Make Your Rain Making Visible

Similar to the Native American rain dances of old, they were never performed in isolation, but in view of the tribe; to give the members of the tribe hope—your people need to see you leading the charge in action, not just in words. To build confidence within the people of your organization, they have to visually see your efforts to turn things around, including your personal rain making efforts. This gives them the hope they need to persevere during the current cuts, challenges, and fears caused by today’s economic realities.

This lesson was learned at Mitsubishi Motor Sales of North America, in the early 1990s—the executives learned the hard way; wasting one entire year in their efforts to change the organizational culture. The lesson learned was simple: people believe what they see, not what they hear. The executives were telling everyone what they wanted to happen but were not living the vision themselves.

Similarly, a friend’s mistake has always stayed with me. He and his investors went bankrupt on a golf course project in the 1970s. Their 20/20 hindsight revealed that their mistake was that of spending their money building the golf course before they built the club house. Potential members could not see the progress from the earth moving in the distance so many decided not to act on the special pre-opening offer; money the group badly needed to finish the project. Most people have to see it to believe.

What’s Old Might be New

Robert Rickenbach, owner of a fiber optics connector fabrication company discovered that the railroad in India could use his connectors in a different application than for which they were originally designed and opened an unexpected international market for his company. What about you? What unexpected, or explored, markets could benefit from your products, services, and other offerings?

In your effort to develop new markets, new applications, and/or new products and services, how much time have you spent? It has been said by persons wiser than I, that most people spend more time planning their vacation than they spend planning their life. What about the success of your organization? How much time have you spent in REAL product/market development strategic planning sessions? For most, not much is the honest answer.

Who can help? The quick answer is: your suppliers, your employees, and your customers. Sometimes innovation is a happy accident and sometimes it is the result of intense organizational processes, individual champions, and intellectual properties—and most times, a result of tireless hard work. What are you doing to innovate?

Back in the mid-1990s I served as a trainer for the Dunn & Bradstreet Foundation, delivering full-day public seminars throughout the USA . One of the exercises I conducted when doing a seminar within a company required an unorthodox approach to problem solving. Interestingly, it was never the organization’s leader that came up with the solution but rather others generally in administrative or support positions. Proof for me that leaders need to encompass all in their organization for solutions to today’s pressing challenges.

Your Responsibility and Accountability

Let’s face it; nobody really enjoys the mirror being brought up close. However, in times like we are now facing, that is exactly what is needed. No matter how good a leader you might be, you know that you can do better. And, if you are a lousy leader, you are unlikely to be reading this article. Listed below are some of the pitfalls, conscious or unconscious, to leading in a recession:

* Not being aware of the depth of your organization’s situation.
*Not having a “rainy day” contingency plan.
*Not being open to innovation in market, product, and process.
*Not honestly looking in the mirror.
*Living off past glory.
*Expecting others to act as rain makers.
*Hunkering down expecting the current economic situation to quickly blow over like a tropical storm.

Your “to do” list should include the following:

*Honest evaluation of your organizations current situation through the traditional SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis process with your company’s stakeholders; first your employees, then with your suppliers, and last with your customers. Oh yes, and LISTEN! Generally the SWOT analysis is done only in the bubble of the executive suite, thereby missing needed additional perspectives.
*Step it up and lead the charge, even if it is only activity for activity’s sake. Activity begets enthusiasm, if positioned correctly and your employees see that you are putting in the time.
*Look to other industries for answers in as much as you can adapt ideas. It is foolish to think you can adopt, however adaptation is an important form of innovation that will serve you well.

If your organization is zipping along, perhaps you have already conducted the steps necessary to thrive? Perhaps this article is merely an affirmation that you are on the right track? However, if your company is struggling—it might mean that your leaders, or you, have been asleep at the wheel. The good news is that there might be enough time to turn things around and put your company back on the productive path. Plant this thought in your subconscious mind: your employees have been there for you, helping you to make your organization what it had been. Don’t you think you owe it to them to show up and rebuild? It’s their livelihood also!

Copyright © 2010 Ed Rigsbee http://www.rigsbee.com. All rights reserved. Grateful acknowledgment is made to Ed Rigsbee for permission to reproduce selections from the copyrighted works of Ed Rigsbee

Answer: Anything you want to be! A cheerful friend, a businesslike executive, a caring listener. Whatever is best at the time. Different circumstances require different attitudes.

