March Tables

When I was a young Army lieutenant during the "Cold War," I participated in a REFORGER exercise.  This served as the opportunity to practice the worst case scenario that our military strategy envisioned, with the deployment of thousands from the United States to Europe, drawing pre-staged equipment, and fighting east to the East German border.  It was all practice, of course, but it helped us understand the implications of moving people and equipment to do battle with the Soviets. 

Movements in Europe were a very challenging operation.  Nothing was easy about moving a 60-ton tank with a steel bridge on top of it.  It got us across small rivers just fine, but it did not take the narrow turns of Germany's small towns very well.  Multiply that times the thousands of trucks, tanks, and armored vehicles that maneuvered by Highway, through small villages, and across open farmland.  It was a transportation nightmare, one with no margin for error.  One broken down tank could stall thousands of civilian cars and military vehicles behind it.

Transportation officials orchestrated all of this through published "March Tables."  These tables indicated precisely the speed to maintain and when each convoy needed to hit the start point (SP) in order to keep formations from bunching up.  To do it correctly, convoys needed to be at the appropriate speed as they pass the SP -- usually a visible landmark like a highway overpass or a bridge over a river.

These times were important enough to the Commanding General of my unit, the 2nd Armored Division ("Hell on Wheels!"), that he would literally be at the SP, march tables in hand, looking at his watch to see that units met the published timeline.  His standard was very clear -- Hit the SP at the appropriate time, + / - 5 seconds.  That's right.  If you did not get your 60 ton vehicles to the start point within 5 SECONDS of your SP time, you would hear it from him.  There was no question what the standard was for all of us.  And there was no doubt why.  Time mattered.

I never thought much about it at the time.  I was, after all, just a lieutenant.  Thinking wasn't really part of my job description.  I just did what I was told, ensuring my team understood the standard, and that we met it.  But now that I am less a "Doer" and more a "Thinker," I see the value in this approach.  Here is where something like this incredibly difficult standard makes sense as I look at it in the rear view mirror:

• The standard is the standard.  It was important that the General mandated a very clear standard.  There is no question on "+ / - 5 seconds."  The General wanted people to meet this standard but not just because he was a tyrant.  The timeliness of organizations hitting the SP would dictate movements for everyone else.  Being late would have implications for thousands of others.  Standards are set so that everyone -- teammates, peers, superiors -- can have confidence in what we will do.  Other things are set in motion accordingly.  When we can start to believe that meetings will start and end at a specific time or that others will have tasks completed by a set deadline, when assumptions that we make in planning become reality to those who know they must not let others down, then standards truly add value.
• Leaders value time.  I suspect that the General was making a clear point that time mattered, that what we do with time impacts others and, by publishing his very precise standard, he wanted it to be a priority for others.  The emphasis on every second made it clear that precision mattered.  Leaders value their own time, they recognize that their actions (or inaction) impacts others, and they demand no less from their team. 
• People re-spect what the leader in-spects.  I am sure of this -- the fact that the General was on the SP with his march table and watch helped reinforce that this was important to him.  Being physically present further reinforced the importance.  Sure, he could have sent someone else or had units call him as they hit the Start Point.  Being there sent a clear message:  It's important to me so it better be important to you.  Setting standards without inspection add little value.  In fact, it can have the opposite of the intended effect.  Standards that are never met, without repercussion, lead to poor morale and cynicism.  Leaders inspect and hold people accountable to meet published standards.
• Organizations that do the little things well usually do the big things well.  In the grand scheme of things, I am sure one could argue this was a trivial matter.  What would it matter if a unit missed their start time by TEN seconds?  Probably not much.  But I am sure that the General felt that if his organization could do the little things like this well, then larger operational things, for which timing, standards, deadlines, and performance were equally important, would also be done well.

Friends, as we go into 2013, perhaps we can reexamine how we think of time.  Let's make it count.  Let's be part of a team where our word means something and where the discipline to do things right -- on time and to standard -- can have the sort of impact that I am sure it did for the mighty "Hell on Wheels" Division.  Set your clocks and let's start thinking differently about time.  Starting at Midnight on 12.31.

Plus or minus...5 seconds!

That's Leader Business!

A Salute to a Striver

The LA Times had an inspirational story about young Tyki Nelworth, a senior at Washington Preparatory High School in South Los Angeles. The 18-year old has gotten into the college of his choice, due mostly to his diligence as a student (4.23 gpa), dedication to his teammates (he is captain of the football team, plays baseball, and runs track), and discipline as a rapidly maturing young man (he is president of the student body).

