WHEN WILL THIS BUILDING EVER GET BUILT?--- THE IMPERATIVE OF CORE VALUES!!!

In the 1960's when the John Hancock building was under construction in Chicago, I walked by the site several times a week. I peered through the little windows in the plywood surrounding the site and observed workers and machines like ants busily working many feet below. To me it seemed they were working there forever. I wondered when this huge building (100 storeys, 1500 feet to the top of the antenna masts, still today the 5th highest building in North America) would ever take shape. Many months went by before the superstructure was put in place. When work finally began above ground, it seemed progress was made much more rapidly. For the enormous structure to withstand wind and weather it had to be securely anchored or grounded.

Often I have reflected on this experience. I believe that our individual or company core values are like the foundation of any building, tall or small. Without core values or beliefs, our "building" may not stand over time.


What are core values? Core values are beliefs. They are operating philosophies that guide our conduct and relationships. Core values are philosophies that guide how we conduct ourselves. Core values are the heart of a company's or of an individual's culture. Core values are guiding principles or absolute tenets that cannot be compromised. Kouzes and Posner put it this way, "To do what we say we will do, we must know what we want to do and how we wish to behave."

Jim Collins in his popular book, Built to Last, asks why visionary companies are visionary? What makes them successful? One of Collin's discoveries is that they all hold to an uncompromising set of core values. As my reference to the John Hancock building suggests, core values are foundational. Our personal lives or our businesses will flounder, and perhaps collapse without core values.


What will core values do for you?


* Core values help us make choices. Decision making becomes infinitely easier; we can invest our time and energy and other resources much more strategically when we are guided by a set of core values. Some years ago I accompanied a university president as he was contacting major donors. A very strong willed and major contributor boasted about how the university needed to establish a satellite campus in his community. He offered to put up substantial money to make this a reality. I became somewhat enthused about the possibility. The moment he remarked that no housing facilities would be necessary because the extension campus could be a "commuter campus" the president of the school lost interest. Despite the animated pleas and arguments of the donor, the university president was unmoved. He said simply, "A commuting campus does not fit our core values. We believe in community. Education does not just happen in a classroom!" The discussion was over. For the president the choice was simple. The offer of a significant financial contribution left him unphazed. I learned a great lesson that day and I resolved to be guided by my own set of core values. The core values of the university made it very easy to make a decision.
* Core values enhance our self confidence. They help to define us. We develop a sense of security and confidence when we know who we are. We do not try to compare ourselves with others or try to be like them. We are who we are by the core values we espouse.

* Core values help us overcome discouragement. Many an athletic coach has suffered through the "agony of defeat" temporarily while building a program consistent with his or her core values. Core values keep us going when the going is tough. They inspire us, motivate us and drive us forward.
* Core values are a compass point. They provide focus and direction. The winds of time cannot blow us in every direction when our compass needle continually points us to our core values. Someone once asked what we would think if we succeeded in climbing a mountain only to discover that it was not the mountain we really wanted to climb? It is not possible to picture a desired future without core values.
* Core values give us a "bottom line." They not only help us to know where we want to go but they also show us where we do NOT want to go in life.

So how can we develop core values as individuals?

I am confident the reader of this article already has certain core values. They may be expressed or they may not be. If you desire to submit them to writing, refine them, or think about core values all over again, here are some steps that I have found helpful:

1. List what is important to you. Some examples and frequent core values of companies, schools, non-profits, military, and so on are concepts like integrity, service, excellence, relationships, innnovation, teamwork, results, people, etc.

2. Take time to distinguish between what you think should be important to you to what truly is important. Core values are not about "coulda", "woulda", "shoulda". They are about bottom line, non negotiable concepts. They are the principles that permeate every part of your mind and emotions.

3. Prioritize your list and narrow it down to at least 3 but no more than 7 core values. Take time for this.

4. Share your list if you wish with those who truly know you well so they can affirm your values or help you refine them.

5. Print them somewhere in a conspicuous place so they are often in your sight and on your mind. Put them on your website, and every place you can think of.

