THE EXPONENT: Volume 98, Number 5

"Our goal is simple - You achieving yours."

All progress requires change, and no change can be made without the first step being a change of mind. - Anonymous

There are only two things required for success in any endeavor -- willingness and ability. Anyone can learn new abilities through study and practice. In fact, of the two parts of success, it's actually the easier. First, however, one must have willingness as part of the equation. No one can cause you to change except you. What's the bottom line? It amounts simply to this: If you aren't successful as a chapter or as a person, prepare yourself to hear and evaluate new ideas. Then be ready to incorporate those new ideas that you believe will put you on the road to success.

Contents

• Leadership Strategy II: Meaning Through Communication
• Everything I Need To Know, I Learned In Astronaut Training School
• Motivate Yourself
• The Devil Is In The Details
• Reducing the Risks at Parties
• Things We Can Learn From Dogs

Leadership Strategy II: Meaning Through Communication

Summary of book by Warren Bennis and Burt Nanus (Copyright 1985)

Also see part 1 of the series

This quote from Disney figures high on a sign at Epcot in Orlando, Florida. However, believing in one's dreams is not enough. There are a lot of intoxicating visions and a lot of noble intentions. Many people have rich and deeply textured agendas, but without communication nothing else will be realized. Success requires the capacity to relate a compelling image of a desired state of affairs -- the kind of image that induces enthusiasm and commitment in others.

How do you capture imaginations? How do you communicate visions? How do you get people aligned behind the organization's goals? How do you get an audience to recognize and accept an idea? Workers have to recognize and get something of established identity. The management of meaning and mastery of communication is inseparable from effective leadership.

After the leader creates a vision and mobilizes commitment, perhaps the most difficult challenge begins, that of institutionalizing the new vision and mission.

A number of lessons can be drawn from the experiences of leaders. First, and perhaps most important, is that all organizations depend on the existence of shared meanings and interpretations of reality, which facilitate coordinated action. The actions and symbols of leadership frame and mobilize meaning. Leaders articulate and define what has previously remained implicit or unsaid; they invent images, metaphors, and models that provide a focus for new attention. By so doing, they consolidate or challenge prevailing wisdom. In short, an essential factor in leadership is the capacity to influence and organize meaning for the members of the organization.

Develop Commitment for the New Vision

The organization must be mobilized to accept and support the new vision -- to make it happen. At General Motors, Roger Smith took his top 900 executives on a five-day retreat to share and discuss the company's vision. Of course, it doesn't take five days to share one short mission statement and eight objectives. But commitment requires more than verbal compliance, more than just dialogue and exchange. At the very least, the vision has to be articulated clearly and frequently in a variety of ways, from "statements of policy" that have minimum impact to revising recruiting aims and methods, training that is explicitly geared to modify behavior in support of new organizational values, and, not the least, adapting and modifying shared symbols that signal and reinforce the new vision.

Words, symbols, articulations, training and recruiting, while necessary, don't go far enough. Changes in the management processes, the organizational structure, and management style all must support the changes in the pattern of values and behavior that a new vision implies.

Everything I Need To Know, I Learned In Astronaut Training School

Tim Eiler minn87

I've found these things to be very important in the life of every person employed by another. It's a lot easier to learn these earlier than later, so take a look and see if you agree with them. If you do, feel free to use them without citation.

• When you find yourself in a hole that's growing too big, stop digging. Every person or group has objectives - implicit or explicit. If you find that things aren't going well in achieving your objectives, it's time to think about changing your methods. After all, one definition of insanity is doing the same things repeatedly, but expecting different results. I doubt anyone wants to be insane. Stop doing things that aren't helping you achieve your goals.

   

• If you do only what you've always done, you'll only get more of what you already have. While it is important to maintain some consistency, as long as the process is working, there frequently comes a time when change is necessary. After you've stopped doing the thing that no longer helps you achieve your objectives, you'll have to replace it with something that will help you.

