The Sanford Berenberg Experience

502-533-9336

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Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Message of the Day: Dedication, Determination and Values face off Against a Hurricane

Good Morning,

One of my closest friends shared with me one of those emails going around with a warm and fuzzy story. This one really caught my attention, since I kind of lived through it. Back in 2003, Hurricane Isabel came up the Chesapeake Bay into Washington DC. I stayed at a hotel by my office, just outside DC, so that I could keep it running during the power outage we expected. A few miles from where I was in Greenbelt, Maryland, the soldiers assigned to guard the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier also faced the same storm.

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier has been guarded 24 hours a day, every day since 1937, but this record was in jeopardy. In mid September, 2003, the Military considered moving the patrol to a building near the Tomb, but not by it. As Hurricane Isabel neared, the decision was made to move the patrol out of harms way during the storm. A storm which tore down trees, flipped boats, thrashed homes and all the other stuff hurricanes can do.

So, these soldiers were actually ordered to stand down from their posts by the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier during the hurricane itself.

They did not.

They disobeyed orders and kept on duty throughout the entire storm. Their dedication to their task, their determination to uphold the honor and importance of their post and their values were more important than the harsh winds and rain that came surging up the east coast of the United States. I did check this story out on Snopes.com and it is listed as true.

I am so very touched by this story, it makes me proud to be an American and proud of our Men and Women in uniform. During this time of year, Thanksgiving, it is another thing to be thankful for.

When something is critically important to us, in our lives, we should show the same dedication, determination and values and stand up against to storms of life.

Sometimes being true to our beliefs means facing some tough challenges and putting our honor, dignity, ego and reputation on the line. If we honestly believe in our values and what we stand for, then a few wind gusts in life should not scare us off.

We want to be people who are true to our words. Don’t we?

If so, we must be those people and stand up for what we believe in! Even when it is not easy, fashionable or popular.

Enjoy!

Sanford Berenberg

502-533-9336

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Message of the Day - Glass Wall Management

Good Morning,

My current read is by Kiyoshi Suzaki. The book is called ‘Results from the Heart: How Mini-Company Management Captures Everyone’s Talents and Helps Them Find Meaning and Purpose at Work’ (http://www.amazon.com/Results-Heart-Mini-Company-Management-Everyones/dp/excerpt/0743215508).

Part of the book covers what the author calls ‘Glass Wall’ Management. Here every work unit, called Mini-Company, within an organization is to place their key statistics up on a glass wall for everyone to see. This includes the good and not so good statistics.

The purpose of this is to give a real life view as to what is going on within that team, department, or Mini-Company, etc. The people who work in that unit can see what is truly going on, and so can everyone else.

Some folks rail against sharing their performance with others. Sometimes this is because the people are shy or do not like sharing what they consider personal information, and other times they are embarrassed by their performance.

What Glass Wall Management does is to force people to confront their performances, good or bad, and find ways to improve it. This will cause a lot of people stress at first if they see how bad some of their performances may be, but this is really a good thing.

When a bad performance is publicly aired, it can be addressed and fixed. You know, being able to fix a problem because now you know about it.

Also, folks who have been hiding and hoping to avoid the chopping block can decide to step it up, ask for help or start working their way out. Continual bad performances will not be tolerated when they are publically displayed. Or at least it should not be.

Personally, I do not know anyone who wants to work for an organization where they continually fail to meet goals. By putting your performance up for everyone to see, you build accountability to address any concerns and you cannot hide from it. This then helps the entire organization improve due to all groups within the organization improving.

I have seen this used at my current company in the form of monthly metrics meetings. Every team and every individual’s statistics are aired once a month to all of the leadership. At first there were a lot of bad performances, shown in red, but over the last six months, these have improved, moving through yellow and many into green. (Red, Yellow, Green standing for Bad – Needs Help, Watch – Review for Improvement, and Good – Meets/Exceeds).

If you want to find a way to improve your team’s performance, put up Glass Walls and air your Key Metrics. Get the team on board to address the bad ones and maintain and or improve the good ones.

Everyone will benefit!

Enjoy!

Sanford Berenberg

502-533-9336

Monday, December 1, 2008

Message of the Day - Our Inner Explorers and Inner Settlers

Good Morning,

Over this last weekend I finished “Words of Common Sense: For Mind, Body, and Soul’ by Brother David Steindl-Rast (http://www.amazon.com/Words-Common-Sense-Mind-Body/dp/189015198X) and found it to be quite delightful.