6. Live each day with these core values in mind, review them every chance you have until they are second nature to you.

How can we develop corporate core values?

Some of the same principles apply but you need to draw your employees, partners, and colleagues into the discussion from the beginning so they also "own" the values you put to paper. It can be a fascinating journey for a business or corporate board examine, review, or refine their core values.


Consider the image of this building's failed foundation. Picture a skyscraper developing cracks in its superstructure or worse,--- crashing to earth because of a poorly laid foundation. It is not a pretty picture. Similarly, picture your life, your family, or your business. How solid is your foundation of core values?

Want to talk about this? As always, I welcome your inquiry. You can reach me at rick@icarecoaching.com.

Dr. Rick Penner
www.icarecoaching.com
Copyright, June, 2008

Accountability --- Has it become just another buzz word?

... perhaps it has in some circles anyway. What is accountability? Its roots are Latin and originate from the world of money lending. A person borrowing money in the Greek and later Roman world, was held "to account" that he would pay back what the lender gave him. We often define it as a willingness to accept RESPONSBILITY for our actions as well as for the consequences of those actions. In very simple language we could say we are accountable when we "own" what we do and what happens as a result of what we do. Some regard accountability as one of the three legs of effective empowerment; --- responsibility and authority being the other two. One definition of accountability I once saw used a mathematical equation. It looked like this: 

There are many faces of accountability. There is judicial and political accountability. The market place requires accountability and customers have a remarkable way of holding people accountable. There is social and educational accountability. A recent visit with a US Marine lawyer showed me that the military places great emphasis on accountability as well. Often people speak of personal accountability in the area of morals and conduct.

I am focusing today on team accountability. 

In Patrick Lencioni's book, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, lack of accountability is listed as the fourth dysfunction. A traditional understanding of accountability in the context of a corporate team, board of directors, sales team, or church leaders, would bring to mind a CEO, a manager, a senior leader of whatever title-- formal or informal, who is responsible to hold everyone's feet to the fire, so to speak. It is not a fun part of leadership and it sets the leader apart as the "heavy"! Once when I was forced to intervene and hold someone accountable I recall that I literally shook as I considered the ramifications of what I had to do. A board member to whom I went for some solace, simply said, "It goes with the territory. You have to do this sometimes!" While his point was accurate, I always thought this was a heavy burden to impose on a leader. It offered little comfort to me.

Lencioni has a theory that I like very much better. He argues that team members need to be willing to point out shortcomings or failures to fellow team members. No better way to maintain high standards of performance on a team exists than to harness peer pressure. It reduces the need for bureaucracy in the area of performance management. Lencioni argues that the fear of letting down respected co-workers is a powerful motivator to enhance performance.

It might be argued that team accountability would put enormous strain on personal relationships. The opposite is actually the case. Holding one another accountable demonstrates the respect and expectations people have for each other. Failing to do so actually diminishes morale, decreases respect, and results in built up resentment toward peers who do not perform adequately.

So lets get started! What can you do in your business, with your board, with your leadership team or staff in a church to start building team accountability?

1. Establish clear goals and behaviors. The team must know what it needs to achieve. Lencioni believes that ambiguity is the enemy of accountability. Make the goals as public as possible.

2. Structure mechanisms for frequent and effective communication so team members can express how they feel about how they are doing in achieving their goals.

3. Encourage teams to confront performance issues head on and promptly. Procrastination almost always makes the situation worse and often only delays the inevitable but with more undesirable outcomes.

4. Establish markers to track progress.

Ken Blanchard has written that we cannot accomplish what we want if we do not help each other. Leaders all by themselves are vulnerable. Moving from a "top down" to a peer to peer accountability model will have many positive effects. Here are a few:

1. You will see a greater degree of team satisfaction and a higher sense of morale.

2. There will be greater cooperation between workers.

3. You will achieve better decision-making. 

4. You will find that there is greater vigilance in problem solving.

Not finance. Not strategy. Not technology. It is teamwork that remains the ultimate competitive advantage, both because it is so powerful and so rare. These are the opening sentences in Lencioni's book. I agree with him and I hope you have been stimulated to apply the concept of team accountability to your work place.

