My Greatest Failure

I have been conducting a number of job interviews lately for senior leaders in my organization. One of the questions I use frequently is, "What is your greatest failure, and why?" I am interested in seeing how candidates think by identifying where they came up short, and what they learned from it. I'm looking for risk takers and people who understand that failure is so often an opportunity to learn and grow.

What I have been hearing far too frequently is something like this: "Wow...I didn't see that coming. I don't know that I've ever really failed at anything. I'm not sure how I'd answer that."

I have a big problem with this answer. Are they suggesting that they've never taken on a major challenge with significant risk? Do they think that they have performed as well as they can...every time, that there is not another level of performance. Do they really think that they can do no better? Are they not committed to constant improvement and continuous learning? Have they never put themselves in difficult positions or taken on big projects, some of which inevitably come up short?

I'd have no problem answering this problem. I've made plenty of mistakes. I've failed more often than I likely would have time to address were I asked this question. I'm not perfect. Ask my bosses, my subordinates, my family! I've had plenty of opportunities to learn from my shortcomings.

I've hired someone that I later regretted. I failed to keep superiors informed of looming problems -- that they later learned of from someone else. I failed to recognize excellence in my subordinates when they did well. I did not anticipate problems. I did not complete a mission on time, on budget, or with the quality that was expected of me. I have aimed high...and landed low!

Shall I go on? I have failed plenty. But I believe that each of these was an opportunity to learn. I'm better now because of these personal and professional setbacks. I have increased my leadership muscle density through multiple repetitions of trial and error. And now...I'm bigger, stronger, faster than I might have been had I never failed!

So how would you answer this question? If you think you've never failed, are you taking on big enough challenges? And if you are, either personally or as an organization, are you taking the time to learn (see After Action Reviews -- AARs), to identify how you can take your performance to the next level? Are you lifting heavy enough weights to take your leadership to the point of failure?

No leader should struggle identifying where they have came up short. It is clear that whether personally or professionally, failure is the seed of future greatness. That makes it Leader Business.

The Man in the Arena

"It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat."

Theodore Roosevelt"Citizenship in a Republic,"Speech at the Sorbonne, Paris, April 23, 1910

This is perhaps my favorite leadership quote. I referred to this almost daily when I served as a trainer at the Army’s National Training Center. It was too easy to become a cynic, to roll one’s eyes when those units and leaders that we were training made “seemingly” simple mistakes. But they were in the arena. They were the ones who had gone for days without sleep, who were under the constant pressure of decision making. Theirs were the faces covered with dirt, blood, and sweat. They were the doers…and I was not!

Isn’t this what leadership is all about? Getting in the arena…making decisions…being held accountable for what we do? Being willing to take risks…and at least falling forward when we fail?

Leadership is not about standing on the sidelines and telling people how easy it is to hire, fire, make decisions, or execute (apologies to all those authors and “motivational speakers” who never held a meaningful leadership position!). It’s not about being a critic or, at worst, a cynic, who does not give credit to those who try!

Leadership in the arena is about putting yourself out there…and doing it. It’s about failing and learning from mistakes. It’s about taking on increasing leadership responsibilities, earning the right to lead…paying your dues. It’s about faces covered with dirt, blood, and sweat!

Here’s to the “Man in the (leadership) arena!” Hooah!

Hug an Engineer Today!

National Engineers Week was established in 1951 by the National Society of Professional Engineers. This recognition celebrates the contribution that engineers have made to society while promoting the importance of science, technology, and mathematics.

Engineers are cool! They enjoy solving problems, figuring out how things work, how to make things better. They design roads, bridges, and websites. They build dams, cars, and nuclear reactors. They are paid well, are extremely good looking, and are the envy of all of their friends!

So I'm saying, hug an engineer! Not just because I am one, but because we should be thankful for the accomplishments of the engineers that build so many of the things that contribute to our quality of life. We should be greatful that engineers have taken the hard courses and have endured the taunts of "Nerd!" from their friends. And we should be thankful for those engineers who helped win wars, helped win the west, and who continue today to design and build cool things.

