trust

12 Jun, 2014

Is It Always Right to Be Right?

By Randy Pennington|2016-10-29T15:29:28+00:00June 12th, 2014|Accountability, Corporate Culture, Government & Politics, Integrity & Ethics, Leadership, Leading & Managing Change|

The 1971 Oscar in the Short Film, Cartoon category went to a piece titled “Is It Always Right To Be Right.” It was directed by Lee Mishkin, narrated by Orson Welles, and written by Warren Schmidt. The opening words of the film are: There once was a land where people were always right. They knew they were right and they were proud of it. It was a land where people stated with confidence, "I am right and you are wrong." These were words of conviction, courage, strength, and moral certainty. In this fictional land, any attempt at cooperation and understanding were viewed as cowardice and weakness. Everyone was so convinced of their rightness that no one dared to utter words such as, “You may be right” or “I may be wrong.”

13 May, 2014

Focus on What Truly Matters

By Randy Pennington|2016-10-29T15:29:29+00:00May 13th, 2014|Accountability, Book Reviews, Integrity & Ethics, Leadership, Personal Development, Results|

These days it seems that we’re all so busy, overcommitted, and information-obsessed. Our never-ending to-do lists are long and we run around trying to “keep up” or “be important,” and in the process stress ourselves out. Unfortunately, it often takes something bad to happen to slow us down, wake us up, and force us to focus on what truly matters most in life.

4 May, 2014

Should You Put Lipstick on the Brussels Sprouts? How Leaders Communicate Forced Change

By Randy Pennington|2016-10-29T15:29:30+00:00May 4th, 2014|Business Growth, Business Strategy, Corporate Culture, Leadership, Leading & Managing Change, Results|

My presentations about leading change usually include a story about Double Stuf Oreos and Brussels Sprouts. You can view the story here, but the basic principle is simple: A child will willingly change what they are doing to reach a jar of cookies on top of your refrigerator. You seldom see them act with the same sense of urgency to acquire Brussels sprouts. With that in mind, leaders generate creative tension when the vision they create for change is compelling – like cookies – rather than boring like vegetables.

27 Apr, 2014

Defining Integrity: How Leaders Earn Trust & Respect

By Randy Pennington|2016-10-29T15:29:30+00:00April 27th, 2014|Accountability, Business Growth, Corporate Culture, Integrity & Ethics, Leadership|

How do you define integrity? Is there an absolute definition? Or, do you find yourself quoting the phrase made famous by Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart: “I know it when I see it”? We know that it appears at or near the top of every list of desirable leadership traits. It is the essential ingredient for building and sustaining trust with others. Go ahead—take a stab at it. Integrity is . . . It is more difficult to define integrity than you thought, isn’t it?

30 Mar, 2014

You Can’t Lead if You Can’t Develop

By Randy Pennington|2016-10-29T15:29:35+00:00March 30th, 2014|Business Growth, Corporate Culture, Leadership, Leading & Managing Change, Personal Development, Results|

There are three realities in leadership: Leaders are defined by their results. The act of leadership is about the ability to influence others to accomplish the desired result. You will never succeed at your first [...]

4 Jan, 2014

A Result to Remember Part II: How GE Proved that Sometimes it IS the Product

By Randy Pennington|2016-10-29T15:29:36+00:00January 4th, 2014|Accountability, Business Growth, Business Strategy, Corporate Culture, Leadership, Leading & Managing Change|

Three weeks back I wrote about my exceptional service experience at Sewell Lexus of Dallas. The theme of the post was that it was the Sewell people rather than their product that has kept me as a loyal customer for over 20 years. The premise behind that post is the same one I offered in my 2006 book, Results Rule!: Fundamentals are the minimum. Being distinctive is the difference if it adds value. I can purchase a Lexus from a number of different dealers. The quality and service of the Sewell staff makes them distinctive in a way that adds extreme value. The very nice folks that service GE kitchen appliances just reminded me that you can’t forget the first part of my premise: Fundamentals are the minimum. Because without the fundamentals, there is nothing you can do to stand out with your customers (at least not in a positive way).

18 Dec, 2013

A Result to Remember: It’s Not the Product. It’s the People.

By Randy Pennington|2016-10-29T15:29:37+00:00December 18th, 2013|Accountability, Business Growth, Business Strategy, Corporate Culture, Leadership, Leading & Managing Change, Results|

Delivering customer service – at least the way it is practiced in most companies – is easy. The customer asks you for something, and you give it to them. Building a culture that is obsessed with serving customers is hard. Carl Sewell’s family of auto dealerships is at or near the top for sales and service with the brands they represent for one simple reason: They are the best at sustaining a culture that serves customers.

