Priscilla Archangel

Business Values Add Value

December 1, 2012

Business Values Add Value

A recent interview with Jack Dorsey, the billionaire founder of two well-known tech companies, Twitter and Square, in the November 5, 2012 issue of Forbes, provided insight into one of the keys to his success as an entrepreneur. Twitter has 500 million members communicating across the globe. Square has changed the way 2 million businesses handle financial transactions, and Starbucks is expected to exclusively use that technology in their U.S. stores in the near future. At Square’s San Francisco headquarters, employees work at rows of desks in open spaces, or at tall tables; and conference rooms are glass enclosed. Dorsey spends 90% of his time with people who don’t report to him, and does a lot of his work at these tall tables in an open space so that he’s easily approachable. He also requires that at any meeting where more than two people are present, one of the attendees must take notes and send them to all the employees. This open style of communication and interaction is important to Dorsey because he believes in serendipity; that his team learns just by spending more time around each other. This has become a core business value for his companies, and drives how they operate.

Core Values

Bruce Gibney and Ken Howery identify core values as one of Four Things to Get Right When Starting A Company in the May 9, 2012 issue of the Harvard Business Review. In particular, they state that when teams develop, they must quickly decide how they want to do business, because culture seems to become entrenched after about 24 employees are hired. Coherent and clearly communicated business values improve the quality, efficiency and consistency of decisions throughout the organization. Founders, leaders and employees are able to use them as a basis for ensuring alignment and proper direction when considering different courses of action.

For new and developing businesses, values are best developed up front along with the business concept and processes. They should be the guiding force, not the lagging afterthought that explains how they do business. Not only is this important for the individual entrepreneur who may be the sole employee (solopreneurs), but as the business grows, that entrepreneur must be able to clearly identify and communicate core business values when interviewing prospective employees, and establishing business processes and organizational norms. They are communicated to others through marketing and branding strategies, policy decisions, workplace norms and customer interactions.

The process of identifying and developing core business values requires thoughtful discussion among the founding leaders of a growing business at each step of the process. Solopreneurs might have these discussions with a business coach or consultant. The point is to think through all aspects of the business process and how the business promise will be fulfilled and aligned with the business values. They are typically very personal based on the priorities and preferences of the individual leaders.

Such discussions may be ongoing as the business evolves and grows. Throughout the process of adding more employees, customers and stakeholders, these values are communicated through behaviors and decisions. Just as leaders are at the core of establishing business values, employees are at the core of fulfilling the promise of the business values. Thus it’s important to engage them in understanding how their behavior contributes to and support values.

Start the Discussion

Consider the following questions.

How will my product provide value to my customers?
What are my quality standards and how will I ensure that they are reinforced?
What criteria will I use when deciding who to collaborate with or to do business with?
How do I want to serve my customers? How do I want them to remember me?
How and what should my employees communicate with one another, and how do we establish our work processes and environment to support that?
What are our financial resources and options?
What are my leadership styles and attributes, and how will I make sure that my employees are motivated and engaged?

Gibney and Howery cite Facebook’s “focus on impact” as an example of explicit business values or principles guiding a company in a more successful direction. Facebook’s 5 core principles are Focus on Impact, Move Fast, Be Bold, Be Open, Build Social Value. Theirs is almost more of a social mission than a business focused on revenue.

Whether you lead a business, non-profit organization, work team, volunteer organization, or your family, take the time to think through your core values. Define and discuss them with your stakeholders, and ensure alignment in all your decisions. As you collaborate with others, ensure that they share similar values. Clearly defined, shared values are a critical part of your personal and professional success.

