Cynicism Defeated: Authenticity

Be Authentic.

1. Authenticity breads credibility.
2. Credibility builds trust.
3. Trust nurtures hope.
4. Hope wards off cynicism.

No fakes. Live your vision statement...no matter the cost.

Just before Christmas, executives from the big three US automakers pleaded their case to Congress for why their companies needed significant Government loans to weather the economic downturn. Their testimony was eloquent. They spoke of how devastating it would be to loose thousands of US jobs if these automakers were to have close. They spoke of improving quality and competitiveness against foreign rivals. They spoke of the sad potential of a future with no US car companies. These CEOs waxed on about how their companies would be good stewards of any funds the government entrusted to them.

Sadly the eloquence of their words were overwhelmed by the volume of their actions. All three had traveled to the Capitol Hill hearings on private jets. Even if you think giving money to the auto industry is the right thing to do to get this nation of its downward spiral, doesn't a story about executives flying private jets make you want to slap each of these CEOs in the forehead with the flat of your palm and yell,

"You dufus, you just don't get it; you have NO credibility with me! I don't trust you!"

It is clear these men got the message loud and clear. In follow-up congressional testimony a week later, two execs flew on commercial airlines (in coach) while one drove across country in their company's new hybrid car. Imagine the powerful authentic message these men could have conveyed if they had switched their original travel plans a week earlier.

Authenticity is not the same thing as good marketing. If you are hollow on the inside, just like the dead Oak standing in the field, sooner or later life's storm will knock you over. Sooner or later your clever marketing will falter if the marketer does not really believe the marketing. Sooner or later marketing not grounded in deep-seeded belief in ones cause will ring false.

Authenticity is better than marketing. Authenticity is:

• Rare, which makes authentic people and organizations stand out from the crowd.
• Contagious, people naturally want to be around authentic people.
• Empowering, even to those who do not share your vision. Simply seeing others truly live the way they say they will compels others to try harder to live their own visions.

Do you know authentic people or organizations? I would like to hear from you. I would like to celebrate these people and organizations with you. We need as many authentic people as we can get.

Cynics can be overcome. No shortcuts - just actions matching words...everytime.

I Hope HOPE will Help

"I am asking you to believe. Not just in my ability to bring about real change in Washington...I'm asking you be believe in yours." - President Obama

Barack Obama was inaugurated as the 44th President of the United States this week.

He ran on a platform of Hope and Change. Hope is a powerful word. It flavors everything from how you view history, your current situation, to your future ambition. From your work life to your home life to your Church life – hope improves everything.

Although hope is long-suffering, hope breads cynicism if scorned. Cynicism breads quickly on a diet of a failed hope. Hindsight over the next year will show the net benefit of hope on this country’s position.

I am hopeful that hope will help.

Critics and Cynics

Last post, I wrote about Peeing the in the Pickles - the sad story of polluting one's organizational culture. Every day we either pollute or promote the cultures we are apart of based on the choices we make - no middle ground. Pollute or promote. Grow or destroy.

So who are your polluters?

Are all of your critics "polluters"? Is everyone that ever says a bad word about your organization trying to destroy your culture? Is it bad to have critics?

No. In fact some of the people who love you the most complain the loudest. Speaking from personal experience, I only bother complaining to the managers of organizations I actually believe would use my criticism to make improvements.

Criticism and cynicism are not the same thing - the differences come down to vision. Let's take a look at a couple of examples:

Critic: "I know what good service should be, that was not it"
Cynic: "No one can offer good service, you just want to take advantage of me"

Critic: "This leadership development program rings hollow unless managers are actually evaluated and promoted based on how well they follow these criteria."
Cynic: "What a joke, just the latest program. They role out one of these leadership things every couple years. Nothing changes. It's all just a fad."

Critics have a vision for what good looks like and want to raise performance to reach that vision. Well handled criticisms can promote culture and grow an organization. Tomorrow, send thank you cards to all of your critics (internal and external).

Cynics have no such vision, but complain none the less. Cynics spew pollution from a source of pain. These are the people who touched a hot stove after being reassured it would not hurt them. They have trusted before. Their trust was abused. They do not believe you because either you or someone else has lied to them in the past. They have scars to prove it. As a result, the cynic's starting position is one of strong doubt. They don't trust you. They don't believe you. Most cynics believe what you are doing will be to their detriment.

Wow!

Cynics are polluters. But I can understand why. Cynics were lied to. Cynics were cheated. Cynics were abused. But cynics are passionate. Cynics are often vocal.

What if a cynic could be changed?
What if a cynic did not have to stay a cynic?
What if a cynic did not have to pollute?

How do you turn a cynic into a critic?
How do you turn a polluter into a promoter?

Stay tuned.

Vision is Storytelling

The gong sounds.
The trumpet blasts.
Everyone gets ice cream!

