Issue No. 54 of Your Weekly Staff Meeting encourages you to put down your books and watch a leadership DVD this week. Last month I heard John Maxwell speak on servant leadership here in Orange County, Calif. He said “the secure are into towels, and the insecure are into titles.” Think about that if you screen this movie with your team..
In the classic 1949 film, Twelve O’Clock High, Gregory Peck plays an Air Force general tasked with rejuvenating an exhausted and demoralized bomber group in World War II. From 9,000 feet, the daytime air raids against Germany seemed hopeless and unending. The unspoken goal: fly 25 missions with all limbs in tact and you’ve done your duty.
One mission arrested my attention in the middle of this remarkable 132-minute movie. General Frank Savage (Peck) announces a strategic target: the ball bearing factory. Bomb just one factory (Germany’s sole ball bearing supplier) and you’ll disrupt assembly lines throughout the country. Brilliant!
So…what’s your strategic target? Is there one big bold action or one fork-in-the-road target that will change the battle for you? Often, it’s not just one thing—but many factors, but maybe it’s time to think outside the plane—get up higher and evaluate where you’re dropping your bombs. It’s not the number of bombs you drop, it’s the targets that you hit.
Click here to buy Twelve O’Clock High from Amazon. Order popcorn and soft drinks and plan a “Staff Meeting at the Movies” afternoon event. The film showcases a phenomenal study in leadership and team building—with two distinct leadership styles in play. It’s often used in MBA courses (Harvard, etc.). I viewed it last week as a guest in Connie Salio’s course at Biola University’s Masters of Arts in Organizational Leadership program. (Thanks, Connie!).
Your Weekly Staff Meeting Questions:
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1.Is it possible we’re doing a lot of bombing here, without a laser-like focus on strategic targets?
2. Under “battle conditions,” what kind of leader is the most effective? Will that style work in “normal” conditions? (Watch the movie and then discuss this question.)
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Insights from the Management Buckets Workshop Experience
This is old news—but few organizations do it well, in my experience. Every company, nonprofit and church must identify their “Top 10 Leading Indicators”—those critical activities and results that must be ruthlessly measured. The Top 10 List requires board, CEO and senior team buy-in. Columns on the one-page report will show the weekly, monthly, quarterly and annual goals—with actual results and variances against the goal for those reporting periods.
Leading indicators must be aligned with your mission, your Big Holy Audacious Goal (BHAG) and—get this—the slogan on your letterhead. The Top 10 List should be posted in the break room, the board room and every cubicle. The drive home at 5 p.m. is much more joyful when both the custodian and the CEO can readily answer, “How are we doing?”
Your Weekly Staff Meeting Questions:
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1. If your organization does not yet have your Top 10 Leading Indicators list, take time to brainstorm possible measurements for that list (donors, product sales, event attendance, transformed lives, baptisms, etc.).
2. Are we, perhaps, guilty of measuring activity more than results?
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If your organization is soft in The Results Bucket, The Strategy Bucket or a thoughtful focus on your Top 10 Leading Indicators, I can help you. Email me at John@JohnPearsonAssociates.com.
The Results Bucket is just one of 20 buckets we’ll explore at the next two-day Management Buckets Workshop Experience, Oct. 31 and Nov. 1, 2007, in Orange County, Calif. Plus, there are two Nonprofit Board Governance Workshops planned this fall: Sept. 20 (Chicago area, co-sponsored by Awana) and Nov. 2 (Orange County, Calif.). Registration forms are posted at www.JohnPearsonAssociates.com.
Download the Management Buckets brochure
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