Read the Forbes article at http://www.forbes.com/sites/ericsavitz/2012/10/17/jack-dorsey-the-leadership-secrets-of-twitter-and-square/

Read the HBR article at http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2012/05/four_things_to_get_right_when.html

Get It to Give It

November 1, 2012

Priscilla Archangel

Character

Get It To Give It

The vast majority of people are working to get more money. With the state of the economy, the amount of debt at a national and individual level, mortgage/rent payments, car loans, school tuition, medical bills, food, credit card debt, and the desire to “keep up with the Joneses”, it all contributes to a need to get more money. Ask someone what they would do if they were given a million dollars and they would generally give you a long list of bills to pay off, goals to save for, or things to buy for themselves or their family members. Whether your net worth is a negative number (with lots of digits) or a positive number (with lots of digits), almost everyone is working to get more money.

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So that’s the 99% of us. What would the 1% do? Or maybe it’s the .0001%?

The October 8, 2012 issue of Forbes profiled the 400 richest people in America, worth anywhere from $1.1 billion (a three way tie between Dan Snyder, Paul Singer, and Denise York) to $66 billion (Bill Gates). I was admittedly fascinated with the diverse sources of their wealth, along with their personal stories, because the focus of many of the articles was their philanthropy. Rather than just watch their wealth increase, they were using their money to make a positive impact on society and the world.

For example, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation was established in 2000 as a continuation of Bill’s philanthropic efforts started in 1994, and their goal is to spend all their money in the foundation within 25 years of their demise. Warren Buffett gave approximately $31 billion to their foundation in 2006 with the stipulation that it be spent within 10 years of his death. And hopefully you’ve heard of the Giving Pledge started by Warren Buffett and the Gateses. Since June 2010, over 90 billionaires have signed the Pledge to give away half of their fortune to the charities of their choice by the time of their death. But Chuck Feeney is a role model. Feeney used to be on the Forbes 400 (although it was later found to be an error), because though he has earned $7.5 billion over his lifetime, he’s given so much away that he only has about $2 million left.

Secret Giver

Feeney, now 81, made his fortune by founding the Duty Free Shoppers almost three decades ago. But rather than just amass his fortune, he secretly transferred his ownership stake into the Atlantic Philanthropies. While Forbes Magazine thought he was a billionaire, he instead had given his assets to his charity. Feeney has given to charitable causes on five continents, often anonymously. Charities have to compete for the money and present a plan of action with objectives to be met. If they fail to meet those objectives, their funding is in jeopardy. He frequently requires that his giving be matched by other wealthy people, local governments, or charities. He focuses on getting the highest value for his donations, and hates waste of all types. Feeney did much of this in secret, seeking anonymity and shunning the spotlight. Only in recent years has he allowed a biography to be written, and permitted others to understand what he’s trying to accomplish. His philosophy is “Don’t wait to give your money away when you’re old, or even worse, dead. Instead, make substantial donations while you still have the energy, connections and influence to make waves.” Click here to read the article.)

Feeney and a number of other billionaires profiled in the magazine feel that giving is a duty and an obligation. David Rubenstein (private equity billionaire) summed it up with the following.

“How much can you give to your children before you completely spoil and ruin them? Very few people who inherit gigantic sums have gone on to change the world for the better. Generally the people who’ve changed the world for the better are people who made it on their own and ultimately didn’t want to just distribute wealth to somebody else. If you can give away as much money as you can while you’re alive, you’ll realize the benefits that I just mentioned. You’ll feel much better about yourself—and your children will feel much better about you.”(Click here to read the article.)

Your Turn to Give

So right now, though you may be in awe of Feeney and others, you (like me) probably can’t relate to them because you haven’t yet made your first billion dollars. Well maybe there’s something else you have to give to others…something you have a knack for attracting or acquiring in abundance that has little value when hoarded for yourself; something that causes others to look upon you with respect and amazement; something that was earned through hard work and focusing on your passion. This “thing” will be different for everyone, but generally encompasses your time, talents or treasures. These are the most valuable of your assets, often intangible but observable in the results they produce.

The question is whether you gather it merely for your own value so that others can note your accumulation of it; or whether you gather it to benefit others. You see, we all can be billionaires in some way, just by having an abundance of something valuable that others would desire to have. Just as the billionaires in this edition of Forbes have developed their various passions to accumulate wealth, so those of us in a lesser financial situation can pursue our passions for the benefit of others. We can “get it to give it”.

