Trim Tab Analogy: Making Minor Changes

Being a person that loves analogies, I had to pass this one along.
When I heard Stephen Covey speak a couple of weeks ago, he mentioned trim tabs. Unless you've spent much time on a boat, you probably aren't familiar with trim tabs , so you can click here and educate yourself if you want.

On a boat, the predominant way to steer is by moving the rudder. This causes the boat to turn left or right, changing the course of the boat. The changes made are usually major ones and involve setting a new course or maneuvering to avoid an obstacle. For these types of changes the rudder is the perfect tool.

However, once a boat is headed on a course, moving the rudder too much can cause problems, like getting off course. Trim tabs however, are used to stabilize the boat and balance it so it moves smoothly through the water. For example, when driving the boat at the lake if someone gets up from the left side and sits on the right side, the weight in the boat shifts and causes everyone to lean to the right because it is unevenly weighted. After a while, this becomes a little uncomfortable, so I make an adjustment to the trim tabs and the boat balances out even again.

From a business perspective, we often think we need to grab the wheel and adjust the rudder every time something changes. We make drastic changes to our plans and our direction because of this and often find ourselves on a totally new course that we never intended to go on and spend a lot of energy dealing with consequences we weren't prepared to deal with.

As a business owner, you are at the helm. You have control of the boat, and you decide how to react to change. I think small business owners are so concerned about making a mistake and missing what will later be called an obvious signal, that they over steer using the rudder at every little shift they experience. Be cautious not to a make major reactive change to something that can be solved with minor adjustments to the trim tabs and retain balance.

Uninspiring Inspiration

I recently heard the "15 Survival Strategies for Entrepreneurs" presented at a conference last week. I thought I'd learn something by seeing something from a different perspective and perhaps gain some inspiration. I was only half right.

The strategies presented were: (somehow I ended up with 17 instead of 15)

1. Be persistent - Pick yourself up, dust yourself off, keep going
2. You can't be emotional and logical at the same time - learn to control your emotions
3. Don't keep all your eggs in one basket - Diversify your clients
4. Find a way to manage and release your stress
5. Believe in what you're doing - understand why you're doing it.
6. Be flexible
7. Rely on people you trust outside your business
8. Maintain healthy teams inside the business
9. No one is irreplaceable
10. Make a list - What do you want to get done?
11. Write a journal
12. Learn to trust your gut instinct
13. Make tough decisions
14. Find the spiritual way - it brings peace
15. Surround yourself with "positivity"
16. Find angels now - you may need them later
17. Have patience

I was right in that I saw things from a different perspective, but wrong in that I'd gain any inspiration. What I learned is that just because you write a book on a seemingly motivational topic does not automatically qualify you to present the contents of your book to a room full of people.

I was amazed at one thing, which is the ability the presenter seemed to have to present information as if she were delivering the financial statements at an annual meeting. (Yawn)

The lesson I learned is that just because you can write with inspiration, does not translate into speaking with inspiration. So, as I have now crossed my 3rd year of blogging and have accomplished my first goal, which was to develop my writing skills, I now have to go back and analyze how I will tie together speaking and writing inspirationally.

As leaders, we have to ask ourselves, "Do I inspire?" You have to ask yourself "Does my writing inspire?" and "Does my speaking inspire?" Then remember, just because your answer is yes for one doesn't make the other a yes as well. In today's age of email, blogging and leadership, I think it takes both the ability to speak and write in a way that inspires to become an effective leader.

It's Rocket Science

"Rocket science isn't rocket science to a rocket scientist."

That's what a client told me this morning when I commented that while his business model seemed viable, I wasn't able to give much advice on the technical aspects of what he was doing, which was literally rocket science.

His statement reinforced three things for me.

1. I don't want to be a rocket scientist - When I was back in high school working on physics, trigonometry and calculus problems, my dad would help me with my homework. At the time I wanted to be an aerospace engineer and design space ships. When I'd miss a problem, my dad would say, "Looks like your space shuttle just crashed." Fortunately for me, and probably dozens of future astronauts, I switched to business. Though I liked the idea of space, flight and all things engineer related, it wasn't my true passion. Finding my true passion is what makes business so fun and easy for me and what makes rocket science so fun and easy for a rocket scientist.