   

• When you're put in command, take charge. We are, of course, "in charge" of our own destinies. We make choices in our life and that's really all that being "in charge" of anything means. In whatever situation we find ourselves, when the opportunity arises for us to make decisions, we need to take the opportunity and use it effectively. At work, the boss will undoubtedly be watching to see how you do, even in situations where you weren't necessarily given a formal command. In Triangle, you have the opportunity to practice so that you'll be ready for that.

   

• Fake it till you make it. It's pretty easy to say, "I don't know how to do that," when faced with a new challenge, but that's a cop-out. Any of us can do anything to which we put our minds. When you have the opportunity to learn how to do something new, take charge. Try to plan out what makes sense and then do it, modifying course as needed.

   

• Do the right thing. When planning out your course of action on anything, make sure it makes sense. Does it make sense? Will it achieve the objectives? Is it something of which you'll be proud? Does it help people be better or have a better situation? Is it the best of the choices?

   

• Don't get caught in analysis paralysis. As you assess your course of action, do make a study of the options and the situation, but don't let yourself get caught up in thinking without doing. Remember that action without a plan is every bit as worthless as a plan without action.

   

• Don't get management involved unless you're willing to live with their decision. A corollary to "Never ask a question to which you don't want to know the answer" and "Be careful what you wish for, as you just might get it," this is not intended to mean that you should avoid getting "management" involved. It's premise is that you (a) should try to make the attempt to figure the problem out on your own and (b) be willing to accept and support a decision which you've asked management to make, even if you don't necessarily believe it to be 100% correct.

Motivate Yourself

From the Quill Pen Newsletter V14, N2, February 1998, Lin Ivice

Everyone's motivation droops every now an again, which can affect our productivity and outlook on life. Fortunately, no one motivates us quite as effectively as we motivate ourselves, and we have the power to reverse those downward spirals. Consider these uplifting tips:

1. Recognize that you're feeling blue - before your outlook turns black. Then, find an activity that will recharge your energies. Asking for a new challenge may be in order. Or, take some time off for a rejuvenating break.

    

2. Shift your focus outward. Think about how your efforts help others and benefit your organization. Make a conscious effort to make a positive impact on your customers and co-workers.

    

3. Savor your victories. Keep complimentary voice mail messages, letters and memos, and review them when you're feeling down. When you complete a task or a project, take the time to step back, enjoy and appreciate your feeling of accomplishment.

    

4. Evaluate your habits. Whether its lack of sleep, procrastination or negative self-talk, work to rid yourself of the habits that are holding you down and replace them with more productive, healthier behavior.

    

5. Associate with positive people. Identify go-getters in and outside your organization and spend as much time with them as possible. Find a mentor who has succeeded in your field and ask him or her to act as your coach.

    

6. Clarify your direction. Drowning in uncertainty dampens the spark of motivation. Set and keep in front of you both short-term and long-term goals. Make sure they are challenging and meaningful, while at the same time attainable and realistic.

    

7. Reach out. If your slump persists, it may be time to seek professional help to determine what the motivational block might be and how to break through it.

The Devil Is In The Details

Jack Miller, Quill Corporation President

Mission statements, strategic plans, goals - they're all important to have and many of us have them. Knowing what to do and how to do it is important. In the majority of cases, though, that's about where it ends. Because truly, "the devil is in the details." A lot of the time, the details aren't taken care of, aren't thought out, aren't implemented, and just plain don't happen.

There are lots of reasons for this. First, and foremost, after the strategic plans are figured out and the goals set, top management loses interest in the rest of the project. They don't fund it properly, or don't put the right people in place with the ability, authority, or the time to make it happen. They can run around talking about the strategies and the goals, but unless they are supportive and evangelical about making sure the details are taken care of, they are not going to get the results they want.

Let me give you a simple example from our own organization We used to promise that orders would be shipped within 8 to 32 hours. That was really good service 10 years ago, but things change. Today, a business needs to ship the day the order is received in order to attract and keep customers. Our goal here at Quill is to be the best. So we set the goal of shipping all orders received by 6 p.m. the same day. We rearranged warehouse hours, speeded up credit approval and did a number of things to fulfill that promise. Then we advertised it.

