Bud Bilanich | The Common Sense Guy

More on the Nacchio Sentencing

In response to Monday’s post on the sentencing of Joe Nacchio, I received the following e mail…

Dear Mr. Bilanich:

Your article of July 30, 2007 concerning Joseph Nacchio is filled with half truths and accusations that simply are not true.  I attended the trial in Denver and this guy never had a chance.  It was clear from day one that he would be convicted of something.   There must not be much going on in Denver for so much print and TV time to be devoted to this.  There was no way he could receive a fair trial.  Even the comments and behavior of the judge was questionable.

To start Mr. Nacchio did not receive $52 million in gains as your article states.  This was the gross proceeds and even the judge admitted he received $28 million.  Also everyone fails to realize that the exercise price on the options went into the company treasury in the form of cash.

In addition in April and May Mr. Nacchio issued two (2) trade orders, one each month.  The Brokers then broke up the trades into 19 transactions.  The government claims each one is a separate trade order.  Giving the government the ability to pile on.  These trade orders were issued in a legal trading window approved by the Company General Counsel, Drake Tempest and approved by appropriate Qwest Board Committee.  Tempest had the exact same information that Nacchio had.  If there was a problem it was his responsibility to close the trading window yet he failed to do so.

The sale of space on the Fiber-Optic network was new technology with no accounting rules.  A meeting was held between the Big 5 (at the time) Accounting firms, the SEC and the financial personnel from the various telecom companies to discuss.  The Arthur Andersen white paper was the basis for the accounting rules adopted.  This basically said to treat this as a real estate sale and record the revenues up front even though payments may come in later.  There was also unlimited space on the Fiber-Optic network that could be sold.  If Companies stop buying that is a separate issue but at the time the legitimate accounting did not believe these sales to be one time "bumps". It should also be pointed out that Arthur Andersen was the US West auditors and not the Qwest auditors.  The merger agreement retained Arthur Andersen at the request of US West.

Joseph Nacchio is not a foolish or stupid individual.  By background he is an Engineer.  While I am sure he understood the accounting treatment and disclosures being proposed he would also defer to the experts and accept the treatments they proposed.  These would also have to have been approved by the General Counsel, Outside Counsel, the auditors, Qwest financial personnel and the Audit Committee.  Now in hindsight everyone wants to blame him and him alone.

Joe Nacchio is not a greedy individual.  A tough manager, - absolutely, but he is not a crook.  He was acting in absolutely good faith.  He also had a stop order in on all sales at $38/share.  How can a juror after the fact make the statement that "he must have known something".  This defies logic and the standard for guilt.  Apparently the jury had no idea what information he possessed to trade on. 

Ask yourself how Philip Anschutz could sell $179 Million in stock in the same period and not be charged.  Ask yourself how Drake Tempest, the General Counsel who determines the trading windows, could sell millions of dollars of Qwest stock in the same period and not be charged.  Then ask yourself how come the only telecom exec who wouldn't turn over phone records to the government is now charged and prosecuted.

Please try and keep your opinions fair and balanced.

Very truly yours,

As the person who sent this e mail did not post it in the comments section of the blog, I have not included his name.

My response…

Mr. X:
I used Denver Post and Rocky Mountain News articles as source material for my blog.  I assume their account of the sentencing is accurate. 

And yes, this is a big deal in Denver.  Many loyal Qwest employees lost their retirement savings as a result of Mr. Nacchio’s mismanagement of the company and his crimes. 
The fact remains that Mr. Nacchio was convicted on 19 counts of insider trading.  You may disagree with the verdict, but it was the verdict of the jury. 

You say he is not a crook and was acting in good faith – the jury found otherwise.  The judge in the case, not me, was the one who said that Mr. Nacchio was guilty of “overarching greed”.

Mr. Nacchio has the right to appeal.  Until he is cleared by an appellate court, he is a convicted felon. 