2. I don't need to be a rocket scientist - What ever the next project is that I get involved in at work or at home, I don't need to be the expert in a new field to be successful at it. I have to be an expert in something, but there is no way for me to be an expert in everything. Instead, I need to go find the expert, the rocket scientist, who can solve my problems in their sleep while I would have to stay up many late nights trying to learn and then implement what is routine for them. I don't need to be a rocket scientist, I need to be a rocket scientist magnet where I am able to find and attract what it is I need.


3. Leading from your strengths is not a fad - The whole idea of First Break All The Rules or any of the subsequent books and articles that came out about not trying to improve on what you aren't any good at, seemed to reach critical mass a few years ago. I wondered if it would be the latest addition to many piles of once best sellers like the One Minute Manager that have now become pass'e. I realized that this won't be a trend that will later end up on the pile of used to be hot books, but has the staying power of a principle of business. One like the Peter Principle or the Pareto Principle that become quoted and referenced in all of the next generation business fad books. Finding your rocket scientist to complement your weaknesses is a principle of business not a business fad.

A Nervous Leader

Tonight is a big night for me. I've been nervous about tonight for several weeks and I can honestly feel the butterflies right now. Normally I'm calm, cool and collected, even in the face of the storm, but I just can't quite get this under control.

At 8:00PM I'm going to make my debut as a coach and pitcher for our softball team and I'm not sure I'm up for it.

Believing that my past has created who I am today, I've been carefully analyzing my history of softball and have come up with 2 distinct possibilities as to why I'm a nervous wreck.

1. The very first time I played, I subbed in on a friend's team in college. Standing in right field, the first ball of the game sailed over my head for a triple because I didn't judge the depth right. The next inning I played catcher and then was benched for good.

2. The first time I played a whole season, I was back in Tulsa and our pitcher walked 3 out of every 4 batters. As a result, our average loss (which was every game in the season) would be something like 4 to 25. It was a horrible and frustrating experience for everyone. Shannon and Adam were on that team and can tell you how bad it was.

So, whatever the reason, I've got to overcome the jitters and WIN WIN WIN tonight... or at least not walk more than one batter an inning. I'm setting a reasonable goal for myself.

Wondering how my leadership ability as a coach might be jeopardized by my nervousness, I read this article by Pamela Thomas-Graham, CEO of CNBC and was reassured that it's okay to sweat a little in front of my team.

She said "You have to break a sweat so they understand at an emotional level what's really at stake."

I'm hoping she's right.

Why Matching Employee Values to Company Values is Crucial

Many small businesses I deal with have difficulty finding good employees. One insurance company I'm meeting with next week sent me the question, "How do I motivate sales people who are not self-motivated?"

I thought, well let me shake my magic crystal ball and rattle off the answer to you.

As crazy as that question sounds, it is the one question that at one time or another, every business owner lies awake at night staring at the ceiling, contemplating the answer to.

The essence of the question, however, goes beyond motivation and gets to the issue of how do I find employees who value what I value and value what the company values. I'm not even going to try to attempt answering that question here. I'll save that for the topic of an entire book I may someday write. What I want to mention is how absolutely important it is that you hire only the most value consistent employees that you can find for your company. I would further clarify this by suggesting you leave a position vacant until you can find such an employee and don't just jump on the first square thing that floats by that you can somehow pound into your round hole to temporarily ease your pain.

My friend, Scott Hodge, a pastor at a church near Chicago and original inspiration for starting my blogging journey, posted this video yesterday on his blog.

It's not a true example of business, customers and employees, and it's an analogy that I've received some criticism for in the past, but I think it drives home a very obvious point that for most Americans can relate to in some form. Let me explain. My analogy would place Jesus as the business or product, employees as Christians and customers as the people represented by those being interviewed in the video.

Shocking how it is easy for people to have some sort of a good opinion about a company (Jesus), but a horrible - to the point of not even wanting to comment in come cases - opinion of employees. Now, knowing that your product or service is being represented by your employees, do you want people to say I'd love to buy that product or service, but those employees make me so sick to my stomach that I can't even stand to go in the store.

If you disagree, think of your favorite kind of car. Now think of the experience you expect when you go to buy that car. If you like Chevy, I'm guessing you probably don't like Chevy car sales people. Same with life insurance. When your grandpa died and left you money, you probably liked the insurance, but you probably don't want to sit down with a life insurance sales person.

