"...keeping you great"
HEADLINES:
$2 Billion Hit -- would you sacrifice this kind of revenue to live your values/purpose? This is what drugstore chain CVS did in deciding to stop selling cigarettes. Notes David Rich, founder of ICC Decision Services, in his blog post today (CVS is a customer of his mystery shopping firm) "Sometimes we all need to 'dust off' our values and ask ourselves if we're truly living in concert with them. Because the truth is values should always trump revenue and profit... and too often they don't." Jim Collins' test for a value being core is that you're willing to take a financial hit to live it - would you? Look over your values and see how bullet proof they are and if there's something you need to correct in your business to better align with them.
Not $2 Billion, but a Car!! -- to shine a spotlight on their core values, ODS Security Solutions took a page from Appletree Answers' "Dream On" initiative. Seems one of their employees needed to hitch a ride to and from work each day. Notes Rafe Wilkinson, CEO, "it was a humbling experience at ODS to give a car away to recognize one of the many Security Officers who makes a difference for our clients each day. Thank you to all of our employees for knowing and living our core values!" Take 2 minutes to watch Rafe give the car away.
Enter Danger Zone -- here's a powerful story illustrating the importance of using the one-phrase close at the weekly meeting. A large electric utility client of Gazelles coach Chris Kenny, Star Group Consulting, recently switched their weekly meeting to align with the suggested agenda in Mastering the Rockefeller Habits. After digging into one topic deeply (as suggested), a senior leader closed the meeting by asking her team how they felt about the decisions they just made. Well, it didn't turn out like she expected, but the process created more trust and honesty among the team. Take one minute to read specifically what was said and her response in Chris's blog post. Then start ending your meeting with the one-phrase close.
Wasting Trillions -- "rotting on the vine" and underutilized intellectual assets are estimated to be worth $10 - $30 trillion, notes Andrew Sherman, Jones Day Partner and author of Rembrandts in the Attic: Unlocking the Hidden Value of Patents. In this 10 minute entertaining TEDx talk (watch Andrew almost twerk at 6:00 in the video!!), shows how 88% of the value of companies is tied to their intangible assets. BTW, you don't have to create the intellectual property (IP), just be the one who harvests it!! I'll be pushing the importance of patents/company (and patents per country) more throughout 2014.
Feb 15 Launch in Boston -- and for fans of the world's leading Flamenco guitarist, Juanito Pascual and his Trio are hosting an album release concert Feb 15 at Sanders Theatre in Cambridge, MA. Here's a link to their 50 second trailer on YouTube and a link for tickets.
COACHING:
Need help implementing the Rockefeller Habits?