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While there are a few outsiders like myself, everyone else is AFLAC. AFLAC directors, managers, sales agents, and spouses. On this trip, about 40 of us flew out of Indianapolis for five days in sunny, friendly Cabo.
Aside from going to exotic places for free, I LOVE these trips because they put me in direct contact with some of the greatest people in the world. I get a chance to talk to some of the most successful people I've ever met. And I learn an awful lot. Here are some of the lessons I learned:
Lesson #1: You CAN be successful year after year after year. Some of the people on this trip I had met on previous trips. These people have figured out HOW to succeed and have continued working the success formula. In other words, success is up to THEM, not up to the economy or the accounts they have or their territory or….
Lesson #2: Success at the higher levels is directly related to the people who work for you - and those who succeed do everything they can to make sure those who work for them succeed. Randy's been one of the top-producing managers in AFLAC for many years. When I asked for his explanation, he stated that he's got great people working for him. When I asked Randy's sales superstars why THEY were successful, to a person they pointed to Randy. "He's great to work for." "He'll do anything to make sure you succeed."
Lesson #3: You can be nice and succeed. When Randy first intimated a decade ago that he was considering selling insurance, I tried to talk him out of it. I had met enough insurance sales people to know that Randy didn't have the thick skin, the oozy slickness, and the overwhelming compulsion to close
close CLOSE. What I didn't know was how successful he WOULD become because he empathized with his clients, he was sincere, and he firmly believed in the value of AFLAC's products and the benefits they provided clients. He was successful because he WASN'T slick or thick skinned.
Lesson #4: The same characteristics that made Randy a very successful sales agent made/make him a successful sales manager. While he's about performance (or he wouldn't be one of AFLAC's stars year after year), he achieves performance by listening, by coaching, by encouraging, and by being who he is. Randy is authentic. What you see is what you get. He's honest. He's open. He's willing to help. He's there for his people and - as a result - they're there for him (LITERALLY, as Randy's sales team was the most widely represented of all the sales teams at this recognition trip!)
Lesson #5: Celebrating success is a good thing. It's important to recognize the effort and results of those responsible for the success. Those men and women at AFLAC work hard and play hard. They enjoy their work and they enjoy the fruits of their labor.
These five lessons were among the many I learned over the five days (over tequila shots - thanks Lisa, over Texas Hold 'em, over dancing at Cabo Wabo, over dinner - thanks John!, over pool, in the pool, over early morning coffee - thanks Rick!, snorkeling over a reef, and once a bit overhung). As always, I'm impressed by - and somewhat in awe of - the people who work at AFLAC.
Entelechy Speaks to Bill George about Authentic Leadership
As faithful readers know, I've had the pleasure and honor to meet some of the world's greatest leaders and leadership gurus. From Sir Richard Branson, General Tommy Franks, and Captain Mike Abrashoff to Dr. Warren Bennis, Dr. Henry Mintzberg, and Tom Peters. And I get paid to do it! Through our work with Linkage Inc., we help support their broadcasts of these famous people by designing and developing participant and facilitator guides that many clients use to turn a 90-minute presentation into a true learning and growth opportunity.
I recently had the opportunity to meet with Bill George, former chairman and chief executive of Medtronic, Inc., the world's leading medical technology company, and author of the best-selling book,
Authentic Leadership: Rediscovering the Secrets to Creating Lasting
Value.
Bill George speaks boldly against the "shareholders are king" philosophy that has created many of the problems facing businesses today. With corporate accounting scandals rampant and CEOs being handsomely rewarded even while their companies are rushing headlong to failure, George believes that leaders must reexamine their values and principles and refocus their companies on the things that create true sustainable value: satisfied customers serviced through valued employees.
In the pursuit of shareholder - not customer - value, CEOs have been driven to pursue quick riches - almost always at the expense of long-term growth and customer service. Worse, this misguided pursuit of shareholder profits has led some - as evident in Enron, WorldCom, Adelphia, and others - to create the illusion of profitability and growth.
Where's the leadership? In many cases, the leadership is as vaporous as the long-term profits.