One of the points I drew out of this reading was the inner challenges we face by two facets of our beings, the Explorer and Settler.

Our inner explorer looks for new challenges and ways to experience new things. The explorer tires of the same ol same ol and hungers for something new.

Our inner settler likes to spend time in the comfortable homestead we created with all the familiar trappings of life, everything where it should be.

At times, these two facets of our being come in conflict with each other. We see a new challenge, a new course, a new way of life, and the explorer within us starts salivating, and at the same time the settler covers his eyes and goes back to the house to try and ignore it all.

Sometimes, the opportunities wonderful and the explorer wins out and we travel down new worlds. Sometimes the settler wins out and we pass up these opportunities.

Both the settler and explorer have value in our lives, we just need to find ways to make sure that each of them makes the best decision for us.

If we look over our lives and see that we have been mostly an explorer, or a settler, maybe it is time to give the other side a little more air time and either settle down a bit more if we have been expeditious explorers, or get our butts moving if we have been settling too much.

In the end it is all a balance, but we need to work hard to find that balance so that we can get the most out of life.

So let out your inner explorer and inner settler, and learn to understand them better, but do not let either one take over exclusively.

Enjoy!

Sanford Berenberg

502-533-9336

Friday, November 28, 2008

Message of the Day - Leadership in a new light!

Good Morning,

Happy Black Friday! I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving! Prior to my leaving for New York, I finished reading a wonderful book on leadership. This book is one that came from a perspective that I have never encountered before and was truly refreshing. ‘Tribes’ by Seth Godin (http://www.sethgodin.com/sg/).

Seth Godin defines Tribes as groups with not only similar interests but similar passions. These groups could be your local rotary club, a dance troop, or members of an online discussion group about fabric softener. Tribes can be of any size, make up or denomination.

Teams that are also Tribes are more powerful than other teams. Teams work toward the same goals, but they do not share the same passions. Those that do are Tribes and they are almost always the more successful teams. When a new person joins a team, they may not be passionate about the team, hurting its overall performance. It’s the leader’s job to get that team member to become a member of the Tribe, or off the team. Teams which don’t get their members aligned in passion and interest will never achieve as much as a Tribe.

Tribes need leaders. Leaders are people who can fan the flames of passion and get the Tribe to accomplish goals beyond their expectations. Leaders see the forest for the trees and see the opportunities within the risk. They then get the tribe motivated and steer them toward those opportunities. Leaders look at convention and the status quo and move beyond it. Those who hold fast to the status quo are only holding off the inevitable. Change is constant. Leaders embrace it.

In my teams, I work to find everyone’s passions and get them to use these passions to steer part of the ship. A ship run by a tribe would have many oars, rudders and sails all working in unison. By getting everyone on board and igniting their passions to our goals, we can accomplish more. We also learn to grow and improve ourselves in the process. Tribe members, once their passions are ignited and are helping drive the Tribe toward its goals help other members to ignite their passions. By getting everyone to act as a leader from time to time, and letting the best ideas and suggestions guide the way, you can improve the power of the tribe to achieve its goals, explore new territory and create new opportunities.

This book is irreverent and written in Seth Godin’s ‘no holds barred’ direct style. His message is loud and clear and available for anyone who has the guts, intelligence and desire to listen and learn. It shows a positive future for those who embrace it, especially in light of today’s rough economy. The status quo is not our friend.

This is a MUST READ for anyone who is a part of a Tribe, is trying to build a Tribe or wants to help lead a Tribe. (Which means all of us).

The status quo be damned, get out there and lead!

Enjoy!

Sanford Berenberg

http://www.berenberg.net <http://www.berenberg.net/>

502-533-9336

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Message of the Day - Flawless Management through Preparation

Good Morning,

On Monday morning I flew to my Grandfather George's funeral. George Gluszak was a man of virtue, honor, integrity, love and devotion who knew how to roll up his sleeves and get the job done, and kick your butt when necessary to get you moving along too. Everyone who knew him loved him and is better off because of him. I will share more about Grampa George in a later message.

