Ya Sure…George S. Patton Was a Make-You-Happy Leader

Ya Sure…George S. Patton Was a Make-You-Happy Leader

by Keith Lee

Managers in the Make-You-Happy Management System are coaches, cheerleaders, facilitators, and nurturers of champions, rather than cops, referees, and nay-sayers.

This leadership principle is from the magazine “Armchair General” available from Armchair General, LLC 386-246-3456.  Let’s learn about management from Old Blood & Guts, George S. Patton, America’s greatest World War II battle commander.

General George S. Patton Jr. studied – and practiced – leadership all his life.  What “Old Blood & Guts” left behind is a priceless leadership legacy containing a wealth of material for today’s military and business executives.

Providing “Mission-Type” Orders

An organization benefits from both the individual and collective intelligence and experience of its members.  Too often, leaders attempt to provide a solution without tapping into the wisdom and abilities of those in the command structure.  Patton’s rapid, slashing, war of maneuver campaigns in World War II were propelled by issuing “mission-type” orders – assigning broad objectives and letting subordinates work out the details.

He advised, “Never tell people how to do things.  Tell them what to do and they will astonish you with their ingenuity.”

The Make-You-Happy Management System was created out of my frustration in having no time for myself, no time to work on the important things in my business because I was babysitting employees and making every King Solomon decision in the company.

In order to alleviate this you need to issue “mission-type” orders:  Assign broad objectives and let subordinates work out the details.  You’ll be amazed at the results and the freedom you achieve.

Demand Discipline

Discipline is the bedrock characteristic of any successful military unit or corporation.  Commanders and executives who want to win must teach it to subordinates and then demand that they act accordingly.  The fiery and headstrong Patton may have suffered lapses in regulating his own behavior from time to time, but he always understood that the controlled actions of his units remained the key to battlefield success.  “You cannot be disciplined in great things and undisciplined in small things,” said Patton.  “There is only one sort of discipline – perfect discipline.”

As this article suggests Patton may have suffered lapses in his own behavior in this regard, but we can still learn from this principle.

While I’m not suggesting peeling potatoes or forcing your Team to run miles when they don’t perform, I think that it is absolutely imperative that your Team understands your core beliefs and they understand that those core beliefs are unwavering.

Here’s an example.  Everyone in our company understands that the minimum level of Customer Service that is acceptable is “truly appreciative service.”  And while we may fail at this at times in the eyes of our Client, everyone understands that indifferent, or heaven forbid anything approaching rude service means immediate termination of employment.

Another example is seen in our company values.  Again, everyone understands that one of our values is, “We will do nothing illegal or unethical.”  If someone decides to consciously do something illegal or unethical they will be dismissed.

Take Timely Action

Perhaps because they fear failure, commanders and business leaders often become timid in their decision making, delaying final orders until the plan in “perfect.”  Patton, however, recognized that seizing the unforgiving moment is vastly more important to success than postponing an action until the ideal plan is devised – too late to produce positive results.  Remember Patton’s admonition, “A good plan executed now is better than a perfect plan executed next week.”

One of the basic tenants of Make-You-Happy Management is empowering your Team to make decisions.  You’ll obviously want to give some guidelines concerning those decisions, but as you and your Team understands the system and each other, those guidelines can be very broad.

For instance, while using our L.E.A.R system to take care of upset Customers, after finding out what the Customer wants to make them happy, the guideline for our front line Team member is unless it’s NUTS, do it!”

Instill Self-Confidence

Self-confidence on the battlefield of in the boardroom is crucial for success.  Patton created within his Third US Army a tradition of winning and a corresponding leadership climate that let his Soldiers know they were second to none.  The proudly exclaimed, oft-heard cry of the Third Army Vets, “I fought with Patton!” testifies to his ability to encourage and instill faith in oneself.  Patton wrote, “The most vital quality a Soldier can possess is self-confidence; utter complete and bumptious.”

When you empower your Team to make decisions and take care of Customers, they will have the confidence they need to create Happy Customers.

But what happens when your Team Member makes a bad decision?  In the Make-You-Happy Management System the first thing to do is look at your systems to make sure they are not getting in the way of making a better decision.

Once you find the system is OK, then you need to RETRAIN and not beat up the Team Member.  The first thing you need to do is thank the Team Member for making a decision.  Then and only then, discuss how a better decision might have been achieved.

Motivate Subordinates to Excel

The notion that Patton merely drove his men to excel through fear and intimidation is a gross misinterpretation of both his motives and his methods.  Few contemporaries understood as well as Patton how to motivate and get the most out of the American Soldiers.  His leadership philosophy regarding this point is best summed up in his characteristically blunt saying, “We herd sheep, we drive cattle, we lead people.  Lead me, follow me, or get out of my way.”

Remember, managers in the Make-You-Happy Management System are coaches, facilitators, cheerleaders, and nurturers of Champions; not cops, referees or nay-sayers.

L’audace, L’audace, Toujours L’audace!