So no need to wait until to accumulate your first billion. Start now to make a difference in the lives of those around you.

Solve a Problem

September 30, 2012

Priscilla Archangel

Capability

Solve A Problem

Kevin Plank recognized a problem. As a football player at the University of Maryland, he became increasingly focused on the fact that after they played, the cotton t-shirts worn by the players under their pads were constantly soaked with perspiration. Kevin felt that the weight of the shirts negatively impacted their performance on the field. Already an entrepreneurial hustler on campus, Kevin decided to find a way to develop a shirt that would draw moisture away from the body. He started with a synthetic fabric made from women’s undergarments, and a friend joined him in marketing their product to sports teams and retailers. His brashness, creativity and pure hustle paid off, and they were eventually able to sign well known endorsers. Today, his company, Under Armour has a full line of athletic clothes, undergarments and shoes for men and women. They went from their first big sale in 1996 to becoming a publicly traded company in 2005, and their 2012 second quarter apparel net revenues increased 23% to $253 million compared with $205 million in the same period of the prior year. (Click here to read the full story by Monte Burke in the September issue of ForbesLife.)

Plank’s solution to a problem became his key to success. Problems are all around us every day. The question is whether we recognize situations around us as “problems”, and what do we do about it. This requires attention to our surroundings and issues, and a willingness to own a role in developing a solution.

A Peanut and a Sweet Potato

George Washington Carver is a perfect example of this. According to Os Hillman in his book Change Agent: Engaging Your Passion To Be The One Who Makes A Difference,(p. 104) Carver lived in an era of pervasive racial discrimination when he encouraged southern farmers to plant peanuts and sweet potatoes because their land was depleted due to planting too many cotton crops. They initially criticized him for this suggestion, believing that the market wouldn’t support it, but nonetheless began to do so. Carver, a Christian from an early age, would get up in the morning and go out to the fields where he sought the wisdom of God on what to do with these crops. God obviously answered his prayer because he subsequently created three hundred products from the peanut, and one hundred from the sweet potato. This revitalized the economy in the south, and made him a friend and confidante to presidents and business leaders. Why? Because they recognized that he was a problem solver. He had the ability to recognize problems where others overlooked them. Then he was willing to own the problem and take on the challenge of addressing it. Finally he had the vision and creativity to develop and implement a solution.

Your Personal Problem

Unfortunately too many of us look past the problems surrounding us with the attitude that we have no ability to impact or address them. We feel powerless and incapable of coming up with a solution, and look to someone else to handle it. But there’s nothing special about Kevin Plank or George Washington Carver. They simply opened their minds to future possibilities, and didn’t let their circumstances limit them. Both had a vision to see a problem situation and identify a potential resolution for it. They didn’t blame others around them for these problems; they stepped up and took responsibility for the solutions. Individuals who demonstrate this skillset are valuable members of any team

Each of us has a problem or set of problems assigned to us from God that we are uniquely equipped to solve. God is exposing the problem to us, and drawing us to Him so that He can reveal the solution. Based on our instincts, interests and initiative we can be a change agent in our environment. Joseph demonstrated this capability in ancient Egypt when he interpreted the King’s dream of the coming seven years of plenty, followed by seven years of famine. Then he provided a proposal on how to prepare for the famine. He was instantly appointed second in command in the kingdom. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation have used their billions in assets to address global issues of hunger, poverty, education and health care. Every problem solver won’t reach the same number of people, but every problem needs to be addressed.

So what problems has God assigned to you? Be diligent in discovering them because solving them is your pathway to your purpose and your road to success.