Bottom line is that before you hire a quick fix employee to help you out of a pinch, consider how their values compare to your company's values or run the risk of clients having a split opinion about your company.

A Legacy Is Like Legos

It's the last weekend in April, which for me is always a special time, I make the pilgrimage back to Lincoln, Nebraska every year so I can re-acquaint myself with the men of my college fraternity. It sounds a little juvenile and "animal housish" I know, but trust me it's not like that at all.

As a member of the board and a founding father of Omega Alpha Chi, I hold a very fond place in my heart for this group of men.

My children aren't quite old enough for me to say I've left a legacy in them. I know I've obviously shaped their lives, but I'm not quite sure that a 9 and 5 year old have the mental ability to grasp the concept of legacy from the receiving end yet. So this organization, in its 13th year, is the first legacy I've been able to leave. While it hasn't been left technically since I'm still alive, I at least have a good foundation built and am very proud of it.

The whole leaving a legacy thing has kind of come and gone in the buzz words of leadership category, but I hope that you each have the opportunity to experience leaving a legacy of your own in some way.

One thing I find funny is all the talk about how to leave your legacy. From my experience you don't set out to do it intentionally. Even in the middle you don't say to yourself "Hey this could be my legacy". Rather, you follow the passion you have for something and that passion guiding you turns into what you are remembered for.

This article from Entrepreneur.com explains it in different words.

"Making a lasting impression on the people who mean the most to me is what I
really care about, and I want to be remembered for the right reasons: for being
kind, warm, sincere, generous, unique, special, funny and fun. Being remembered
as an entrepreneur or leader matters less to me than being remembered as someone who was a good listener, gave great advice, showed good judgment, and really
cared about what I did and who I did it with every day."

I think what the author and I have both failed to say until now is that you don't leave a legacy intentionally. Rather, you live your life adding one Lego brick on top of another, one brick at a time. Sometimes your actions tear down a section of bricks, other times the bricks are added quickly. Your legacy isn't the Lego, but rather the interpretation of how others see the bricks you've assembled when you're gone.

Like kids watching clouds in the sky one may see a rabbit and another may see a car. You can't change what they've seen so don't be concerned with it. The only thing you can do is try to assemble the bricks in the best formation possible from your view point at the time you stack it, and not worry about how others interpret them.

Why Should Anyone Be Led by You?

I just started getting my subscription to the Harvard Business Review at work. It's been since grad school that I habitually read it, so I'm looking forward to the opportunity to see what the world's greatest minds have to contribute to business.

With my subscription came "Leadership Insights: 15 Unique Perspectives on Effective Leadership", which is a collection of previous articles on leadership. The first article I read was "Why Should Anyone Be Led by You" by Robert Goffee and Gareth Jones. A catchy, but challenging title, so as I flipped to the article, I wondered if I would be disappointed in myself after reading it realizing I'm not worth following.

The essence of the article is that inspirational leaders share four qualities.
1. They selectively show their weaknesses - By exposing some vulnerability, they reveal their approachability and humanity.

2. They rely heavily on intuition to guage the appropriate timing and course of their actions - Their ability to collect and interpret soft data helps them know just when and how to act.

3. They manage employees with tough empathy - Inspirational leaders empathize passionately and realistically with people, and they care intensely about the work employees do.

4. They reveal their differences - They capatalize on what's unique about themselves.

Immdiately I was glad I saw myself in 3 out of four of these. Not seeing myself revealing my differences did stick out as something I don't do very well. So I made the conscious effort to begin separating myself from the heard a little. I'm not exactly sure what that means or how that is going to take form, so perhaps it is better said that I am going to begin consciously looking for things that are positively unique about myself first, and then begin to bring that trait to the forefront of who I am.

One interesting point that I got out of the article was in regard to empathy. Contrary to the long-held statement that leaders are made, not born which implies we can each become an effective leader, this article states that "Real leaders don't need a training program [interpersonal-skills training program with 'concern' for others] to convince their employees that they care. Real leaders empathize fiercely with the people they lead." The authors imply that if you're not born with it, you can't learn it.

I'm not sure I buy it totally, but it makes me think and wonder if it's true.

If nothing else, it's a good, quick and simple evaluation of yourself to answer a tough, hard and challenging question. Why should anyone be led by you?