As to Mr. Anschutz – he wasn’t charged.  For all I know, he also may be guilty – or he may not.  We don’t know.

Thanks for your comments.
Bud Bilanich

PS – I had a good laugh when I saw that you cited an Arthur Anderson white paper in your e mail to me.  As I recall, they offered some pretty flawed advice to Enron too.

When I began writing this blog, I did not set out to be a corporate gadfly, nor a protector of the truth.  I wanted to show my readers how common sense is a useful guide for making business decisions.  Occasionally, I post about corporate and individual malfeasance, but with the idea of making a common sense point. 

In the case of Mr. Nacchio, the main common sense point is “don’t lie, cheat and steal”.  The secondary common sense point is “face reality – don’t assume that a one time profit windfall will repeat itself”.  Mr. Nacchio was guilty of both – a jury convicted him on insider trading charges.  Common sense says that a competent executive should realize that a bump in revenues due to a sale that is unlikely to be repeated in the future, should not become the basis for future revenue projections. 

I'm interested your thoughts on this.  Please use the comments section to let me know what you think…

That’s it for today.  Thanks for reading.  Log on to my website www.BudBilanich.com for more common sense.  Check out my other blog: www.SuccessCommonSense.com for common sense advice on becoming the career and life success you are meant to be and to get a copy of my new ebook Star Power: Common Sense Ideas for Career and Life Success.

I’ll see you around the web, and at Alex’s Lemonade Stand.

Bud

You Need to Read "Engaged Leadership" by Clint Swindall

In my book, 4 Secrets of High Performing Organizations, (You can get a copy in ebook format by clicking on the link just to the left.) I make the point that all successful businesses and the people who lead them have four things in common:

• Successful businesses and the people who lead them develop and communicate a clarity of purpose and direction.
• Successful businesses and the people who lead them engage the full commitment of everyone in the organization.
• Successful businesses and the people who lead them skillfully execute the things that matter.
• Successful businesses and the people who lead them build strong, lasting mutually beneficial relationships with important outside constituencies.

It’s always great to find someone who agrees with me, so that’s why I liked Engaged Leadership: Building a Culture to Overcome Employee Disengagement so much.  Clint Swindall, the author has written a great book.  It is part business fable, and part how to manual.

Mr. Swindall tells the story of Halifax, a call center company, much as I tell the story of Brennan Newell and Diamond Inc. in 4 Secrets. 

But Mr. Swindall goes me one better.  After he finishes the fable, he spends another 60 or so pages telling the reader how to put to work the lessons in the Halifax story.  He tells us that engaged leadership has three facets:

• Directional Leadership
• Motivational Leadership
• Organizational Leadership

While not a one-to-one match, these three leadership facets are very similar to the points I make about clarity, commitment and execution.  No wonder I like Mr. Swindall’s book so much!

I don’t want to steal Mr. Swindall’s thunder but he makes some great points about each leadership facet.

When discussing Directional Leadership, he has the following four suggestions.  Recruit from the top 26%.  Prepare your organization for change.  Let everybody in your organization know how they contribute.  Constantly communicate progress.

When he moves to Motivational Leadership, Mr. Swindall offers these four points.  Lead with positive motivation.  Celebrate small successes.  Encourage work life balance for all employees.  Create a fair work environment.

Similarly, Mr. Swindall offers some more cogent common sense advice in his discussion of Organizational Leadership.  Identify and position talent appropriately.  Build a bridge between generations.  Move toward real empowerment.  Establish and implement a strategy to maintain success.

I really like this book; primarily because of it’s format.  The fable is great for readers who learn best by listening to stories and by watching what other people did in a given situation.  The second section in which Mr. Swindall gives concrete tips on implementing
Directional Leadership, Motivational Leadership and Organizational Leadership will appeal to readers who like a no nonsense nuts and bolts approach.

Whichever learning type you are, do yourself a favor and pick up a copy of Engaged Leadership.  Put its ideas to work and watch your business grow and prosper.