14 Oct, 2013

Three Lessons About Leading Change from the Debt Ceiling Chaos

By Randy Pennington|2016-10-29T15:29:38+00:00October 14th, 2013|Accountability, Business Strategy, Communication, Corporate Culture, Government & Politics, Integrity & Ethics, Leadership, Leading & Managing Change|

There has to be something we can learn from Washington’s failure to address the debt limit, right? There are three very important lessons about leading change you can take from the chaos over approving the federal budget and raising the debt ceiling.

24 Aug, 2013

Another Book About Change?

By Randy Pennington|2016-10-29T15:29:40+00:00August 24th, 2013|Book Reviews, Business Growth, Business Strategy, Communication, Corporate Culture, Innovation, Leadership, Leading & Managing Change|

Why did you write a book about change? The host of a recent radio interview was being polite and, I suspect, genuinely interested. But the question is an important one—a quick search on Amazon.com found over 150,000 book titles that have something to do with change. Let’s assume that some of those titles are duplicates for hardcover, paperback, Kindle, etc. That still leaves thousands of books written on the subject. Aren’t those enough? The short answer is, “No.”

13 Aug, 2013

Connect with People Where They Are

By Randy Pennington|2016-10-29T15:29:40+00:00August 13th, 2013|Business Growth, Business Strategy, Communication, Corporate Culture, Leadership, Leading & Managing Change, Results|

Scott Keller and Carolyn Aiken, consultants at McKinsey & Company, suggest that 80 percent of what leaders care about and talk about when trying to enlist support for change does not matter to 80 percent of the workforce. To gain the commitment for the change that you want, you must connect with people where they are. You do that by making the change relevant and real.

28 Jul, 2013

Good Change – Bad Change

By Randy Pennington|2016-10-29T15:29:41+00:00July 28th, 2013|Business Strategy, Communication, Corporate Culture, Leadership, Leading & Managing Change|

Don Draper, the fictional advertising guru on the television show “Mad Men” says, “Change is neither good or bad. It simply is.” Good luck convincing your team of that. We all want the change we [...]

23 Jul, 2013

The New Normal Has Happened Before

By Randy Pennington|2016-10-29T15:29:41+00:00July 23rd, 2013|Business Growth, Business Strategy, Corporate Culture, Leadership, Leading & Managing Change, Results|

“When will things get back to normal?” That question has been asked countless times since the economic meltdown of 2008. Most people want to know when the job market will bounce back; the economy will return to something close to sustained growth; uncertainty will subside; or the rate of change will slow to a more manageable pace. But, what if this is it? What if instability, rapid change, and uncertainty are the new normal? And, what if I’m wrong and things bounce back quickly? If you can succeed now, you will crush it then.

9 Jun, 2013

The Scary Side of Mentoring

By Randy Pennington|2016-10-29T15:29:42+00:00June 9th, 2013|Book Reviews, Business Growth, Corporate Culture, Leadership, Leadership Development, Results|

The old-fashioned view of mentoring is someone outside a learner’s chain of command who equips that learner with new skills and knowledge. It is an archaic expert to novice or smart to unwise philosophy. The goal is the transfer of information or expertise, much like pouring knowledge into the head of a passive learner. It is the model that antiquated teachers used to teach facts students only recalled long enough to score favorably on the test.

2 Jun, 2013

The Truth About Liars

By Randy Pennington|2016-10-29T15:29:43+00:00June 2nd, 2013|Accountability, Communication, Corporate Culture, Integrity & Ethics, Leadership|

Liars – we've all seen them, fallen victim to them, and if we are truthful, joined their ranks from time to time. Some do it for malicious reasons. Others do so out of a sense of kindness or benign indifference. But, we all do it. There are times when that article of clothing makes us look fat. There are times when we feel like crap, and there are times when we feel the pressure to say what is untrue to cover for our lack of performance. And that is why you need to read The Truth About Lies in the Workplace.

19 May, 2013

Playing Favorites

By Randy Pennington|2016-10-29T15:29:43+00:00May 19th, 2013|Accountability, Book Reviews, Leadership, Personal Development|

Do you have a favorite employee? Just thinking about admitting it causes us to cringe at the possibility of the negative backlash from those who are the not-so favorites, should they ever learn our true feelings. But that’s the point. They already know.

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