This post is a follow-up to the post yesterday about "Lead With Your Heart" by Lewis Green. Lewis was kind enough to allow me to ask him 10 questions that I had while reading the book.
1. On page 7, You say the number one characteristic of a "Lead with Your Heart" business model is "People come before profits in every instance." A positive culture is important to customers and employees. How does it help a negative cash flow? If you are not making money you cannot pay salaries?
A: When people come before profits, we see that margins and in the long-term revenues, exceed those businesses whose focus is first on money. I believe in making money but I think a model based on profits leads to failed strategies, and offer several examples of how putting people first leads to business success.
2. What about people who abuse your kindness, or take advantage of flexible hours?
A: The business model I proposed is not a warm and fuzzy paradigm. When people do not fit the culture, which includes passion and productivity, we ask them to leave.
3. On pages 14-16, you contrast the Happiness and the Bottom-line business models. Can you cite some examples of each, with case studies or stock profiles?
A: A stock profile is a false indicator or profits, as it is based on top line revenues and is a short-term measure. A better indicator is margins. And companies such as Starbucks and 3M, which lead with the heart, represent just two case studies of success. Like any model, there will be ups and downs. But leading with your heart is a long-term strategy that results in long-term success and a world that is a better place to live and work.
4. I don't remember what page you asked the question on but I wanted to know when you first thought of it or where you heard it. "If your business went away tomorrow would any one care?"
A: It is part of the values process and a very Jesuit way to think. I can't remember where or when that specific question appeared, but the core of the question is based on building a business on a foundation of values. Those values-driven businesses are the one thing that great businesses had in common in the Collins and Porras book, Built to Last. If the answer to the question is "no," most people wouldn't care or even notice, your business is not maximizing its opportunities and may go away tomorrow.
5. On page 40, you state that a business does not sell products it sells relationships. You suggest that a business needs to do everything it can to please its customers. There will always be customers that cannot be satisfied. What does your heart-based model suggest for those customers?
A: Actually, I reject the word satisfied, which to me is synonymous with mediocre. I call for all businesses to create great experiences and to always meet or exceed people's wants and needs. We can only do our best. If a customer remains unsatisfied after we have done everything we can to make them happy, there is no more we can do.
6. On page 98 you say, "Leading with your heart in business is not leading with a bleeding heart." I thought this was the most important point after the title. Why did you wait so long to say this?
A: I first make that point on page 6, when I write: "My argument does not pit happiness against financial responsibility and health margins. Instead, I argue for strong fiscal responsibility and budgets that create better-than-hoped-for margins." And then again on Page 9, I write: "The pursuit of happiness does not rest on some shaky psychological definition of being happy." Throughout the book I try to reference and provide real examples that show that leading with your heart in business is not about being warm and fuzzy. It is about a business model that, however, always puts people first, and sometimes that means laying someone off who doesn't fit or increasing prices. (Looks like I did not catch it earlier - my mistake.)
7. On page 125, in the Starbucks story about employee contributions you sort of hint that the "Frappuccino" idea was borrowed or stolen from another company. How is that inline with your call for more honesty in business?
A: It was not stolen. However, all ideas come from somewhere outside ourselves. In this instance, it was a blended drink sold at another store that led to Frappuccino. The recipe and ingredients are completely original to and blended by Starbucks.
8. On page 185, you quoted the Gallup survey about employee attitudes. You believe the attitudes are partly a result of the reason the business owner or leader founded the company - for money or power. Given that the survey was conducted among all kinds of companies, not just "unhappy" places, were you surprised that 19% of employees actively sabotage their employer?
A: No, not at all. Humans are emotional beings and when they are unhappy and feel disrespected or perceive they are not begin dignified, some will lash out. And that lashing out violates the principles behind leading with your heart.
9. On page 219, you make a blanket statement, "Business has been about making as much money as possible for the few at the expense of the many." There are many companies that meet your positive, feel good, compassionate approach, isn't your statement a bit too broad?
A: It is a broad generalization and in a second writing I would modify that statement by saying instead that "the old business model focuses on making as much…." There are more than a few businesses that lead with your heart, which by the way is less about compassion that about doing the right thing.
10. How do you respond to the conclusion of the recent Harvard Business Review article (Jan 2008, pg 19, by Margolis and Elfenbein) "Do Well by Doing Good? Don't Count on It" where they conclude from 35 years of research that a "societal good" approach to investments, activities, or policies does not result in greater profitability? (They also said it did not hurt the bottom line either if it was done prudently.)
A: I don't disagree. They are basing their research on averages and execution is always the key factors. And I don't claim that doing good will result in greater profitability if we simply look at efforts to do good. But I do believe that businesses that do good using good business practices will increase sales and revenues overall. And as the research says, doing good doesn't hurt anything. And it does help.
-------------------------------
I do believe that it is as hard to run a company fairly and nicely as it is to run one in a mean and onerous manner. Once again I would like to encourage you to consider your choices when you act. Acting from a core belief that doing good matters is a key not only to success but to happiness. In the end, what we all want is to be happy with where we are and what we do. I think that Lewis has given a good blue print for a business that creates that kind of happy person, be they an employer or employee.
If you have an opinion on this I am certain that Lewis and I would be happy to hear what you have to say.
Comment Preview