That’s it for today.  Thanks for reading.  Log on to my website www.BudBilanich.com for more common sense.  Check out my other blog: www.SuccessCommonSense.com for common sense advice on becoming the career and life success you are meant to be and to get a copy of my new ebook Star Power: Common Sense Ideas for Career and Life Success.

I’ll see you around the web, and at Alex’s Lemonade Stand.

Bud

PS: Speaking of Alex’s Lemonade Stand – my fundraising page is still open.  Please go to www.FirstGiving.com/TheCommonSenseGuy to read Alex’s inspiring story and to donate if you can.

Play Your Best Hand

The June 2007 issue of Executive Leadership has a piece called Lead Your Players to a Winning Hand.  It describes four types of people identified in the book Play Your Best Hand by Faith Ralston, and it provides suggestions for leading each of these types of people.

The organizing principle is based on the four suits in a typical deck of playing cards: Diamonds, Clubs, Spades and Hearts.  Here’s how it works…

Diamond people like to seize on emerging ideas and imagine new ways to solve problems. 

They love new possibilities.  Treat them as entrepreneurs and give them lots of room.

Club people champion good ideas, initiate change and make it happen.  They’re powerful at building organizations.  Clubs say “let’s do it”.  Put them in charge of a big, complex project.  Once it’s up and running however, give them a new challenge.

Spade people like to organize and complete projects.  They’re detail oriented, digging in to get things done.  You need spade personalities to meet deadlines in good shape.  Spades are no nonsense and despise inefficiency.

Heart people are people persons.  They are great at orchestrating buy-in and teamwork.  Without them, morale can plummet.  Hearts are finely attuned to interpersonal dynamics, charging the atmosphere with energy and enthusiasm.  They strive for harmony.

I think this is an interesting spin on Jungian psychology.  As I read the description of Diamond, Club, Spade and Heart people, I couldn’t help but think about the MBTI (Myers Briggs Type Indicator).  The MBTI identifies 16 types of personalities, and four temperaments.  Here’s my take on how MBTI temperaments match up with the playing card suits.

·        People with an SJ temperament value responsibility and loyalty.  They resemble Spades.

·        People with an SP temperament value cleverness and timeliness.  They resemble Clubs.

·        People with an NF temperament value inspiration and a personal touch.  They resemble Hearts.

·        People with an NT temperament value ingenuity and logic.  They resemble Diamonds.

I’m sure a lot of reading this are quite knowledgeable about the MBTI.  I’d love to hear you opinion on how I’ve connected up the playing card suits with MBTI temperaments.

That’s it for today.  Thanks for reading.  Log on to my website www.BudBilanich.com for more common sense.  Check out my other blog: www.SuccessCommonSense.com for common sense advice on becoming the career and life success you are meant to be.

I’ll see you around the web, and at Alex’s Lemonade Stand.

Bud

PS: Speaking of Alex’s Lemonade Stand – my fundraising page is still open.  Please go to www.FirstGiving.com/TheCommonSenseGuy to read Alex’s inspiring story and to donate if you can.

The Power of Stories

The other day, I came across a great article written by Doug Lipman, called Seven Opportunities You’re Missing if You’re Not Using the Power of Storytelling in Your Business.

As you know, I my book 4 Secrets of High Performing Organizations, I point out that successful businesses have four things in common.

·        Successful businesses develop and communicate a clarity of purpose and direction.

·        Successful businesses enlist the sincere engagement and commitment of everyone in the organization.

·        Successful businesses skillfully execute the things that matter.

·        Successful businesses build lasting, mutually beneficial relationships with important outside constituencies.

I have found that storytelling can:

·        Reinforce a company’s clarity of purpose.

·        Build employee engagement and commitment by making the business come alive to everyone inside the organization.

·        Enhance execution by highlighting how to do and how not to certain things.