Tyki was born a crack baby. On the streets of south LA, he could easily have given up and made excuses for his life. He has bounced between family members. His father died when he was in the 7th grade and his mother has been in and out of trouble to include a stint in prison on drug charges. This kid had everything stacked against him.

But he never gave up. He dedicated himself to his studies and became a man. He overcame his past and focused on his future. Says Tyki, "I always use past experiences as a motivation...not as an excuse not to do something."

Humbling, isn't it. Many times we do use our past experiences as excuses. Our communities are filled with people who blame their parents, their circumstances, their bad luck, and everyone but themselves for their shortcomings. Maybe it is time that we too use these as motivation.

I have no doubt that this kid will go far. He is an inspration to many, especially in a community that needs role models who demonstrate that anything is possible to those who strive for excellence and never give up on their dreams.

Oh...and the college Tyki will attend in the fall? West Point! Hooah! That's Leader Business.

No Excuse Leadership

You know what I hate? Excuses...can’t stand ‘em...won’t tolerate them. You know...stuff like this:

Why didn’t you get an answer? Well…I called and they didn’t call me back.
Why is this project behind schedule? We had a problem with our supplier, and then we had some weather delays, and….
Why didn’t you get me that report I asked for? I didn’t have time.
Where’s the data you promised me? Oh, I’m sorry. My computer wasn't cooperating.

I remember it differently and remember it like it was yesterday. My first leadership lesson as a new cadet at West Point:

“New Cadet Magness…you have three responses to any question: Yes sir, No sir, and No excuse sir. Do you understand?”
“Well…I think I do.”
“New Cadet…that is not one of your three responses! Get down and give me 20!”

Three responses….and one of them was “No Excuse.” Just cut to the chase. Don’t waste words trying to explain the unexplainable. Just admit your failure and move on. If you are responsible for doing something and did not, don't insult others by trying to weasel out of it or spreading the blame around to others.

How different would our world be if excuses weren't the norm? People would have to take responsibility for their own actions. Leaders would be forced to reconcile their shortcomings without blaming others. Politicians would have to stand and deliver or...be held accountable when they don't.

So let's all sign up for this approach -- Excuses: Don’t offer them; don’t tolerate them.

Did you accomplish your mission?
No ma’am.
Why not?
No excuse, ma’am. I knew what I was supposed to do and I did not get it done.
That’s right, no excuse. Now…git ‘er done.

Is this so hard? I really don’t think so. In fact, I have been a part of an organization (the US Army) in which this attitude is part of its DNA. There I have learned that 99.9% of excuses are not valid. You didn’t have time? Really? Did you eat? Sleep? Missed a deadline? Why didn’t you build in time for contingencies? Failed to accomplish the mission? Whose fault is that? That’s right…no excuse! This lesson goes right along with our last one (see I’m with Stupidly!). When you mess up…no excuses. When you “bone up” – own up.

Now, don't get me wrong. It is always important that we seek to understand why our teammates cannot complete their tasks. All too often it is something that we could have influenced and thus is as much our fault as theirs! Understanding issues associated with workload allocation, distribution of resources, time management, lack of clarity are critical. My point is people must begin by accepting responsibility for their own actions, not looking first for someone else to blame. Most excuses fall into this category!

So how does one learn to operate in an environment where only three responses are available? Well…they git ‘er done. Then there is no need for excuses! They build a culture that tolerates nothing less than success...and where individuals accept responsibility for their own shortcomings. Teams will spend more time and energy winning the game than...playing the blame game. Three responses are plenty in that sort of culture. And I have found it to be a lot easier than pushups! (Or at least that is my excuse).

No excuses! That’s Leader Business!

For more on this topic, see "No Excuse Leadership," by fellow West Pointer and Army Ranger Brace Barber and "Leading From the Front; No Excuse Leadership Tactics for Women" by former Marines Angie Morgan and Courtney Lynch.

Image courtesy of www.nutrexsolutions.com.

Independent Leaders

Leadership can be defined as the act of motivating people to achieve a common goal. It is doing the right thing for the right reasons. It is taking action, no matter the consequences. It is subordinating self for something much bigger. It is the act of rallying people to accomplish things together which they could not necessarily do by themselves. It is ordinary people accomplishing extraordinary things. Leadership is vision, purpose, courage, discipline and passion. It is not who we are but what we do. Leadership is an ACTION verb!


When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security....