Want to know more? I welcome inquiries and questions. One of my special delights is to work with teams, boards, and staff to try to enhance team effectiveness. Please drop me a note at rick@icarecoaching.com. If you have friends that you feel would enjoy reading this newsletter or others on my website, please forward their names to me.  Thanks!

Rick Penner

Copywright 2008

www.icarecoaching.com

Get this - IT IS ALL ABOUT PEOPLE!!!

Over time you may conclude that I sound like a broken record. I talk about relationships and people a lot. I just can't help it I guess. I really believe success in life comes by knowing how to relate to and how to get along with people. Skills for a particular job assignment can be taught in fairly short order. Knowing how to relate well to people seems a tougher challenge. Years ago I remember a college president telling his audience that business leaders repeatedly stressed focusing on the social sciences in terms of what college education should be about. Skills can be taught once employed and besides, they need to be tailored to the specific job application anyway. Teach students to express themselves clearly and to learn to relate was the challenge from these execs.

I just returned from a trip to Israel. I have led several tours there in the past and this one was doubtless the very best ever. Why? Two of the main reasons have to do with people. First, we were paired up with a wonderful guide. When he met us at the airport on the very first day he said, "You are now my family for the next 12 days!" That set the tone. We were indeed family. In the past I have enjoyed other equally knowledgeable guides but this one had the advantage of being very much people oriented.

The second reason for the success of our tour was that the travelers all related to one another well. There was genuine caring. Concerns for extended family health issues, offers of cell phone use, assisting others when the steps became a challenge to some, were a few examples of caring that took place. At the end, reunions were planned and hopes of another tour somewhere else were expressed. The people liked each other and wanted to be together.

Permit me to introduce two words that may possibly be new to you. They relate to the matter of working with people. One is Modalism and the other is Sodalism. Modalism is about structure and the sustaining of an institution. Under modalism people are not very important. Whether admitted or not, preserving the institution is all that really matters in a modalistic system. Sadly, I am convinced that the government at most levels, industry, and churches and denominations, have become excessively modalistic. For example, do you really believe we will ever see a major paradigm shift in how taxes are collected? Not very likely! There are far too many structures and committees that would become obsolete. Politicians would be out of jobs and more importantly they would lose power and influence. Similarly in the church world, many people become disillusioned because they do not desire simply to keep the mechanisms and gears of the institution functioning. Modalism is a major reason for the disaffection and cynicism that pervades our society today.


Sodalism on the other hand, is mission focused. I would argue that focusing on mission essentially equals focusing on people.

I have spent much of my adult life in the administration of churches. I noticed that when a new church is begun, it is very much in a sodalistic frame of mind. The congregants meet often to discuss, eat, play, plan, work, and dream together. After about 5 or 7 years (students of this phenomenon have varying opinions) a sad change takes place. Slowly but surely meeting together becomes much more infrequent. When meetings take place it is more and more to” grease” and maintain the machinery of the church. Initially, most everyone in the church has the keys to the building. This works well. Over time however, more people join. No one seems to know who has or who does not have keys anymore. Security now becomes a problem. A manual is needed and a policy must be established concerning who is authorized to have keys to the church. Do you see the picture? Modalism is becoming entrenched.

Business is no different. Mom’s and Pop’s who pioneer a business are usually in a sodalistic mode. It is all about people and the mission of the business. Over time, and often when the second generation takes over, the initial vision and mission become blurred. It is a sad but perhaps inevitable shift. Or is it? An organization with which I work at present is spending time to revisit its original mission. They have not done this for a long time. I believe they may well come back to what set them apart at the very beginning. People will begin to matter more again.


Obviously order and structure are necessary. It is imperative to have constitutions, job descriptions, operational manuals, and so on. I am not arguing against structure. To do so would be to invite chaos. I am arguing that we must be wary and alert to keep structure in their proper place. They are means to a much greater end. Structure is by no means the end itself.