·        Build external relationships by making the business come alive to people outside the organization.

Mr. Lipman lists seven opportunities for savvy leaders and business owners to use storytelling to build their organization.  Here is a brief summary.  Stories create the opportunity to:

·        Communicate complex truths simply.

·        Convey information in a memorable way.

·        Bring company values to the forefront of daily life.

·        Sell yourself by conveying your identity.

·        Deal with conflicts efficiently.

·        Give feedback less threateningly.

·        Take charge of meaning.

As he says, “if you don’t tell your story, someone else will”.

Mr. Lipman lists a bonus opportunity of storytelling – manage crises and change. 

I have a .pdf of this article.  I will send it to you if you send me an e mail requesting it.  Please send your e mails to [email protected] and put “Story Telling Article” in the subject line.

Mr. Lipman has a lot of interesting things to say about the power of stories in business.  His website is: www.storydynamics.com.

To me the use of stories in business is just common sense.  All of our lives, we’ve learned from stories.  I agree with Mr. Lipman, leaders and business owners who don’t harness the power of stories are missing out on a great opportunity to build their business.

That’s it for today.  Thanks for reading.  Log on to my website www.BudBilanich.com for more common sense.  Check out my other blog: www.SuccessCommonSense.com for common sense advice on becoming the career and life success you are meant to be.

I’ll see you around the web, and at Alex’s Lemonade Stand.

Bud

PS: Speaking of Alex’s Lemonade Stand – my fundraising page is still open.  Please go to www.FirstGiving.com/TheCommonSenseGuy to read Alex’s inspiring story and to donate if you can.

Make New Employees Feel Welcome

In my book 4 Secrets of High Performing Organizations, I lay out four keys to success for running any business or organization:

• Develop and communicate a clarity of purpose and direction.
• Enlist the sincere engagement and commitment of everyone in the organization.
• Skillfully execute the things that matter.
• Build long lasting, mutually beneficial relationships with important outside constituencies.

When it comes to building commitment and engagement, I always advise my clients to “make it difficult to join your organization, but once you invite someone to join, make them feel special”. 

I was reading Communication Solutions the other day, and saw an article entitled This May Be the Best $25 You’ll Ever Spend.  In part, here is what the article said.

• “We called a stationary store in our hometown of Chicago and asked how much it would cost to print a batch of 200 basic business cards.  The answer? $25…With that kind of price you’d have to be crazy not to have a shiny new batch of business cards waiting for the individual you just promoted into a new job title.  Why?  You want employees to attack their new responsibilities with a passion, and handing them a set of business cards before the promotion has even settled in will get them off to a rousing start.”

I think this is just as important, or even more so for new employees than for those who have been promoted.  Make their first day on the job exciting and welcoming.  Besides business cards, make sure that their workspace is well set up.  This means a clean workspace with a name tag on by the door, a working phone, an internet connection and a company e mail address, as well as a selection of pens and notepads.

This should be the least you do to make new employees feel welcome and special.  I always suggest assigning a mentor or best friend for a new employee’s first few weeks in the office – just to help them get off to a great start.

One more thing – have some meaningful work for new employees.  Don’t make them search for things to do.  Make sure they have real work with real deadlines the day they start.  This will help them hit the ground running. 

The common sense point here – make new employees feel welcomed and valued the day they start work at your company or in your department.

I’ll be taking Monday off to celebrate the Memorial Day holiday in the USA.  I’ll post again on Tuesday, May 29.

That’s it for today.  Thanks for reading.  Log on to my website www.BudBilanich.com for more common sense.  Check out my other blog: www.SuccessCommonSense.com for common sense advice on becoming the career and life success you are meant to be.

I’ll see you around the web, and at Alex’s Lemonade Stand.

Bud

PS: Speaking of Alex’s Lemonade Stand – my fundraising page is still open.  Please go to www.FirstGiving.com/TheCommonSenseGuy to read Alex’s inspiring story and to donate if you can.

