen the Lion King more than once, yet the images had stuck strongly enough in my mind that it colored my perception of our new family member.  Once I could name the perception and understand where it came from,  I haven’t had the thought again.   It’s like that in work and life – and it makes me wonder what other things are coloring my perceptions of race, people, culture, etc.    To lead with integrity, we need to always be on the look out for ways to  gain a new perspective.

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