Olympic Gold

August 21, 2012

Priscilla Archangel

Purpose

Olympic Gold

Now that the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London have drawn to a close, I am still in awe at the skill and accomplishments of many of the athletes. They make difficult routines look easy as they flip and twist their bodies through the air, sail around the track or through the water. I’ve not only watched them compete, but I’ve grown closer to them through the stories and vignettes in the media about their personal lives, and often their struggles. For most, their practice and preparation consumes many hours each day. Their muscular build comes at the expense of disciplining their bodies in the gym, and their palates in the kitchen. Some come from families that are financially depleted, having put all their resources toward a son or daughter’s quest for the gold. They train their minds to think like the champions that they strive to be; knowing that the mental competition is just as important as the physical one.

Standouts

There are several athletes that stand out for their achievements…..

Gabby Douglass, USA gold medal gymnast who two years ago at the age of 14 begged her mother to be able to move from Virginia to Iowa to train with an Olympic coach. Her mother and other siblings struggled financially to support Gabby’s passion.

Michael Phelps, USA gold medal swimmer who with 22 gold medals has now won more than many countries.

Usain Bolt, Jamaican gold medal sprinter dubbed the fastest man on earth.

Claressa Shields, USA gold medal boxer at age 17, who survived the roughest neighborhoods of economically depressed Flint, MI, a father in jail for 7 years of her young life, and was bounced from home to home.

Missy Franklin, USA gold medal swimmer who continues to refuse prize money and endorsement so that she can maintain her amateur status when she starts college in the fall of 2013.

Danell Leyva, USA bronze medal gymnast whose mother and step-father defected from Cuba, where they were members of the Cuban gymnastics, team to Miami.

Felix Sanchez, Dominican gold medal runner who claimed his medal in honor of his grandmother who died just before he raced in the 2008 Olympics.

Oscar Pistorius, a South African also known as the blade runner because he is the first double amputee to compete in the Olympics running on carbon-fiber blades.

At the same time, all the athletes who even qualified to go to the Olympics are exemplary in their endeavors. They represent the best in their sport, and I can only imagine the immense feeling of accomplishment for even qualifying to participate.

Your Olympic Sport

But they aren’t the only individuals competing to excel in their chosen sport. Each of us has the opportunity to train for our own Olympic competition. We each have a challenge before us that is perfectly suited to our basic capability, yet is bigger than we can imagine, and if conquered would have an impact on many others. We’ll know our Olympic sport by the dream or desire that is deeply embedded in us. We must quiet all the chattering voices, the temporal and materialistic pulls, the temptation to do what everyone else is doing, just because everyone else is doing it.

Like the contenders in the London Olympic games, we need several key competencies…..

A Vision of what it looks like when you attain your goal.

A Plan of what you need to do to get there.

Focus to overcome the daily distractions that would try to steal our dream

Willingness to Sacrifice what you want to do, and what others are doing, for what you know that you need to do.

Perseverance to push past feeling comfortable, and become accustomed to feeling uncomfortable with what lies ahead.

Fearlessness to dare to believe that you have the capability to succeed.

None of this is easy. But as Booker T. Washington said, “Nothing ever comes to one, that is worth having, except as a result of hard work.” So now that I’ve been inspired by Olympians from around the world, I’m going to go back to my daily routine, step by step, and work toward my gold medal.

What about you?

Who’s the Customer

July 29, 2012

Priscilla Archangel

Leadership

Who’s The Customer?

In these days of internet connectivity, companies have the technology to track your every move on the internet. They know which websites you visit, how long you linger, and how many times you click through to another page for more information. They bury tracking devices to place ads in front of you based on the sites you visit, and send spam targeted to where they think your interests lie. Yes, they’re literally following you around collecting information to try to further influence your shopping habits. For stores where you have a physical shopping presence, they entice you with “loyalty” cards where you can get discounts or coupons on products, all based on your common purchases. Instead of you, the customer being king, you’re pressured by the businesses who expend a lot of resources to understand you. (more…)

Wise Leaders, Foolish Leaders

June 17, 2012

Priscilla Archangel

Capability, Leadership

Wise Leaders…Foolish Leaders

Have you ever wished that you could give a colleague some wise feedback that would help him or her in their career, a project, or some aspect of their responsibilities? But you couldn’t because you recognized that they weren’t receptive to it, or they would have difficulty understanding it. You recognized that their perception or beliefs about what they were doing were so strong or deeply rooted, that it would be difficult for them to see any other point of view. You may have even recognized that this could develop into a serious professional derailer for the person. Maybe you carefully planned a moment in time to have the conversation, only for the person to rebuff your remarks and try to make YOU think that you were foolish.

