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Winning in Business & Life |
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Thursday, 05 June 2008 |
"It's a town full of losers, we're pulling out of here to win"
Bruce Springsteen
Political advisor and commentator Karl Rove is an avid student of American
history . I am a semi avid student of the same subject.
We both studied the presidential election of 1896. It is pivotal since the Democratic
party nominee, William Jennings Bryan, changed the way that presidential
campaigns were run.
Rove spent his time
studying William McKinley and how he defeated Bryan twice.
It occurred to me that
Rove focused on the tactics of the winner while I focused on the tactics of the loser. That
might be why Rove has supported more winning candidates than I have.
I have an affinity
for the underdogs and "losers" of life. I am a believer in giving people second chances.
I know that the best way to make a person a winner is
to put them in an environment where others have positive attitudes.
It is a common in areas like sports, business or overcoming
addictions to see a person turn their lives around when they go from a negative environment to a positive
environment.
It was a lesson in Jack Welch's book "Winning".
It was published shortly after Welch reitred as Chariman of General Electric in 2005.
Welch focuses on a
simple point: A
positive environment spawns successful people and a negative environment pushes
people down.
The leader of a group needs to develop and maintain a
positive environment.
My father often said, "If you tell me who your friends
are, I'll tell you who you are."
Dad was a professional gambler and
saw people brought down by the people
they befriended.
One of my favorite movies is Carlitos Way, which is based on two
excellent novels (Carlitos Way and After Hours) by Edwin Torres. Al
Pacino stars as a man trying to break
away from a "town full of losers" who
ultimately bring him down.
It is a struggle many face in business and life. The winner
inside them can be brought down by friends, family and co workers.
Welch focused his energies at General Electric at ridding
the company of people with bad attitudes.
I did a great deal
of business with a an affiliate of
General Electric when they were in the structured settlement business. Welch was in charge at that time.
They found ways to
tell you yes, when others would find ways to
say no. Most of the employees had been successful in some other endeavor, such
as sports, and all had a "can-do"
attitude.
If I had an innovative idea, I would go to them first.
I've been around other businesses where the employees
were the enemy of the customers. I worked with one insurance company where two
of the customer "service" representatives had a sign on their desks.
It said: "Poor
planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part."
It did not say "I'm here to help you" or "I am here to make
life better for our customers" or "I'm
here to make the company more money." It said, "I have a lousy attitude so don't
bother me."
Since their jobs were supposed to be customer service, I am not exactly sure what
they actually did. Their negative
attitudes brought down any good workers around them.
Jack Welch would had them out of the building before the
signs ever went up.
I've never decided if I like Jack Welch but I have read everything about him and he has made a
huge mark in business. I favor him more as I see the struggles his successor has had. One thing I do
like about Jack is that he understands
how firing people is personally difficult
and painful. A guy like Donald Trump acts like it is macho and fun.
Welch said firing a person is the by product of helping a larger group succeed.
Some leaders understand it all levels. It is why you see coaches
throw problem athletes off teams and rehab program kick out people who fall off
the wagon.
I can't think of four people with less in common than Karl
Rove, Bruce Springsteen, Jack Welch and my dad but they all understand one
thing:
If you want to be a winner, you have to study and act like other winners.
Don McNay
is Chairman of the Board for McNay
Settlement Group in Richmond
Kentucky. You can write to him at
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
or read his award winning column at www.donmcnay.com
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