The Understand, Accept, Do Model of Change Management

Bob Prosen is a friend of mine and author of a great book Kiss Theory Goodbye. I’m visiting Washington DC right now – a little business, and a mini vacation – so an article in Bob’s most recent newsletter caught my eye.  I’ve posted it below.

Washington Needs A CEO Injection: Kick Politics Aside and Run The Country Like A Business!

"Enough is enough! Stop the madness! Washington is officially out of control and Americans are sick and tired of the transparent political games, anger, mistrust, quest for power and overall ineffectiveness. It's time for a real change not another reshuffling of chairs or acceptance of hollow promises from our elected officials that they'll work cooperatively across the aisle to accomplish what's best for our country.

"There is a better way. But it requires courage to integrate some of battle proven business practices that are the core of America's strength.

"The federal government should turn to top industry CEOs who have successfully led their companies to achieve extraordinary results. These leaders have made their fortunes and have the time and capability to help lead this nation.

"Here are a few of the areas where sound business leadership can make a profound and positive difference:

• Create a culture of accountability.
• Balance the budget and live within our means as CEOs do with their companies quarter after quarter.
• Drive out inefficiencies. Start with the post office then move to on to every other bureaucracy that's not working.
• Hire people smarter than their pay grade.
• Aggressively manage poor performers to achieve their objectives or exit.
• Ensure program investments yield committed returns and hold leaders accountable for measurable results.
• Reward creativity.
• Implement pay for performance and remove the entitlement mentality.
• Freeze headcount increases until productivity measures are achieved."

That’s what Bob has to say.  I pretty much agree with him.  On the other hand, I’m also not so sure how easy it would be to implement these common sense suggestions in today’s entrenched Federal bureaucracy.

To make these types of large scale changes in Washington – or any organization – leaders need to be able to do three things:

1. Make sure that everyone involved with the change understands the change – why it is necessary, how it will affect them, what they need to do to make the change work.
2. Make sure that everyone involved with the change accepts the change.  People must become committed to making the change work.  (This is probably the biggest problem with making large scale change in Washington).
3. Make sure that everyone involved with the change can do what they need to do to make the change work.  Change means that people will have to learn and use new skills.  Sometimes this means that massive training is necessary for a change to succeed.

Whether you’re in Washington, or just trying to make some changes in the department or small business you run, you’ll need to follow the common sense understand, accept, do model of change management.  Like a lot of common sense, it’s conceptually simple.  But it takes a lot of determination, focus and stick-to-it-iveness to make it work.

That’s it for today.  Thanks for reading.  Log on to my website www.BudBilanich.com for more common sense.  Check out my other blog: www.SuccessCommonSense.com for common sense advice on becoming the career and life success you are meant to be.

I’ll see you around the web, and at Alex’s Lemonade Stand.

Bud

PS: Speaking of Alex’s Lemonade Stand – my fundraising page is still open.  Please go to www.FirstGiving.com/TheCommonSenseGuy to read Alex’s inspiring story and to donate if you can.

7 Things Every Leader Should Know

The May 2007 edition of Executive Leadership had an interesting piece entitled 7 Things Every Leader Must Know Before You Start Leading by Retired Army General William Cohen.  General Cohen says these are:

Seven Facts You Need to Know Before You Start Leading

1. One individual can make the difference between success and failure.  You can be that person.
2. Most people succeed only through the help of others.  While independence is good, interdependence is essential to leadership.
3. You don’t need any particular authority to lead.  You don’t need to wait for a promotion.  Just lead.
4. The basic elements of combat leadership will allow you to lead in nearly any situation, because combat poses the most severe crises, hardships and penalties for failure.
5. The essence of leadership is motivating people to do their best toward meeting your goals.
6. Leaders are made, not born.  You can learn.
7. Leadership doesn’t depend on a square deal or pleasant working conditions.  Given a worthy goal, you can motivate people without those rewards.