Bill George calls on all of us to demonstrate authentic leadership, to return to the core values of sound business. He argues that taking good care of employees and customers will result in a higher stock price than focusing on shareholder value. And his arguments are persuasive. During his tenure as CEO at Medtronic, revenues grew from $750 million in 1989 to $5 billion in 2001. The company's market capitalization rose from around $1 billion to more than $60 billion - a 37.5% growth rate compounded annually.
Bill George has faced many of the same pressures all leaders face: the CEO cult of personality, the 24/7 workday, the passionate pursuit of earnings, the excesses of ego, and the breach of trust by far too many corporate leaders in the 1990s. In his book, Mr. George draws from his rich experiences - as well as from those of leaders he admires and disdains - to illustrate his five dimensions of authentic leaders:
o Understanding why you want to lead
o Practicing solid values
o Leading with a heart
o Establishing connected relationships
o Showing self-discipline
In my previous article on Cabo Wabo, I talk about Randy and his success as a leader at AFLAC. Randy has been successful because he's an authentic leader. His people follow him because he demonstrates - day in and day out - the dimensions of an authentic leader.
While Randy does these things intuitively, many managers and leaders need guidance and development to draw out these behaviors. To help developing authentic leaders through our customized High Performance Management program, contact me at
ttraut@unlockit.com.
For more information on Linkage's 2005 Excellence in Management & Leadership Series broadcasts, visit
http://www.linkageinc.com/learning_events/distance_learning/default.aspx.
Everybody, Meet Michelle Verdi and Beth Yeaton
Michelle Verdi
Michelle joins Entelechy as a Performance Consultant with over 10 years of business experience. Michelle has a diverse training background, instructing audiences both domestically and internationally. She has helped sales teams reach corporate goals by instructing and facilitating Strategic Account Planning Clinics, leading to increased revenue and new business. Michelle has coached over 1000 employees, helping them reach their potential through such courses as New Hire Training, Technology Training, Communication Skills, Sales Skills, and Solution Selling, to name a few.
Michelle's experience also includes several years of direct international sales within the technology industry. Michelle is bilingual in English and Spanish, bringing a unique skill set to Entelechy's clients.
So why did I hire Michelle? Actually for four reasons. First, because of her success in sales training. Second, because she came so highly recommended by one of my other employees. Third, because I asked her - as part of the interview process - to "whip together" a course on Strategic Account Planning and the result was incredible! Fourth, because of her Spanish-speaking ability, we now have the capability of developing customized materials in Spanish.
And why did Michelle choose Entelechy?
"Besides wanting to be a sponge and absorb as much of everyone's brains/experience as possible...."
…Michelle joins Entelechy to be part of a dynamic team and to further her interest in making a positive difference within organizations. Michelle is particularly interested in how to help employees reach their full potential.
Beth Yeaton
Beth joins Entelechy as Performance Consultant, responsible for the design and development of our clients' results-oriented training programs. She brings 10 years' experience providing training services for companies such as Fidelity, Cisco Systems, Nortel Networks, Newbridge Networks and Enterasys. Beth's skills include design, development, delivery and project management for training programs ranging in size from $5k to $1million.
Beth has and MBA from Babson College and a BA from Tufts University.
So why did I hire Beth? Beth had been a contractor with Entelechy since June of 2004. Having the chance to work with her, it was easy to see her talents. Beth can get things done! Having run her own business, Beth understands and appreciates the concept of "time = $$". Beth also has a unique and extensive background in working with partner/channel sales - a background that I see becoming increasingly important in the world of sales today. It's rare that I have the opportunity to "try before I buy" when it comes to employees. Having worked with Beth gave me a first-hand, unfiltered look at the person she was - and I knew she would be a tremendous asset to our Entelechy team.
And why did Beth choose Entelechy?
In Beth's words, she joined Entelechy to become part of a team she knew created innovative training programs centered in training principles and focused on achieving real business results. She was also drawn to us because she saw, from previous experience, that Entelechy worked with diverse organizations addressing challenging business issues and would provide constant opportunities to make a positive impact.
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Terence Traut, President of Entelechy "unlocking potential"
ttraut@unlockit.com
phone: 603-424-1237
fax: 603-424-6361
http://www.unlockit.com
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