Naiveté or Professionalism

Professionals know that things get better, when they get better (Mind-Set #3). That means the professional is constantly learning and improving…then learning and improving some more. The process  never stops. That mind-set, in part, is what makes them a professional.

Seth Godin, one of the world’s most respected marketers and the world’s most popular bloggers, recently wrote about this very thing.  Here’s a link to his post:  http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2011/07/naive-or-professional.html Seth, who received an Advanced Readers Copy of The Power of Professionalism, spoke passionately about how ‘professionals’ were making such a big difference in Kenyan farming practices. When Seth says ‘professionals’ he doesn’t mean a hired gun (think: professor) from a prestigious ag school that comes in to save the day.  He means that the real farmer—you know, the overall clad guy who works the fields from sun up to sun down.

Seth’s biggest take-away? It wasn’t about teaching the farmer the technical stuff.  Rather, it was about the importance of helping cultivate the farmers identity as a professional before teaching the technical stuff. He concluded that a lot of things naturally fall into place once you’re dealing with professionals.

This is precisely what we advocated in The Power of Professionalism. As Seth points out, it isn’t always  easy to help someone become a professional . Yet it is essential for changing the mind-set of (what Seth calls) the naïve—someone who fails to take responsibility and fails to learn.

This is an important lesson for managers and leaders to remember. Before the change initiative, before the new product development, before the reorganization, before the technical stuff…cultivating professionalism in your people will make a challenging process naturally go much better.

The Deepest Deficit: Trust…

It’s scary how many articles on trust are emerging these days.  It’s certainly a sign of the times.

Most of the articles I see on trust have a distinct North American slant.  Today, however, I ran across one such article that had a distinctly European flavor.  It proved worthy of sharing.

Here’s the link:  http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2011/07/the_deepest_deficit_trust.html

As Goffee and Jones point out,  the trust deficit is not merely a North American phenomena.  Those of you who have read The Power of Professionalism shouldn’t find that surprising.  Just goes to show…misery loves company.

Youth Is Served – The Finest Professionals Can Offer

The Julian Krinsky Group is a prestigious sports and educational entity that serves more than 4,000 young people each year through leading-edge summer programs.  Based in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, the Group serves families from all over the world.  Their standards are high—really high! Their aim is to deliver the very finest, most innovative, learning experiences possible.

The staff is young—typically those in their early 20’s. Delivering such high quality programs through a young staff is no easy task. Tina Krinsky, Chief Visionary Officer of the Group, found the mind-set material “the perfect inspiration for my dozen different orientation speeches that I give to over 400 staff from all over the world.”

Of course, Tina wanted to instill within the staff the standards of excellence that was expected of them.  But more importantly, she told the staff that she considered each and every one of them a professional—- certainly a contrarian notion when one considers their young age. Yet she noted, “we deliver the finest, most professional, learning experiences for young people in the world. Only you as professionals can ensure that happens. I have every confidence you will do exactly that.” They do.

Tina sees in those young staffers what they can’t immediately see in themselves. By the end of each  summer, staffers grow just as much as their young students do. They grow—not because they are trying to do something—but because they are attempting to be something.

Dear ‘Ol Dad

Gary Meneghin, a former client of mine, is now retired and restores classic bicycles in his spare time. His restored bicycles are sought out by Hollywood producers and other like-minded people who appreciate the work of a true artisan. In other words, they recognize excellence when they see it. ‘Passionate guy’ is one way to describe Gary. And he calls ‘em like he sees ‘em….even when it hurts. After reading The Power of Professionalism he had a revelation about his father who had passed away years earlier.Continue reading

Change Your View, Change Your Life

I’m a big believer that when your view changes, your life does too!