As much as you wanted to help the other person, to help them see the folly of their ways, you knew that you had to wait until they WANTED to listen to you. You had to wait until they fell and got bruised and tried to figure out what happened and why….then maybe, just maybe you’ll be able to help them recognize how their own behavior or decisions contributed to their situation.

A rock with the word Wisdom engraved on it. Realistically, none of us are completely wise or completely foolish. There are simply areas in our lives where we exhibit more or less wisdom (sometime a lot more or a lot less). The goal is to increase the areas where wisdom shines through; to seek the counsel of other people who are wise; to be able to recognize the difference between wise and foolish behavior.

This is even more important for leaders, because their wise or foolish decisions impact not only themselves but others around them. A CEO who makes an irrational or foolish product decision can drive the company’s stock downward effecting investors and employees. A CFO who foolishly covers up material financial information similarly damages the corporate reputation and subjects the firm to negative sanctions. The greater your responsibility, the greater your need for wisdom. The greater your wisdom, the greater responsibility will come to you.

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Whay You See May Not Be What You Get

May 29, 2012

Priscilla Archangel

Character, Leadership

What You See May Not Be What You Get

What if we all had x-ray vision to see beyond the visible into the invisible? What if we could see beyond a company’s balance sheet to understand their culture and strategies? What if we could see beyond the words people use, to understand the intent behind them? We’d likely make more informed choices, better investment decisions, and smarter selections in our relationships, career, and life in general.

Fortune Magazine’s recent article on How HP Lost Its Way (by James Bandler with Doris Burke, Fortune, May 21, 2012) provides an inside look at what they call “a dysfunctional company struggling for direction after a decade of missteps and scandals.” After the departure of CEO Mark Hurd following allegations of inappropriate behavior with a HP contractor, it became evident that his “external success had concealed internal deterioration.” The search firm consultant who recommended the new CEO supposedly told HP’s board of directors that Leo Apotheker would be “one of the best CEO picks ever”, but he only lasted eleven months. When the current CEO, Meg Whitman was initially asked to join the board of directors by Chairman Ray Lane, she reportedly thought that it sounded interesting and fun, and that it was likely a well run company. “What could go wrong?” she said. Once she accepted the CEO role after Apotheker’s departure, she gained a clearer picture of the needs and opportunities at this company. Eye looking through a hole in a piece of paper. (more…)

What Defines Your Leadership?

May 2, 2012

Priscilla Archangel

Leadership, Results

What Defines Your Leadership?

In the April 9, 2012 issue of Fortune magazine, an article on The 12 Greatest Entrepreneurs of Our Time – and What You Can Learn From Them by John A. Byrne provides a brief but insightful look at what makes these successful men tick (three women received honorable mention but didn’t make it to the top 12).I’d like to provoke your thoughts by sharing the critical success factors about the top four.

Steve Jobs – Apple– Didn’t rely on consumer research, but instead “connected the dots” about relationships between technology and life experiences. He believed that it wasn’t consumers’ responsibility to know what they wanted, especially if they haven’t seen anything like it before. In essence consumers are often limited by their own experiences and imagination.

Bill Gates – Microsoft– Picked smart people and put them to work on important things. Both his business partner (Paul Allen) and his successor as CEO (Steve Ballmer) fall into that category. These are people who he bounced ideas off, and who in turn would come up with even better ideas. Gates believes that brilliant people should work on the best and most important projects.