You’ve seen it before. The Corporate office sends out the updated company vision with great fanfare (usually minus the ice cream). Corporate expectations are high. The boss is convinced this new vision will guide the company through treacherous competitive waters to lush profits on the shores of the new world. Most of this mush consists of some concoction of the following elements:

• Offer some product/service
• Provide more value to customers than our competitors
• Meet Growth/Profit Targets
• Do all of the above in a positive, ethical, discrimination free, and environmental manner

WE ARE DOING VISION WRONG! If vision is so important, let’s start doing it right.

Vision in its current form communicates poorly. Case in point:

Name the vision of:

• Your company
• Your church
• Your favorite non-profit, or even
• Your family

Could you do it? This lack of recall for most of us does not invalidate the vision itself. The vision still represents a desired future. But a vision must motivate to be effective. If a vision doesn’t persuade me to action, how effective was it really? So how do we communicate vision from the boardroom t the backroom, and ultimately to the living room?

The best visioneering is storytelling.

• Storytelling is fun.
• Storytelling carries a message.
• Storytelling is participative
• Storytelling is communal.

The Greeks and Hebrews wove storytelling into the very fabric of their cultures. In fact, some scholars now believe the ancient Hebrew Scriptures may actually be the earliest recorded plays. Take that Shakespeare (and Zeus, for that matter).

The team at the Arbinger Institute continues to use stories to teach corporate lessons. Their book, Leadership and Self-Deception continues to be a favorite of mine. I learn without the baggage of boredom a textbook often brings.

But how is storytelling a better way to convey a vision?

VISION STATEMENT:

• What the organization will Be
• Vague
• Focused on the Organization
• High-level Summary
• Received Passively
• Defined
• Forgettable
• A Statement on a wall
  

STORYTELLING:

• What the organization will Do
• Specific
• Focused on the Customer
• Example Driven
• Received Actively through Participation
• Evolving/Growing
• Memorable
• A Culture lived out

Consider the following example:

Butlers Café & Coffee is a growing gourmet coffee chain the Midwest. They are committed to sharing their corporate vision through storytelling (see if you can guess their vision through their storytelling). Butlers brings fresh flowers into the ladies bathroom everyday. During the spring, they wash the windows of drive through customers. Their seating area includes a floor-to-ceiling wall of books (500 provided by Butlers, 500 provided by the community on opening day). The guests have the opportunities to vote on changes to the menu. There is a waterfall in the bathroom for goodness sake!

With a name like Butlers (think Top Hat and Bow Ties”), it is not surprising to hear their corporate vision statement includes “extravagant service.” But what if that phrase, “extravagant service” was handed to you as a new store manager or employee (by the way, Butlers calls their employees, “Servants” in case employees had any questions about their job description). As a manager, how would you implement this element of the Butlers’ vision? Without stories of extravagant service to set the bar, the vision would be reduced to platitudes on the wall, regardless of how often repeated, actions would drift toward the hollow. Without stories, the valiant attempt to change the world is quickly scoffed at for its hypocritical tendencies.

Now that I have shared the story of Butlers Café & Coffee, I bet many of you could not only get excited about implementing this component of the company vision, you probably have even more ideas of how to enhance the work Butlers is doing (send emails to info@ButlersCoffeeOnline.com).
Storytelling also includes company lore. A Butlers servant conveyed to me a story of 100+ degree day last summer where a Butlers manager stopped mid-sentence while leading a company training session. While his servants wondered at his actions, they watched as the manager took a smoothie out to the man mowing the grass out front of the building. Upon his return, the manager apologized for the delay with the simple statement, “He looked Hot.” The retelling of this story sets the bar high for authentic, passionate, implementation of one’s vision!

Storytelling promotes organizational involvement and buy-in. And as we discussed previous posts, storytelling is a powerful tool to overcome organizational cynicism.

Cynicism & Jack and the Beanstalk

We are all cynics.

You walk into a car dealership.
I try out a new church.
My wife considers a new hand lotion (with cucumber and yogurt extracts).

We have our doubts. "I don't believe you. I don't trust your promises!" we shout from behind the emotional walls we have built to defend us from the organizational wolves ready to prey on our:

• time
• energy
• money
• optimism
• faith
• etc.

The car dealership, new church, and hand lotion beg us to trust them at their word - "We will keep our promises" they assure us.

But we have all been burned before. We have traded the cow for the magic beans one too many times.

• The hovercraft you ordered from the back of the comic book does not really fly
• The vision statement on the wall at work is not followed in the day-to-day
• The people you trusted fell from their pedestal
• Put your hand on the screen and you will be healed (after you send $19.95 to the address below)

Pain has metastasized into cynicism. But wait...

...Most of us do not stay cynical toward all people, toward all organizations. I got married, for goodness sake. I trust the vision my wife cast. I currently trust the vision my employer casts. I did let my walls down for them. Overcoming my cynicism is possible. So the question really is:

HOW DO WE OVERCOME THE CYNICISM?

One of the key topics of this blog will be to explore how does one overcome this cynicism that is ubiquitous in:

1. Large Companies
2. Start-up Companies
3. Government Agencies (FEMA anyone)
4. NGO's like the Red Cross and the Boy Scouts
5. Churches
6. And even personal relationships

We have much to talk about.