Consider this experience from Jim “Gymbeaux” Brown of Slidell, Louisiana he shared with me via e-mail. He enthusiastically gave me permission to share it:

“True story, happened last month. Was waiting for a visitor to come through the airport terminal. While waiting, a man in a janitor’s uniform stopped near where I was sitting along with his janitor type cart. Continue reading

When To Take A Pass…

There’s an important prevention I sometimes use when facilitating critical group meetings. It’s a ground rule I call ‘No Me-Too Stories’. You’ve probably all experienced it. Someone tells a story in a group meeting. The story helps make the person’s point. Next thing you know, another person chimes in with their story. Then another. Rarely do the subsequent stories add much value—not adding much new perspective or insight. It’s just people expressing themselves—in the form of ‘me-too’ stories—that largely serve the storytellers own personal needs. The intentions behind the stories may be good and it may make the person telling the story feel good, but rarely does it help the group advance its objectives.Continue reading

Whose Money Is It?

Paraphrasing the renowned economist Milton Friedman, “people become especially generous with other people’s money.” Politicians do it, business people do it too!

From my point-of-view, professionals don’t play fast and loose with other people’s money – especially when they’re in a position to benefit personally from it.

Consider the employee who lives high-on-the-hog on the company dime. For example, choosing the Conde’ Nast featured restaurant with the $75 steaks while on a business trip. Or the consultant staying at the big-name Four-Star hotel with the 1,000 thread-count sheets? Would they make the same generous choices if it were their own money?…or would they make a different choice?

I realize that there are many instances in which the more generous choice (as a practical matter) makes great business sense—especially when it involves clients. Management is sometimes even couraging of such generosity. Sometimes it’s a way to reward employees. And sometimes there really isn’t a great (or appropriate) alternative to a more expensive option. Yet, these instances are far more the exception than the rule.

How many times have you heard someone boasting of staying at a prestigious Four Star Hotel while on business when the hotels they stayed at for their own vacation (and paid for with their own money) was consistently Three Stars (or less)? Inconsistencies of this type can be precursors to having others lose confidence in us.

Organizations expect people to act responsibly. It’s a sign of maturity and professionalism to treat other’s money like our own. It builds trustworthiness and one’s own self-esteem at the same time.  Granted, some may consider this example insignificant, but it’s one that can portent bigger, even more important, things.

Lost Book…Lost Cause?

I’ve observed that many who received an Advanced Readers Copy of The Power of Professionalism have made a lot of notes and posted a ton of tape-flags in their books. In other words, they took the book to heart—something that every author secretly wishes for. One gentleman said in his Amazon review that he’d never loan his book out—simply because it was too valuable.

Fast forward to an e-mail I received last week from a colleague-friend, Mike Kelly.Continue reading

Silicon Valley Leader’s TPOP Megaphone

Readers:

I’m sharing an e-mail that was sent to me from a senior leader in the Silicon Valley that I thought you’d appreciate. This senior leader is communicating with his people – through the lens of the seven mind-sets in The Power of Professionalism (TPOP).

The leader is a very successful start-up guy…a real peach of a guy. He’s the top guy in his company.

He’s familiar with my work–having previously read The Big AHA!

He agreed I could share his e-mail as long I extracted the company’s name – which I have. I have substituted in its place the fictitious name Walnutians. Continue reading

Mind-Sets Trump Skill-Sets – New Evidence, If You Needed Any

In the Power of Professionalism we advocate that skill-sets, as important as they are, were less important than one’s mind-set in the discharge of a professional’s responsibilities.  Employers overwhelmingly agree. According to Harvard lecturer Dr. Paul Stoltz, 98% of employers would pick the prospective candidate with the ideal mind-set (and lacking the desired skill-sets) over the person with the ideal skill-sets (and lacking the desired mind-set). The same principle applied to employee retention.  When deciding who to retain—someone with ideal mind-sets or someone with ideal skill-sets— 90 plus percent of employers would retain the employee with ideal mind-set. These results were based on a recently released five year study with thousands of top employers from all over the world.

This shouldn’t be surprising. Think of the important initiatives your organization has attempted:  the implementation of new (and critical) operating processes, the all-important new product launch, the execution of a critical strategy, the delicate integration necessitated by a merger or acquisition. Think of the difficulties, the exasperation involved—sometimes even to the point of the initiative failing. Chances are the difficulties weren’t a skill-set problem. More likely, the difficulties were a mind-set problem.  Is it any wonder employers are so attracted to those with desirable mind-sets?