Finding and adhering to a core belief, as Patton certainly did, will help guide leaders both professionally and personally.  One of Patton’s favorite French sayings, ” L’audace, l’audace, toujours l’audace!” translates to “audacity, audacity, always – audacity!”  Both military and business leaders would be well-advised to follow Patton’s guidance and never fear to act promptly and decisively on reasoned, calculated risks.

The Make-You-Happy Management System starts with your Company Vision which is the combination of your values and Beliefs.  Whatever those Values and Beliefs are it is critical that they are strong enough to carry you through tough decisions.  Often, when I have a hard time with a decision that answer is clear when I review our Company Vision.

Beating The Odds – Part 2

Beating The Odds – Part 2

We’re picking up our conversation on one of our great clients at American Retail Supply, McLendon’s Hardware, which has seven locations throughout the Seattle area.  To review part one, refer to the last blog post (Beating The Odds).

Competition Makes Them Better

I’ve done a lot of research over the years on how to compete with the national chains.  I’ve been sharing that information with my clients in my monthly newsletter for 21 years and my bi-weekly email retail tip since 2004.  In my research I found that those companies that survive and thrive look at the new competition as a challenge to get better themselves.  McLendon’s has done this also.

For years McLendon’s knew they should be looking into better automating their inventory and point-of-sale computer system.  When the retail giants came to town they made the investment in their future but also were sure to invest in new software that really helped them stay focused on their customers and not allowing the software to take away from their exceptional customer service.

Other areas in which McLendon feels the competition has made them better are display, advertising and pricing.  McLendon says, “We never really concentrated on end caps other than to put things on them.  Now we have a person in every store hire just to do that.”

McLendon’s realizes that with the big guys right down the street they need to be much more aware of price competition so they can be seen as having “good” prices.  Their advertising person consistently pushes to have “hot buys” in their ads.

What can you learn from the competition to make you better?

Variable Pricing Structure

McLendon refers to his variable pricing structure as A item, B item, C item pricing.  “A” items are very competitive, commodity items, that everyone uses and everyone knows the price.  McLendon knows his prices must be “good” on these items.  They don’t need to be the same or lower than the retail giants, but they need to be very close.  “B” and “C” items are not as competitively priced and the company can get better markups.  Sadly, too many independent retailers refuse to accept this type of pricing strategy.

Buy Right

McLendon’s, like many who compete well with the mass merchandisers, is a member of a buying group.  They buy a lot of their product though True Value.  With the exception of direct import items, McLendon feels their costs are in line with the retail giants.  But he believes the retail giants often get advertising allowances that he does not get.

Don’t Compete Directly With the Retail Giants

McLendon’s knows their niche-huge selection and great service.  In addition, McLendon’s now very carefully considers location as a niche when opening a new store.  When opening a new store McLendon asks, “Is it their market?”

The retail giants in the hardware business like to be near freeways and locations that attract large number of people.  McLendon’s looks for a niche that is not close to freeways, has a good population base, but isn’t a place that the retail giants are likely to put a store that requires a huge population to support.

This is huge.  How can you position your product and/or services to go where the competition ain’t?

Brand Names

A strategy retailers like to use to compete with the retail giants is to carry brands that the giants don’t carry.  In the past, McLendon’s tried to carry brands that the big guy didn’t carry.  With the number of competitors now in the market, and the huge popularity of a few brands in the hardware business, that strategy doesn’t really work.  As a whole, McLendon’s tends to carry quality brand products.

Hours of Operation

Historically hours of operation for McLendon’s shows the company’s long roots and reflect the work ethic in the community – early to bed, early to rise. The company has always opened early and closed early.  Today they’re finding they need to extend those hours.

Store used to close on Sundays.  Today, Sunday is the company’s second busiest day of the week.  McLendon’s stores used to close at 6:00 PM.  Now they close at 8:00.

Temporary Sales Decline

McLendon’s has found that retail giants moving into their market is a cause for concern and an opportunity to improve, but it is not a cause for panic.

Like retailers across the country, McLendon’s has found that stores sales drop somewhat when a retail giant opens a store close to McLendon’s.  but like many independents, McLendon finds that within nine months sales are back to where they were before and growing… maybe not growing as fast as they did before the big guys moved in, but growing.

You Can Thrive

Mike McLendon and McLendon’s Hardware have proven that yes, you can thrive in the shadow of the retail giants and compete with them, but not directly against them.  McLendon’s focuses on a broad product line, great customer service, and a niche location to not only survive, but thrive in the shadow of retail giants.

Discover more ways to improve your business by requesting one of my free books: How to Control Your Business and Your Life and The Happy Customer Handbook

by Keith Lee

Nine Things More Important Than Money by Jim Rohn

*Note from Keith:

I have been a huge fan of Jim Rohn’s for years.  When I think about the heavy-hitters when it comes to business and life success Jim Rohn always comes to mind along with Zig Ziglar, Dale Carnegie, Brian Tracy, Earl Nightingale, and Napoleon Hill.  Whenever I read or listen to Jim I get extremely motivated and feel as though I can take on the world, and that’s a great feeling!