As you look at your business, your school, your church--- what mode do you believe you are in? Are you mission and people focused? Is there a sense of community present among your employees? How do you view your employees? Are you keenly conscious that they are people with families, hobbies, aging parents, growing infants, dreams of their own?

Want to talk about it? I would love to hear from you. You can reach me at rick@icarecoaching.com or use the contact portion of my website www.icarecoaching.com.

Rick Penner
Copyright, 2007
www.icarecoaching.com

Hope and Pandora's Box

March is a season of hope. Where I live, tulips are blooming and trees are budding. Hopeful signs of life are everywhere in nature. In American politics hope is a frequent theme and a leading candidate for president has written a book entitled, The Audacity of Hope. More importantly this is also the season of Easter which to persons of faith symbolizes the greatest sort of hope of all--- Resurrection and eternal life!!

So what does Pandora’s Box have to do with hope? Although the legend has been variously understood over the centuries, its roots are in Greek mythology, When Pandora, the Greek goddess opened what became known as Pandora’s Jar, all the evils of the world were released. Only Elpis (Greek word for “hope”) the personification of hope, remained in the jar. In the 16th Century, Erasmus mistakenly translated “jar” into the Latin,“box.” The word has stuck and ever since then we have all been afraid to open Pandora’s Boxes. 

Hope is a belief in a positive outcome related to events and circumstances. It is one of the three greatest virtues according to the Bible. It is what has kept many a prisoner of war alive in the most horrible of circumstances. Here are some ways others have expressed their ideas about hope:

In all things it is better to hope than to despair. - Goethe

Hope is the dream of a soul awake. - French proverb

Hope never abandons you, you abandon it.

We can live 40 days without food, 3 days without water, 8 minutes without air but only 1 second without hope.

Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul and sings without words and never stops at all. -  Emily Dickenson

Hope is knowing that people, like kites, are made to be lifted up.

Hope is faith holding out its hand in the dark.

Hope is the feeling that the feeling isn’t permanent. - Jean Kerr

He who has health has hope. And he who has hope has everything.

If we do not have hope beyond this life, we are of all men most miserable. - The Bible

The resurrection of Christ provides us with a living hope. - The Bible.

As I work with people in coaching it has become very obvious to me how critical hope is to living a contented life, yes, even living at all. I am troubled when a person gives up hope all together. Such a person has begun to die. We need things to look forward to. We must believe that somehow, someday things will be better; whether this be in the case of a prisoner of war in some filthy cell or someone who has just lost his job or source of income, or if it is a student whose course work seems to be never ending, or if it is about a wayward son or daughter making poor life choices, or whether it is someone whose health is failing. It is one reason why a terminally ill person will go anywhere, try any cure, pay any sum of money, to find healing and relief. Once we lose hope all together, we begin to die.

As I am a person from the faith community. I happen to believe that ultimately hope must transcend the human condition. Ultimately it is not enough to simply have hope in this life. The reason is that for each of us there comes a time when the ravages of disease, the elimination or outsourcing of jobs, the relentless march of time on our bodies, and so on, take their toll. The optimism and eagerness of youth is replaced with the stark reality that some things cannot be changed. We may be able to slow the process down but to date, that proverbial fountain of youth has not really been discovered. It is what Ecclesiastes calls the vanity of life. All is vanity and emptiness on the purely human level.

What are your thoughts about hope? Are you hopeful that your life, your work, and your marriage or family, will get better someday, somehow? Do you have plans to make your hope come alive by taking responsibility for your life? Or are you a person near the end of this life seriously pondering about what might lie ahead of you? Back to that Pandora's Box story for a moment - Students of Greek Mythology offer various suggestions about what the story was really meant to teach. One suggestion is that hope is the one positive in a world of evils. I like that interpretations. This world can be tough at times. When we find that there is too much "month at the end of the money," our optimistic hope can begin to flicker. We can easily conclude that life will only get worse. Maybe you feel that way right now. You can let most anything escape your Pandora's Box, but please do not allow hope to escape!

