QBQ! QuickNote - When are we Going to Hear Something New?  |
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 Tom Sween, CEO of Minnesota-based E.A. Sween Co., would never ask that lousy question. With a popular brand name of Deli Express, they place freshly made food items in thousands of locations each day. Hardly a glamorous industry, but an important one. And E.A. Sween is a hugely successful company by any standard of measurement. What makes them unique? In 1992 Mr. Sween and his executive team committed to a training process that taught powerful and practical concepts of leadership and self-management. Instead of handing it off to human resources or a staff trainer, they actually said, "This is our job!" Demonstrating ownership and responsibility, they invested the time and energy to learn how to facilitate the training materials themselves-and then did it. Over all the years of selling training systems, I was most proud to have E.A. Sween on my personal client list. Mostly because they understood it's always management's job to develop people and effect cultural change. This is a CEO and group of leaders who believe in and practice personal accountability. Over a decade later, not only do Tom and Team "walk the talk," but the talk that is walked is still the talk from the original content they brought into the culture in 1992! In simple terms, they've stayed with it and made it work. They understand learning. They know: The old stuff is the good stuff. Principles of success are not timely, they are timeless. Timeless ideas are not fads. And engaging in fads can create a terrible organizational cancer: Cynicism. Cynicism defined: Doubting another's sincerity, motives, and intentions. It is a costly disease because it robs our organizations of creativity, communication, trust, productivity, and - learning. And management has created cynicism by buying into the myths of the Flavor of the Day, the Program of the Quarter, and the Education Escapade. Senior teams have escaped for a day of whitewater rafting and called it "team building." The mantra returning to the office was, " Hey, we got wet together-now we can work together! " We've held the January "Hype Me Up Higher" sales meetings in warm-weather resorts while bringing in the mountain climbers because, well, they climbed a mountain. They've done their motivational shtick, told us of the dangers they faced and the glory they found, and showed us the PowerPoint presentations of icicles hanging from parkas and chins. We're awed. We bought the book. We got an autograph. And then we returned to the field with not one kernel of practical content we can use on the job. Tremendous quantities of goodwill, energy, time, and money have been squandered through manipulation, short-term thinking, the desire for the quick fix of problems and people, and just plain old ignorance. The organizational world has wasted billions of dollars over recent decades. Management dictates what slogan goes on the wall ... this year. Department teams want their turn climbing trees and swinging from ropes. Outside "experts" encourage it. Sadly, we have paid them to take us there. Salespeople looking for the silver bullet say, "I've taken Selling Skills 101, what's next?" But there really is no higher-level class. How come? Because it's the fundamentals that work best on the job. Yet we have been taught that it is natural, normal, and our right to do the Blue program one quarter, the Red program the next, and the Green program the year after. Changing our core messages, producing new annual vision statements, and latching on to fads have not worked. It's true, we live in a fad-driven culture but do we need to perpetuate it within our organizations? Maybe we should consider simplicity, clarity, consistency, and repetition of quality messages over time. Let's each ask the accountable question-the QBQ! of the Learner: "How can I apply what I'm hearing?" Key word: APPLY. We talk about learning, so let's learn. We talk about execution, so let's execute. We talk about accountability, so let's practice personal accountability. As we close out this year and focus on the next, let's return to what works: Common sense, effective and timeless principles believed, spoken, and modeled by management and staff over time for all to see. This is the lifeblood of learning - and can be the death knell of cynicism. Remember always: It doesn't have to be new to be effective and it's forever true: The old stuff is the good stuff. John G. Miller Author of QBQ! and Flipping the Switch -------------------------------------------------------------------  QBQ! QuickNotes may be forwarded by email to others or printed in their entirety with credit given for personal and group use. Copyright QBQ, Inc. 2007. All rights reserved. Host a QBQ! event at your organization and start making personal accountability a core cultural value. Click here for more information or give us a call today at 1-866-988-RAIN - we'd love to hear from you! Learn more about Personal Accountability and the QBQ! at our Personal Accountability at Work website Visit the QBQ! QuickNotes Archives Personal Accountability should be an important part of every organizational culture. Unfortunately though a culture of personal accountability is often times eroded and replaced by a destructive culture characterized by negativity, blame shifting, finger pointing, and poor employee morale. QBQ! The Question Behind The Question seeks to eliminate this noxious culture and replace it with one where individuals take responsibility for their actions and ask themselves what they as individuals can do to help the organization succeed and prosper. For more information about how you can create a culture of personal accountability in your organization give us a shout! 1-866-988-RAIN   |
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