Hug an engineer. Tell young people about the many contributions of engineers around the world. Tell them to keep taking math and science courses...and about the world of possibilities that will open up to them when they pursue careers as engineers. Share with them that understanding how engineers solve problems is a leadership skill that will serve them well -- regardless of what career path they choose. And tell them that engineers are cool! Enjoy Engineers Week, everyone! Hooah!

Leaders Ask "Why?"

Leadership is often a series of questions:

-- Why do we do things the way we do?

-- When was the last time we asked, "WHY?"

-- What are we doing that we should NOT be doing?

-- What are we NOT doing that we SHOULD be doing?

-- Don't tell me why we can't, tell me how we can? (I think that is a question!)

-- Does this process, policy, or procedure make us better? cheaper? faster? greener? safer?

Don't have a sign to warn people about the sharp edges on your sign! Ask "WHY?"

That's Leader Business!

Cheaters Never Win -- Still!

I was in Washington DC this week and was in between visits with Congressional members on Capital Hill when I walked by Roger Clemens. He had just finished the committee hearing regarding his alleged use of steroids and performance enhancing drugs. Surrounded by his security detail, it was clear that his world had been turned upside down.

Cheating will do that to you. Ask Mark McGuire and Rafael Palmeiro -- two other certainties for baseball's Hall of Fame who will likely not get the nod following their infamous moments on "The Hill." It is little wonder that Clemens is fighting the allegations as hard as he is. His high-priced lawyers will likely do anything to preserve his reputation and distance Mr. Clemens from the damaging testimony in the Mitchell Report.

Over on the Senate side of Congress, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell was meeting with US Senator Arlen Spector about the "Spygate" episode involving New England Patriot's coach Bill Belichick. Seems this wasn't an isolated incident in which the Super Bowl coach was caught video taping an opponent's signals. There appears to be a lot more to the story there.

Now we can debate whether there are more important things our elected officials should be doing than investigating cheating in sports. (Would you rather they were figuring out another way to get more of our paychecks?) But it is important that someone shine a light on cheating in a profession that many of us care deeply about -- sports. If they are cheating, let's be glad that someone is doing something about it. And it appears that the sports themselves appear unable or unwilling to do so.

Nope -- cheaters still never win. There are better ways to make a buck. We can do our jobs without taking shortcuts. We can win without risking our reputations -- and those of the teammates with whom we serve. We can keep things in perspective and remember that short term victories can be lost in a second if they are not gained fairly. And we can face our accusers without throwing our wife under the bus (a real class act, that Clemens!).

Let's make a case instead for the use of these performance enhancers, in sports or in business:

-- Hard work

-- Open, transparent communication

-- Disciplined people, disciplined organizations

-- Diversity and Equal Opportunity

-- Empowerment

-- After Action Reviews

-- Morning Huddles

-- Leader Development

-- Milk (still a legal performance enhancer, despite the accusations in this video!)

That's Leader Business!

EMail-Free Day

We all share a similar complaint: Too much email. Communication skills get weaker and weaker. No one holds face-to-face dialogue any more. Our in-boxes are filled with more mail than we can handle. Most of it is junk...sent by people we will probably never know...about stuff we don't even care!

I took a stand. I pulled the plug. For one day (24 hours), we shut down the email server. Nothing came in. Nothing went out. Instead, all meetings were face-to-face. People had to get out of their cubicles and go conduct business the old fashioned way. Employees were encouraged to make phone calls, hold meetings, contact customers, conduct counseling, etc. In other words -- old-school communication!

Feedback was mixed. Many absolutely loved it. Some hated it. A few probably found a way to cheat the system and used their private email addresses. But I think everyone got the message. We have lost our way and need to remember what it was like to communicate the way we used to -- person to person, one-on-one. Facial expressions are more than ;) and :( and can only be evaluated -- eyeball to eyeball!

We conducted an AAR (After Action Review) at the end of the 24 hours of e-mail free bliss and captured lessons learned for the next time. And oh, yes...there will be a next time! Go ahead -- pull the plug! You know you want to! Old-school communication skills are Leader Business.

Military Humor

I got these from a friend. Pass them on. Enjoy!