I would love to chat with you about your own thoughts on hope. If you are a person for whom life has become burdensome and discouraging, there surely must be reasons for hope. A life coach like myself can help you talk about your situation and come alongside you as you try to sort it all out. Even more importantly, if you have concerns and thoughts about a hope that transcends this life, I would be delighted to chat with you about that as well. You can reach me at rick@icarecoaching.com or use the contact portion of my website www.icarecoaching.com. 

Rick Penner

Copyright, 2007

www.icarecoaching.com 

Thoughts on last month's survey

Thank you to those who responded to our follow-up survey last month.  Here are a few observations that are interesting to note:

Those who responded have defined what success means to them and they do so in the context of spiritual or biblical values.

How well we are differentiated is intriguing.  We rely on or feel concerned about, the opinions of others.  Half of the respondents feel pressure to perform on the basis of what people expect of us.

While a high percentage of us begin each new day with an eagerness and an anticipation, only about half of the respondents feel that they have reached a point where they consider themselves successful.  Still, all of those who responded feel that they are comfortable “in their own skin” in terms of success.

Over 80% view their “cup” as half full rather than half empty.

I found considering your responses to be an illuminating process.  Thank you for taking the time to respond.  We plan to create additional opportunities for feedback and discussion on the blog and through the newsletter in the months ahead.  

Rick Penner

Copyright, 2007

www.icarecoaching.com 

How do you define success?

Our society is obsessed with success and winning. When Atlanta hosted the Olympics some years ago, billboards in the city displayed this statement: YOU DON’T WIN SILVER, YOU LOSE GOLD!

Think about this for a minute! There are over 10,000 athletes who compete in a typical modern summer Olympiad. Approximately 600 or so win gold medals. All the rest are losers according to the message of the billboards. What do you think about that? How foreign is that to the Olympic ideal of sportsmanship, fair play, competition, friendship building, and so on? Olympic officials persuaded the powers to be to remove the billboards because their message so contradicted the Olympic spirit. And yet?? I submit that many in our society have bought the line!

I believe this misguided philosophy will only lead to frustration and discouragement. Unless you happen to be in the elite group of 600, all your efforts, hard work, training, sacrifice, and focus, are for nothing. You are a loser! It is nonsense to think such a philosophy can work for us. May I suggest another?

I have the privilege of knowing a retired college football coach who knows a lot about winning and success. He is one of the top 10 winning coaches in the history of college football. His teams have won four national championships. He was recently inducted into the National Football Foundation College Hall of Fame. I guess we could say he has been in the elite company of the 600! However, he defines success and winning in very different ways. I am indebted to him for some of the ideas I wish to share with you today.

What is success? Is it the end of the road for you? Or is it the road itself? If winning is the be all and end all, most people will fail. A real winner believes that winning is not the road to success. Winning is the success road! That is, winning is in the journey itself! Winning is an attitude. Winning becomes a by product when we measure success in terms of giving our best. Success is not a comparison of my achievements with the achievements of others. Success is what I do myself in relation to the potential I have to do things. There is a great excitement that comes from personal achievement and becoming the best we can be. A by- product is that our performance level increases. Individuals will gain a new awareness of their personal worth. Confidence will increase. Morale will be raised.

The definition of success as described by our coach friend causes me to measure success in terms of what I can do compared to my best self, not what I can do in relationship to others. This is key. I have learned that comparing myself to others will always lead to frustration. One reason is that my spirit never is satisfied. I may begin by comparing myself to someone I can surpass with my skills and talents. Then I find someone more successful with whom to compare myself. If I am fortunate enough to surpass this person, I will always find still another person even more successful against whom I feel I must compete. Eventually I will meet my match and will find myself falling short and feeling very disappointed. Now I am a failure because I will generally find someone somewhere who makes more money, has a better house, a fancier title, and so on. It is a false measurement.