I agree with six or the seven.  Having never been in combat (thankfully), I am not in a position to comment on number 4.  I don’t know what “the basic elements of combat leadership” are, but I do agree that combat does impose very sever crises, hardships and penalties for failure.

I particularly like point 3.  Anyone can lead.  Leadership is less about position and more about your ability to articulate a goal and get people to go along with you as you move towards it.

That’s it for today.  Thanks for reading.  Log on to my website www.BudBilanich.com for more common sense.  Check out my other blog: www.SuccessCommonSense.com for common sense advice on becoming the career and life success you are meant to be.

I’ll see you around the web, and at Alex’s Lemonade Stand.

Bud

PS: Speaking of Alex’s Lemonade Stand – my fundraising page is still open.  Please go to www.FirstGiving.com/TheCommonSenseGuy to read Alex’s inspiring story and to donate if you can.

Building a Committed and Engaged Workforce

I have often said that sometimes I learn as much from my consulting clients as they do from me.  Yesterday was a good example.  I was conducting an executive team building session and the Human Resources person succinctly summed up three factors indicative of an engaged and committed workforce.

An engaged and committed qorkforce is one of the four pillars of a successful organization that I present in my book 4 Secrets of High Performing Organizations.

Here is what this HR Leader had to say about an engaged and committed workforce.  Engaged and committed employees:

• Say positive things about their company.
• Stay – they have an intense desire to be part of their company.
• Strive – they are willing to exert extra effort on the part of the company.

Common sense leaders build this type of commitment and engagement in the part of the people they lead.  They do this in several ways:

• Common sense leaders make sure the people they lead know exactly what they are supposed to do and accomplish.
• Common sense leaders make sure the people they lead know why they are supposed to do and accomplish what they are supposed to do and accomplish.
• Common sense leaders make sure the people they lead are committed to what they are supposed to do and accomplish.
• Common sense leader teach the people they lead how to focus on multiple priorities.
• Common sense leaders provide the people they lead with regular and timely feedback.
• Common sense leaders reward, not punish, good performance.
• Common sense leaders redirect, not reward, poor performance.
• Common sense leaders remove obstacles to high performance.
• Common sense leaders are a role model for high performance.
• Common sense leaders accelerate the development of the people they lead.

If you can master and use the skills associated with these ten items, you are on your way to creating an engaged and committed workforce in your organization -- one in which the people you lead say good things about your company; stay with your company -- through thick and thin; and strive to make your company successful.

That’s it for today.  Thanks for reading.  Log on to my website www.BudBilanich.com for more common sense.  Check out my other blog: www.SuccessCommonSense.com for common sense advice on becoming the life and career star you are meant to be.

I’ll see you around the web, and at Alex’s Lemonade Stand.

Bud

PS: Speaking of Alex’s Lemonade Stand – my fundraising page is still open.  Please go to www.FirstGiving.com/TheCommonSenseGuy to read Alex’s inspiring story and to donate if you can.

Three Dimensional Interviewing

Committed and engaged employees is one of the pillars of organizational success that I describe in my book 4 secrets of High Performing Organizations.  As I point out in the book, the commitment and engagement process begins with recruitment and selection.  I advise leaders to make it difficult to join your organization.  In this way, the people you invite will feel special.  This jump starts the commitment building process.

The other day, I came across a great book -- Three Dimensional Interviewing: Hiring for Capability, Commitment and Chemistry.  This wonderful little book is the result of a collaboration between The Walk the Talk Company and Vision Point. 

The authors, Rich Layton, Paul Shay and Matt Terronez, really have something to say about how to hire the right people.  Leaders at all levels can benefit from their common sense advice. 

Mssrs. Layton, Shay and Terronez suggest that the best hires come from a three dimensional candidate profile.  These dimensions are capability, commitment and chemistry.  They define each of these dimensions as follows:

Capability – the knowledge and skills to do the job.