There were weak points in our system. Fax amd mail orders require entry into the system, too, but whereas phone orders are entered in real time, these are entered later, well after they are received. If the phone volume is particularly heavy, some of our people are pulled off of entering mail and fax orders, in order to answer customer calls.

The order-entry folks were committed to meeting their responsibilities as they understood them - to finish entry of orders by the end of the day. So, oftentimes, they stayed late or came in very early the next day in order to make sure all the orders were entered before the next day's orders began coming in. Too bad that orders entered too late still didn't make the shipments the day the order was received.

We talked about this problem and decided that the fix was to time stamp all fax amd mail orders when the arrived. We also set a standard that all fax orders should be entered within 30 minutes of their arrival times. Finally, we make sure that the effort is properly staffed to be able to meet the standard and we constantly check to make sure we're meeting it.

It's necessary to have strategies and goals and to know what and how you want to do something, but it is just as critical to get down to the details. Until you get down to those details at the very base levels, you aren't making it happn. Until you set standards that must be met at those base levels, it won't happen. Unless you commit the resources to make it possible to meet those standards, it won't happen.

Yes, the devil is in the details. Once you know that, you can do something about it. Until you do, those strategic plans are going to be nothing more than fancy words.

Editor's note: At the national level of the Fraternity, we have a solid strategic plan that allows us to know what to do and what's important. We are beginning to refine the details of how to make the objectives of the plan a reality and we think you'll have seen many of the good number of improvements we've made in the last few years. There's lots more to do and we're counting on your help to put Triangle at the forefront of all fraternities. We've got the opportunity - all we have to do is take it.

Reducing the Risks at Parties

From the Triangle Fraternity Risk Management Archives

• Doors, windows, and the perimeters of the party should be controlled
• Members should be assigned to make sure that intoxicants do not leave the premises
• There should be a preprinted and valid guest list at the entrance
• Someone should be checking IDs carefully to confirm a person is on the guest list
• The party should not be advertised by posters, leaflets, etc (that would invite people other than those on the guest list)
• No type of admission (cover charge, "donations", purchasing a t-shirt, poster, etc.) should be required to enter the party
• Have a licensed bartender on the premises at all times
• Provide non-alcoholic beverages
• Do not allow intoxicated persons to enter the party
• Do not allow intoxicated persons to continue to consume alcohol
• Do not allow persons to leave the premises with open containers of alcoholic beverages
• Restrict guests to bringing a reasonable amount of alcohol to consume
• Do not allow guests to bring hard liquor
• Set up a time to close the party, in accordance with city regulations of bars
• Have active members (at least 3 or 4) acting as sober monitors to insure control of the party
• Turn music and other noise down as it gets later at night
• Do not allow people to congregate on your property or at the entrance to the party

Things We Can Learn From Dogs

Forwarded by Jim Fay is73, author unknown

• Never pass up the opportunity to go for a joyride.
• Allow the experience of fresh air and the wind in your face to be pure ecstasy.
• When loved ones come home, always run to greet them.
• When it's in your best interest, practice obedience.
• Let others know when they've invaded your territory.
• Take naps and stretch before rising.
• Run, romp, and play daily.
• Eat with gusto and enthusiasm.
• Be loyal.
• If what you want lies buried, dig until you find it.
• When someone is having a bad day, be silent, sit close by, and nuzzle them gently.
• Thrive on attention and let people touch you.
• Avoid biting when a simple growl will do.
• On hot days, drink lots of water, and lie under a shady tree.
• When you're happy, dance around, and wag your entire body.
• No matter how often you're scolded, don't buy into the guilt thing and pout...run right back and make friends.
• Delight in the simple joy of a long walk.
• Never pretend to be something you're not.

TRIANGLE FRATERNITY

Is Serious about Scholarship

Sets and Demonstrates High Standards

Celebrates Achievement