Do you remember the 1986 Winter Olympics? The movie, Cool Runnings depicts the story of the Jamaican bobsled team in these Olympic games. The very idea is humorous and sounds oxymoronic! Jamaica? ….. Bobsleds? The two do not go together. You will remember that this team raced through the icy curves and corners only to have their steering malfunction near the finish line. Buffeted by the wild ride, the athletes picked up the sled and carried it across the finish line where they were greeted by thunderous applause and cheers from the crowd. This illustrates my point. These Jamaican athletes were winners! We all have failures and disappointments. You may feel that your “steering mechanism” has broken down often as you race through life. Your attitude now becomes the key to your success.

You can complain, blame others, and talk about how unfair life is. Or, you can respond with dignity and class to what life brings you, get up, and continue the race! We cheer when we see athletes like the Jamaicans. We admire their class and competitive spirit.

This story illustrates the two points I am trying to make today.

Give your life the best shot, your personal best! Don’t compare yourself with others. Compare yourself with yourself. Attitude is the key!


Here is how a poet put it:

You Can If You Think You Can!

If you think you are beaten, you are,
If you think you dare not, you don't.
If you like to win, but you think you can't,
It is almost certain you won't.

If you think you'll lose, you're lost,
For out in the world we find,
Success begins with a fellow's will.
It's all in the state of mind.

If you think you are outclassed, you are,
You've got to think high to rise,
You've got to be sure of yourself before
You can ever win a prize.

Life's battles don't always go
To the stronger or faster man.
But soon or late the man who wins,
Is the man who thinks he can.

~ C. W. Longenecker ~

Want to talk about it? Know anyone who would like to be encouraged on the success road? A life coach can help you on your journey to success and winning. I invite you to contact me so we can discuss your success road in more detail. You can reach me at rick@icarecoaching.com.

Dr. Rick Penner
Copyright 2008

What About Those New Year's Resolutions?

I write this in the middle of the first month of the new year! 

So how are you doing about those resolutions you set for yourself just a few weeks ago? What resolutions? …. Painful question? …. Maybe it is and if so keep reading. Let me offer some suggestions that will help you.

1. Are your resolutions wants or needs? The question is about motivation. If you made a resolution to lose weight, eat more wisely, or whatever--- did you do so because you truly want to or is it because you know you need to? A want is a stronger motivator than a need! Determine which it is. Wants come from deep within. Needs tend to be more external.

2. What is it that you have passion for in life? Often we make resolutions out of pressures that come to us from family members, friends or relatives. We may never really have a sense of ownership of these resolutions. Take some time to think about what it is in life that you truly feel passionate about. This takes time to do well. I am talking about real passion here. What is it for you? What makes you want to leap out of bed in the morning? What would you truly make sacrifices to accomplish? Develop a short list of your passions and then base your resolutions on these core values. The question of passion in life is one that a life coach will often ask a client. It is a way of knowing who another person really is and what “makes him or her tick”. 

3. Make your resolutions measurable. Determining to be more loving, more considerate, more thoughtful, and so on, sounds great but….? These are really only nice thoughts. However, planning to write 5 thank you notes per month to people you appreciate for example, is a very measurable and worthwhile resolution. Planning at least two nights with the family per week is also measurable. Supporting a favorite and worthwhile charity at $100 per month is also a very measurable resolution. You get the picture. Can you take stock every once in a while to determine if you are actually being successful in carrying out your resolutions? They must be measurable and specific for you to be able to do so.

4. Find a group or an individual for purposes of accountability. Human nature is what it is. If I know that someone will ask me weekly or monthly about a decision or commitment I have made, I tend to be more motivated. I have pride and do not want to face my friend or accountability group having to admit that I did not fulfill what I promised or purposed to do. It just works that way. We do not want to let others down and even more, we want to present the best possible impression of ourselves to others. 

Life coaching could be a wonderful investment for you at the start of a new year! Will this year be just like all the previous ones? Will you start out with the very best of intentions only to find that this year is nothing more than same old, same old? I invite you to break the cycle and consider the services of a life coach. It will make a difference and may well help you follow through and assist you to see your resolutions for the year to become reality in your life. What a happy prospect! I invite you to contact me at rick@icarecoaching.com or to use the contact portion of my website.

Happy New Year!

Dr. Rick Penner

Copyright, 2008