 

Nine Things More Important Than Money

Jim Rohn

When starting any enterprise or business, whether it’s full time or part time, we all know the value of having plenty of capital (money).  But I bet we both know or at least have heard of people who started with no capital who went on to make fortunes.  How, you may ask?

Well, I believe there are actually some things that are more valuable than capital that can lead to your entrepreneurial success.  Let me give you the list.

Time

time is more valuable than capital.  The time you set aside not to be wasted, not to be given away.  Time you set aside to be invested in an enterprise that bring value to the marketplace with the hope of making a profit.  Now we have capital time.

How valuable is time?  Time properly invested is worth a fortune.  Time wasted can be devastation.  Time invested can perform miracles, so you invest your time.

Desperation

I have a friend Lydia, whose first major investment in her new enterprise was desperation.  She said, “My kids are hungry, I gotta make this work.  If this doesn’t work, what will I do?”  So she invested $1 in her enterprise selling a product she believed in.  the $1 was to buy a few fliers so she could make a sale at retail, collect the money and then buy the product wholesale to deliver back to the customer.

My friend Bill Bailey went to Chicago as a teenager after he got out of high school.  And the first job he got was a night janitor.  Someone said, “Bill, why would you settle for night janitor?”  He said, “Malnutrition.”  You work at whatever you can possibly get when you get hungry.  You go to work somewhere – night janitor, it doesn’t matter where it is.  Years later, Bill is a recipient of the Horatio Alger Award, rich and powerful and one of the great examples of life style that I know.  But his first job – night janitor.  Desperation can be a powerful incentive.  When you say – I must.

Determination

determination says I will.  First Lydia said, “I must find a customer.”  Desperation.  Second, she said, “I will find someone before this day is over.”  Sure enough, she found someone.  She said, “If it works once, it will work again.”  But then the next person said, “No.”  Now what must you invest?

Courage

Courage is more valuable than capital.  If you’ve only got $1 and a lot of courage, I’m telling you, you’ve got a good fortune ahead of you.  Courage in spite of the circumstances.  Humans can do the most incredible things no matter what happens.  Haven’t we heard those stories?  It’s humans.  You can’t sell humans short.  Courage in spite of, not because of, but in spite of.  Now once Lydia has made 3 or 4 sales and gotten going, here’s what now takes over.

Ambition

“Wow!  If I can sell 3, I can sell 33.  If I can sell 33, I can sell 103.”  Wow.  Lydia is no dazzled by her own dreams of the future.

Faith

now she begins to believe she’s got a good product.  This is probably a good company.  And she then starts to believe in herself.  Lydia, single mother, 2 kids, no job.  “My gosh, I’m going to pull it off!”  Her self-esteem starts to soar.  These are investments that are unmatched.  Money can’t touch it.  What if you had a million dollars and no faith?  You’d be poor.  You wouldn’t be rich.  Now here is the next one, the reason why she’s a millionaire today.

Ingenuity

Putting your brains to work.  Probably up until now, you’ve put about 1/10 of your brainpower to work.  What if you employed the other 9/10?   You can’t believe what can happen.  Huans can come up with the most intriguing things to do.  Ingenuity.  What’s ingenuity worth?  A fortune.  It is more valuable than money.  All you need is a $1 and plenty of ingenuity.  Figuring out a way to make it work, make it work, make it work.

Heart and Soul

what is a substitute for heart and soul?  It’s not money.  Money can’t buy heart and soul.  Heart and soul is more valuable than a million dollars.  A million dollars without heart and soul, you have no life.  You are ineffective.  But, heart and soul is like the unseen magic that moves people, moves people to buy, move people to make decisions, move people to act, moves people to respond.

Personality

You’ve just got to spruce up and sharpen up your own personality.  You’ve got plenty of personality.  Just get it developed to where it is effective every day, it’s effective no matter who you talk to – whether it’s a child or a business person – whether it’s a rich person or a poor person.  A unique personality that is at home anywhere.  My mentor Bill Bailey taught me, “You’ve got to learn to be just as comfortable, Mr. Rohn, whether it is in a little shack in Kentucky having a beer and watching the fights with Winfred, my old friend or in a Georgian mansion in Washington, DC as the Senator’s guest.”  Move with ease whether it is with the rich or whether it is with the poor.  And it makes no difference to you who is rich or who is poor.  A chance to have a unique relationship with whomever.  The kind of personality that’s comfortable.  The kind of personality that’s not bent out of shape.

And lastly, let’s not forget charisma and sophistication.  Charisma with a touch of humility.  This entire list is more valuable than money.  With one dollar and this list I just gave you, the world is yours.  It belongs to you, whatever piece of it you desire whatever development you wish for in your life.  I’ve given you the secret.  Capital.  The kind of capital that is more valuable than money and that can secure your future and fortune.  Remember that you lack not the resources.

Jim Rohn is considered to be America’s Foremost Business Philosopher.