• Skills, proficiency and level of experience
• Relevant knowledge and subject matter expertise
• Education, training and certifications
• Demonstrated ability to learn, adapt and grow
• Physical fitness, coordination, manual dexterity etc.

Commitment – the attitude and motivation to do the job effectively.

• Initiative and self motivation
• Cooperation and teamwork
• Results orientation and focus
• Strong work ethic

Chemistry – sufficient alignment of the candidate’s values and working styles with those of the organization.

• Good match between the organization and person

Once they’ve established these three critical dimensions, the authors spend the rest of their time describing their three dimensional interviewing process – prepare, conduct, evaluate. First, they show the reader how to prepare by developing a candidate profile and creating questions that will get at each of the three dimensions of capability, commitment and chemistry.  Second, they offer great common sense advice on how to conduct and interview.  Third, they show the reader how to put it all together through using a systematic candidate evaluation process.

Three Dimensional Interviewing is a book no hiring leader should be without.  It provides simple, straightforward, common sense advice on how to hire the right people for your organization.  It’s another winner from Walk the Talk Company.

That’s it for today.  Thanks for reading.  Log on to my website www.BudBilanich.com for more common sense.  Check out my other blog: www.SuccessCommonSense.com for common sense advice on becoming the life and career star you are meant to be.

I’ll see you around the web, and at Alex’s Lemonade Stand.

Bud

PS: Speaking of Alex’s Lemonade Stand – my fundraising page is still open.  Please go to www.FirstGiving.com/TheCommonSenseGuy to read Alex’s inspiring story and to donate if you can.

Leadership Advice from a Kindergarten Teacher

USA Today is running its annual series of articles profiling their All-USA Teacher Team.  Nancy Karpyk is on the team this year.  She teaches Kindergarten in Weirton WV – a town not too far from Ambridge, PA where I grew up. 

I was struck by a quote from Ms. Karpyk.  “You teach the behavior you want by what you do and what you don’t do.  You set the tone.”  With those 19 words, Ms. Karpyk has captured the essence of being a role model.  If you’re a leader or small business owner, please read them again, and take them to heart.

Good leaders are role models.  Their actions are always consistent with the message they want to send. 

If you want to be a role model for the people you lead, focus on four things:

1. How you spend your time.  Spend time on what you say is important.  If you say that managing costs is important, spend time on budgeting and financial reviews.  If you say customer service is important, spend time reviewing customer complaints.
2. Where you go.  Getting out of your office is one of the best ways to become a role model.  Go to places that enhance the message you send.  If you want to encourage employee initiative, spend time with the people you lead – at their work space.  To return to the previous example about customer service, visit customers at the place of business.  Ask them how you can improve you products and services to better meet their needs.
3. What you say.  Pay attention to what you say – the people you lead do.  If your words are positive, the people you lead will become more positive.  If you are open and honest, the people you lead will be open and honest.  Words are powerful, so choose them well.  Think before you speak.
4. How you deal with problems and crises.  This may be you biggest test as a leader.  In times of crisis, people tend to show their true colors.  If you remain cool and calm, focus on solving the problem – not on assigning blame; the people you lead will do the same.

Today’s common sense point comes from a kindergarten teacher -- “You teach the behavior you want by what you do and what you don’t do.  You set the tone.”  Kind of reminds me of Robert Fulghum’s book that was popular several years ago – All I Need to Know, I Learned in Kindergarten.

That’s it for today.  Thanks for reading.  Log on to my website www.BudBilanich.com for more common sense.  Check out my other blog: www.SuccessCommonSense.com for common sense advice on becoming the life and career star you are meant to be.

I’ll see you around the web, and at Alex’s Lemonade Stand.

Bud

PS: Speaking of Alex’s Lemonade Stand – my fundraising page is still open.  Please go to www.FirstGiving.com/TheCommonSenseGuy to read Alex’s inspiring story and to donate if you can.