During my second flight, I sat behind two kids about five and six years of age, and across from a four year old and diagonally from a two year old. Next to me was their Mom. I felt I was going to have one of the worst flights ever. All the thoughts of screaming kids, crawling over seats, throwing stuff ran through my mind. And well, the flight ended up being one of the best I had ever taken.

Mom had it all under control. She took a moment to make sure the seating arrangements were correct. She negotiated with another passenger to change seats so that her kids would all be adjacent to her. She spoke lovingly and commandingly to each of her kids and was prepared for the flight. She spoke at a different level to each kid, making sure each one understood her.

In a bag, kept under her seat was everything she needed. She had toys for the kids, different snacks and even reading materials for her husband and herself. She spoke to the kids throughout the flight when necessary, made sure each of the kids played nicely with each other and even shared their toys, knowing who liked what best. At the right moment she pulled out little cups and filled them with a healthy snack for the kids, and kept the kids entertained, under control and happy throughout the flight.

These kids were living breathing children, buckled into seats for over an hour and they didn't fuss or make any sort of ruckus during the entire flight. They only asked when we were going to land a few times, and each time she gave them a real expectation. I was so impressed that I complimented the Mom saying that many managers could learn a thing or two from her. I then asked her how she got so organized and on top of things.

She told me that she used to not be prepared and after a few very embarrassing episodes decided she needed to get her act together and started planning based on what she knew she needed. "Preparation is the key" she told me. She packed her bag in sections with each item she would need. Toys in one zip-lock bag (when all the toys were given out, she showed her kids the empty bag so they would not ask for more toys), snacks in a different bag, cups in another. She timed when to pull each item out from experience. She learned from previous experiences and perfected her pattern of leadership and management.

After the flight, I felt that I had learned something from a master manager and leader. It was an honor to fly with those kids all around me, and watching an artist at work keeping everything moving along smoothly.

Enjoy!

Sanford Berenberg

Sanford@berenberg.net

502-533-9336

Saturday, November 22, 2008

Message of the Day - The art, that is, what we do

Good Morning,

Welcome new recipients!

One night I picked up Chinese food for the family. I really enjoy Chinese food and will often try different dishes just to see if I like them or not. When I placed my order there were several other customers already there and some coming in behind me. The play was hopping. Behind the counter there were three people working. The first was taking orders and preparing the fried food (egg rolls and crab Rangoon) and bagging up the completed orders. The other two worked on the rest of the meals. For the last five minutes waiting for my order, I stood by the counter and watched the three people working.

Their motions were smooth and confident as they worked by a series of woks on one side and a table on the other where the food was being placed in to go containers. Each action they performed was either a preparation for the next action or a follow up of a previous action. It ran as that preverbal ‘well oiled machine’. They could have been pieces in an ornate clock or dancers as they moved so effortlessly on each task.

In a way it became artwork: Perfect motion, timing and action. I think the restaurant owner understood as I watched and smiled, as he smiled back and we bowed to each other in acknowledgement.

We may not see what we do day in and day out at artwork, but looking in from out outside, watching us do what we do best, it could easily be seen as art.

· Call center representatives, fingers flying over their keyboards, maneuvering their mice to work through multiple programs perform a symphony of actions to achieve the goals by their caller.

· Administrative Assistants and office staff crafting documents, PowerPoint’s and Excel charts are artisans painting another masterpiece. Unlike the art we see in museums, this art also has functional purpose, to convey a message to their audience.

· Doctors helping patients use their skills and knowledge like ballet dancers. Chiropractors do a dance with their hands on backs of their patients to correct spinal and joint alignments.

· Managers artistically direct their teams and resources to achieve their goals through choreography and direction, building something of value and importance.

· Sales representatives sing songs through their sales presentations to their customers in the sharing of ideas and expressing the value of their wares.

· Trainers and instructors perform operas of information which create gardens of growth teaming with a wealth of knowledge in the minds of their students.

· Leaders paint on a canvas of their followers helping them grow and learn to be more than they are, creating a mosaic where a blank slate existed when the team first started.

In the hustle, bustle of our daily grind, we may not get to see that we are also artisans and some of us even master craftspeople, but if we get a moment to step back from what we do, we may be able to see the beauty that you create through our efforts.

When you can, take a moment to enjoy that art, that is, what we do.

Enjoy!

Sanford Berenberg