Leaders Build Lives; Bosses Build Stuff
24 01 2008I was recently in New Orleans, LA giving a half-day program for the top leaders of EDG, Inc. a 400-person engineering firm. During the course of the discussion, Tim Moreau, COO, said that his main driver for showing up to work every day was to build people instead of building stuff. He went on to say that he had spent a great deal of time over his professional life building stuff for the sake of building stuff. He had an epiphany one day and realized that senior management needed to focus on building character, purpose, and philanthropy.
He believed that if this mindset was also instilled in the hearts and minds of the employees then maybe they could transition from just working a job and making money to creating meaning. His bet has paid off and EDG has experienced 15-20% annual growth over the last few years. And guess what? Their turnover is down and productivity is up because they believe in taking care of people first. He said to me “It makes no sense to have someone successful at work but a failure at home.” Tim and his wife have seven children and he believes he is modeling for them the idea that building a significant life is way more valuable than acquiring stuff.
Are you a leader who builds lives or a boss who builds stuff? Leaders ask… bosses tell. A leader listens… a boss hears. A leader asks for commitment… a boss demands compliance. Which one are you? I invite you to build the lives of people first and watch them take off and build your business.
I remember a few years ago while I was in college I took a PMA (Positive Mental Attitude) it was a class that taught how PMA can increase the productive of employers and employees alike. It was a lot like this post mentioned, to build on a person, to help one to see the are worthy and can achieve anything. To encourage people strengths and help them see their weaknesses and how to improve upon them all with encouragement and positive re-enforcement. The stats showed that all employers that used PMA had happier, well-balanced and more productive employees. Also with businesses that encouraged PMA when business would hit a rough spot, employees were more willing to work harder and stick it out. I think it is great that once again this attitude might be realized as the way to improve ‘people’s’ lives.
Dreama, this is great feedback. Thanks for reminding me of the power of PMA. It truly is a timeless truth. I believe if more organizations focused 80% of their time on what people do right and 20% on the area of opportunities they could move quicker and faster. What are your thoughts on that prespective?
WOW… Great stuff!!