For example, to be a bossy manager at work might be appropriate, but you might drive your spouse crazy if the identity continues at home. To be a rowdy sports fan at a game is great, but not what you should be when asking for a raise.

The reason people have trouble determining who or what they should BE is because they don’t start with HAVE.

“Children in the West are commonly asked `What are you going to BE when you grow up?’ It is a silly question and can drive any child up the wall. Because it’s the wrong question—hits the wrong end of the cycle.”

“A lot of people and businesses fail because they don’t do this.” — L. Ron Hubbard

Example: A young man likes to cook and make people happy. He may decide the product (HAVE) he wants to produce is: “Properly fed, happy people who pay a lot of money for the dining experience at my successful restaurant.”

Based on this decision, he works out his career by listing the steps (DO) which include enrolling in a cooking school, working at several restaurants for the experience, saving money, and so on. His planning is accurate and efficient. The young man then works out the best identity for the job (BE). He needs to BE a successful restaurateur: proud, charming, service-oriented, smart and wealthy.

To put his plan into action, this young man starts the cycle with BE and assumes this identity as the first step. He strolls around BEING a successful restaurateur from day one. He’s proud, charming and service-oriented. He even feels wealthy.

He can then easily DO the steps needed to get what he wants to HAVE: a successful restaurant with happy customers. He accomplishes this much faster and more easily than a person who cannot BE a successful restaurateur until he owns the restaurant.

If you want success and wealth, BE wealthy or successful before you get there. It’s fun!

Assume a wealthy identity. Test drive a big new Mercedes. Stroll through a $10-million building as if you own it. People will want to be around you. Bankers will try to lend you money. You’ll feel great!

Exercise

While this exercise focuses on making money, you can do this with any goal.

1. Take out a blank piece of paper. At the bottom of the sheet, write down how much money you want to earn per month, one year from now.

2. Above the dollar amount write down what you need to produce (HAVE) that someone would pay you that much money for. What final product must you produce that is worth the amount of money you want to earn?

For example, a plumber wants to earn $8,000 per month in profit. He calculates his overhead costs and determines he needs to produce or HAVE “$20,000 per month in high-quality plumbing work to happy customers who refer.”

A dental receptionist who wants to earn $3500 per month might determine she needs to produce much more than “scheduled patients.” She talks to the dentist and decides she needs to produce “a dental practice that doubles in productivity through my clever scheduling so I can earn $3500 per month.”

The partners of a law firm decide they want their group to bill and collect $500,000 per month.

What do you need to produce to earn the money you wrote in step 1? Write this down.

3. In the middle of your sheet of paper, write down what you need to DO to reach that level of productivity. This is planning at its finest; you start with the final result and work backwards.

Before you achieved the above product, what would you do? Before that? Before that? Plan your steps from this future point in time back to the present.

For example, the plumber needs to DO more promotional actions, delegate responsibility to his assistants and make sure every customer is completely satisfied.

The dental receptionist needs to organize the schedule better, make more reminder calls to patients and keep the doctor busier.

The law firm needs to hire more associates, attract wealthier clients and win more cases.

4. At the top of the page, write what you need to BE to accomplish the plan and obtain the final product.

The plumber might need to BE a responsible manager and not a fun-loving worker. He may decide he needs to BE a successful business owner.

The dental receptionist needs to BE the boss of the patients’ and doctor’s time, not just be a receptionist. She needs to BE a successful manager.

The law firm needs to BE the most powerful law firm in town. It moves to the biggest building in town, hires the best decorators money can buy and gives an overwhelming feeling of strength.

Whatever you write at the top of your paper is what you need to BE. It’s the most effective identity you can assume. BE THIS PERSON RIGHT NOW.

Now that you are BEING the correct identity for this goal, DO the action steps. You will then HAVE the money or goal.

Use this exercise in other areas of life. For example, to HAVE a successful marriage, what should you DO and BE? What do you need to DO and BE to HAVE a cheerful family, a successful business, a happy life?

Copyright © 2009 TipsForSuccess.org. All rights reserved. Grateful acknowledgment is made to L. Ron Hubbard Library for permission to reproduce selections from the copyrighted works of L. Ron Hubbard