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Fred Smith – Fedex– Learned about logistics from his experience serving in Vietnam where he saw the importance of integrating ground and air operations to move material and equipment, and to support the troops.He also learned the importance of investing in the right first line managers to make good decisions, and to praise them publicly for their work.

Jeff Bezos – Amazon– Takes a mini-retreat every quarter. This is time for him to reflect on the past, and plan for the future.His time alone with no phones is spent web-surfing for new trends and ideas that he then writes in a memo to himself and other members of his executive team for follow-up and action. These ideas typically take on a life of their own as others add to them until something develops. (more…)

Who’s Your Tiger?

April 7, 2012

Priscilla Archangel

Courage, Leadership

Who’s Your Tiger?

I caught a few minutes of an interview recently between Charlie Rose, the acclaimed PBS interviewer and recent CBS morning news host, and Jim Nantz, CBS Sportscaster for The Masters’ Golf tournament. The key topic of course was Tiger Woods and his chances of again winning this major tournament. According to Nantz, Tiger’s left knee has been operated on four times, literally rebuilt, but that process has spawned a number of other injuries related to the knee, including Achilles tendon issues. If he is to succeed in his quest to beat Jack Nicklaus’ record of major championship wins, Tiger needs to win five more majors. Assuming his body holds up another 10 years, with four majors a year, 40 in total, he should be able to easily best Nicklaus.

Interestingly though, they commented that the field of golfers has changed significantly since Tiger’s last major win four years ago. Instead of just the golfers in their 30s and 40s, most of whom have been mentally and physically intimidated by Tiger’s skill, there is a new crop of younger golfers in their 20s emerging who are poised and ready to establish and define their own era of golf. They’re not intimidated by Tiger, or used to him beating them by double digit strokes. They’re confident and fearless.

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I’m not a huge golfing fan so I sought out my local golf pro (my husband) to gain insight on whether Tiger really upped the level of the game, or were the new younger golfers just better. His opinion was that Tiger’s focus and commitment to the game taught other would-be players about the importance of body strength, practice and pure skill. This interview was really thought provoking, so I have two questions for you. Who’s your Tiger? And how do you respond to him? (more…)

The Facebook Way

March 23, 2012

Priscilla Archangel

Leadership, Purpose

The Facebook Way

Much is being written about Facebook these days, as the company moves toward it’s long awaited IPO. Earlier this year, co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg held a global all-employee meeting. Everyone thought he was going to announce the IPO, but instead (according to an article in the March 19^th issue of Fortune) he used that time to talk about the company’s mission and priorities. He recognized that the eight year old startup company with phenomenal growth and value was about to undergo a transformation that could potentially ruin the culture that had made it so successful. He admonished employees to maintain their focus on the characteristics that fostered the “hacker way”, building through continuous improvement; the mottos on the wall like “Done is better than perfect”; the orientation to constantly improving customer interface that brought over 800 million people in the world to open up a Facebook account. He recognized that the IPO would subject the company to more outside scrutiny and investor demands; and that more importantly, many of the employees themselves as newly minted millionaires might lose their edge. They might lose the driving desire to create something new and innovative.They might decide to pass on the quarterly all night hacking sessions where employees work on something other than their day-to-day job; trying out ideas and thinking up new products.

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Mission or Money

While those of us on the outside may think of Facebook as existing to make a profit, Zuckerberg has a broader more impactful vision. In his words, they don’t build services to make money, they make money to build better services.That ethos will be tested now among their 3,000+ employees. His goal has been to open up more connections across the globe. He uses the internet and technology to help people establish relationships, share information, and make their voices heard more quickly and personally than ever before possible. (more…)

Business Values Add Value

Get It To Give It

Solve A Problem

Olympic Gold

Who’s The Customer?

Wise Leaders…Foolish Leaders

What You See May Not Be What You Get

What Defines Your Leadership?

Who’s Your Tiger?

The Facebook Way

Leadership Tips