"A slipping gear could let your M203 grenade launcher fire when you least
expect it. That would make you quite unpopular in what's left of your
unit."
- Army's magazine of preventive maintenance.
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"Aim towards the Enemy."
- Instruction printed on US Rocket Launcher
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"When the pin is pulled, Mr. Grenade is not our friend.
- U.S. Marine Corps
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"Cluster bombing from B-52s are very, very accurate. The bombs are
guaranteed to always hit the ground."
- USAF Ammo Troop
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"If the enemy is in range, so are you."
- Infantry Journal
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"It is generally inadvisable to eject directly over the area you just
bombed."
- U.S. Air Force Manual
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"Whoever said the pen is mightier than the sword obviously never
encountered automatic weapons."
- General Macarthur
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"Try to look unimportant; they may be low on ammo."
- Infantry Journal
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"You, you, and you .. Panic. The rest of you, come with me."
- U.S. Marine Corp Gunnery Sgt.
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"Tracers work both ways."
- U.S. Army Ordnance
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"Five second fuses only last three seconds."
- Infantry Journal
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"Don't ever be the first, don't ever be the last, and don't ever volunteer
to do anything."
- U.S. Navy Swabbie
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"Bravery is being the only one who knows you're afraid."
-David Hackworth
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"If your attack is going too well, you’re walking into an ambush."
- Infantry Journal
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"No combat-ready unit has ever passed inspection."
- Joe Gay
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"Any ship can be a minesweeper once."
- Anonymous
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"Never tell the Platoon Sergeant you have nothing to do."
- Unknown Marine Recruit
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"Don't draw fire; it irritates the people around you."
- Your Buddies
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"If you see a bomb technician running, follow him."
- USAF Ammo Troop
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"Of every one hundred men, Ten shouldn't even be there, Eighty are nothing
but targets, Nine are real fighters...We are lucky to have them...They make
the battle.
Ah, but the One, One of them is a Warrior...and He will bring the others
back."
- Hericletus (circa 500 B.C.)

Mission Orders

Enter the continent of Europe, and undertake operations aimed at the heart of Germany and the destruction of her armed forces.
-- Mission Order to General Eisenhower from the Combined Chiefs of Staff


Too often, leaders get overwhelmed with operational details and miss the proverbial "forest for the trees." We spend so much time immersed in who does what...and how they do it...and neglect what is really important -- namely what it is that we are supposed to do...and why it matters.

Military leaders use Mission Orders. These express to subordinates the commander's intent, providing key tasks and outlining the purpose for the mission. In other words, they express what must be done, and why. Mission orders empower subordinates to do the rest, to determine how they will accomplish the mission to meet the commander's intent.

The directive to General Eisenhower for the invasion of Europe is a classic example of a mission order. He wasn't told to invade at Normandy (or Africa or Italy). He was not told what composition of forces he would need nor how and where to position them. His task was to enter the European continent and to undertake operations. His purpose was the destruction of German forces. It was up to Ike to figure out the rest. Of course he would keep his superiors informed while planning, preparing, and executing his mission, but his orders were clear from the beginning.

Leaders who understand the value of mission orders can spend their limited time enabling the success of subordinates to whom mission orders are assigned. They do this by "checking alignment:"

-- Are assigned tasks aligned with each other? Will the accomplishment of subordinate missions allow the securing of overall goals?

-- Are supporting effort tasks clearly aligned with main effort ones -- and identified as such? Does everyone understand which tasks are most critical and must be accomplished in order to be successful? Are subordinates fully aware of what each other is doing, and how they are proceeding toward mission accomplishment?

-- Are people and organizations aligned against each task, leaving nothing undone?

-- Does the empowerment to accomplish the mission come with the requisite skills and tools, to be successful? Do subordinates have the training, experience, and resources they need to accomplish the mission?

Are you interested in minimizing frustration (yours and your subordinates) in your organization? Stay focused on mission orders. Empower teammates to do what you pay them to do: Figure out how to accomplish the mission...and "git 'er done." Assign mission orders and get out of the way. I am learning that to do so frees me up to do what I am supposed to do -- see the forest, get the right people, promote our brand, build and sustain relationships, and accomplish the mission.

It worked for Ike. That's Leader Business.