Think of the leadership involved in crafting these words. Think of the courage involved with putting one's name at the bottom, declaring a willingness to die for one's convictions. Think of the leadership that the signers exhibited in creating this shared vision and then inspiring a Nation to join them.

On this American Independence Day, let us remember that leadership is an action verb. Sometimes...it can change the "course of human events." That's...Leader Business!


Thanks to Dan McCarthy for including this post in the July Leadership Development Carnival over at Great Leadership!

Image courtesy of www.friendsacrossamerica.com

Walnuts and Rice

The Chief of Engineers (and a great leader), Lieutenant General Van Antwerp, tells a wonderful story about walnuts and rice. It goes something like this:

Take a jar, a handful of rice (enough to fill the jar) and a handful of walnuts. If you put the rice in first and then the walnuts, you will find that there is not enough room in the jar for both. You can push as hard as you want -- they won't fit. On the other hand, if you put the walnuts in the jar first and then the rice, the rice will fill around the nuts and they both will fit fine.

What's the message? The walnuts are our priorities. In life they may represent faith, family, and friends. At work, they may represent the truly important, difference-making tasks that must be done. The rice is the ankle biters, the things that really don't contribute to our personal or professional success. They are the easy things that we take on but that prevent us from getting to the difficult yet significant tasks that we know we must do. The rice represents the urgent things that keep us from ever getting to the important.

Think about this little vignette and what it means for how we prioritize our actions. The rice is everywhere. It prevents us from spending quality time with our family. It stops us from transforming our workplace. And you know what? It will ALWAYS be there. We often think that if we can just clear out the rice, we can make space for the walnuts. The rice keeps coming!

I can certainly appreciate this message. It tells me to FOCUS ON THE WALNUTS! Put first things first -- at home, at work, in my personal / professional / physical / spiritual life. Be disciplined about taking on those things -- first -- that truly matter, that will make a difference, that can change the debate, that can change the world!

The rice will always be there. Get after the walnuts! That's Leader Business.

*** See here for the lyrics to the song, Walnuts and Rice, by Kevin Briody.

Discipline

What sort of discipline is required in a unit capable of orchestrating this sort of event? (Note: Click on the image to really understand what it might have taken to align 18,000 men to create this image).

What sort of personal discipline was necessary to stand still long enough to make this happen?

What sort of organizational discipline is necessary for this sort of teamwork?

Cheers to Lady Liberty. Kudos to "Colonel Rush S. Wells" for directing this event. Thanks to Mole and Thomas for capturing this picture. Thanks for the men who stood still for what had to be hours to create this image.

What a great picture. Some leader had to envision this (disciplined thought) and know what it would take to make this happen (disciplined action).

What do you think when you see this picture. I think of discipline. And I am humbled!

That's Leader Business.

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!

Plebe Poop #1

At the United States Military Academy at West Point, we were required to commit several things to memory during freshman, or plebe, year. While they seemed like nothing more than an attempt to "haze" new cadets, much of this knowledge has stayed with me and helped shape my thoughts on leadership. Occasionally I'd like to share a few key pieces of "plebe poop" with you and see what you think. Keep in mind that not all "poop" is created equal. Some is for leader development. And some is valuable only in humoring my kids. Here is one of each:

Schofield's Definition of Discipline

The discipline which makes the soldiers of a free country reliable in battle is not to be gained by harsh or tyrannical treatment. On the contrary, such treatment is far more likely to destroy than to make an army. It is possible to impart instruction and to give commands in such a manner and such a tone of voice to inspire in the soldier no feeling but an intense desire to obey, while the opposite manner and tone of voice cannot fail to excite strong resentment and a desire to disobey. The one mode or the other of dealing with subordinates springs from a corresponding spirit in the breast of the commander. He who feels the respect which is due to others cannot fail to inspire in them regard for himself, while he who feels, and hence manifests, disrespect toward others, especially his inferiors, cannot fail to inspire hatred against himself.
-- Major General John M. Schofield Address to the Corps of Cadets August 11, 1879

What is the Definition of Leather?

If the fresh skin of an animal, cleaned and divested of all hair, fat, and other extraneous matter, be immersed in a dilute solution of tannic acid, a chemical combination ensues; the gelatinous tissue of the skin is converted into a nonputresible substance, impervious to and insoluble in water; this is leather.

The first one says a lot about how we should treat subordinates. There is still nothing to be gained by "harsh and tyrannical treatment." The second, well...I still don't think it makes any sense...but my kids love it! Hooah!