By John Paschall, Servant Leader
Stand and Deliver…As a Business Leader
I hope that all of you are having a fantastic May as we move toward the end of school and the beginning of another hot summer here in Southeast Texas. We are coming off four very successful events here at the BBB and are taking a short breather before we get back into the tough work of creating one of the top BBB’s in the country.
Our Laws of Life banquet in April was a huge success with ten students being recognized and nearly 200 students, teachers, and educators attending our awards banquet at the Holiday Inn in Beaumont. That was followed by our most successful Shred It and Forget It event ever, held at Central Mall in Port Arthur, with 477 cars being served and several thousand pounds of documents being shredded.
Two weeks ago, we broke all records by hosting 650 area business leaders at our 16th Annual Torch Award Banquet at the Beaumont Civic Center. We also announced that by partnering with our four major area higher education institutions – Lamar University, Lamar Institute of Technology, Lamar State College Port Arthur, and Lamar State College Orange – we were able to provide $50,000 in scholarship funding for area college students!
We finished up by breaking the all-time attendance record for a Lunch & Learn with 151 motivated participants attending the recent Lunch & Learn Business Seminar with Bruce Hamilton in the Ballroom of the MCM Elegante. This has been an incredible four week period! Special thanks goes to all of our accredited businesses, sponsors, team members and volunteers who have helped to make these events happen.
This month I would like to talk with you about how to Stand and Deliver….as a Business Leader.
In 1988, Edward James Olmos starred in a movie called “Stand and Deliver” in which he portrayed math teacher Jaime Escalante. Mr. Escalante had the audacity to teach advanced calculus to students in the inner city of East Los Angeles. It is an inspiring movie and truly shows how one person can make an incredible difference in the lives of those around him or her.
As the leaders of our organizations, you and I can “Stand and Deliver” as well.
First, you and I can STAND. It has been said that if we do not stand for something, we may fall for anything. (Isn’t that a part of the lyrics of a country song?) What do you stand for? What does your company stand for? “That’s easy," you say – our mission statement is posted right in our front lobby. Our standards that we strive for are well-known by our associates. Are they really? Have you checked recently? I know that YOU know what they are, but do your people?
If you and I as business leaders are not continually talking about, reminding, and referring our people back to our mission and our standards, we are in danger of them getting lost in the mix of the daily hustle and bustle in our business. This must be a consistent and intentional work on our part and that of our leadership team to continue to preach and connect the work of our teams to our standards and our mission. Everything we do should, in one way or another, connect to that mission and those standards.
Each day at the BBB, we see the result of business owners who have done a wonderful job of running their business for years by ethical standards, but who have failed to transfer the passion for that mission and those standards to those who take over the business after they leave. Unfortunately, it takes only a short period of time for this change of focus to impact the performance of the business in the area of customer service – even if the new owner is a family member or descendant of the original founder.
You and I must stand. We must tell our people what we stand for and why. Lastly, we must continue to tell them on a regular basis. When they get to the point that they begin telling others and can verbalize what our mission and standards are – we are making progress.
Secondly, as business leaders, we must DELIVER . . . Support. You and I must continually and constantly provide support for our team members both in and out of the office. All of us have worked for companies where upper management did not stand behind their workers and would not provide the support they needed to accomplish their jobs or reach the goals that were set. They would not help rectify problems that were getting in the way of progress and would not support their teams when mistakes were made. Is it any surprise then, these are the same companies who complain about a lack of creativity and initiative among their employees? Of course not! In any environment where people are not trusted, supported, and encouraged to show initiative, creativity, or take risks, those employees will be content to do their job the same way every day, never getting any better, because they are afraid to do otherwise.
We must deliver the support our people need to feel confident enough to take risks, take the initiative to solve problems, and find ways to reach the goals we have set for them. People who are passionate about their job and who are supported by the leadership team are like the Zig Ziglar story of the fleas in the jar. When the top is taken off – they jump out of the jar and begin achieving amazing results.
Stand and Deliver as a business leader today and let’s see what begins to happen in your organization. Let us know how we can help you to continue building your better business. Have a great month!
