I just read an article by Bill Barnett in the Harvard Business Review entitled When Choosing a Job, Culture Matters. That is an understatement. Let me share an example.

I know of an employee who went to work for a company and was so excited he couldn’t wait to get started. This exceptionally talented and qualified candidate was hired for a newly created position and he was determined to show what a difference he, and the new position, could make.

The problem was that he discovered he was the only one who cared about making a difference. His most innovative ideas were shot down by his boss. He found himself surrounded by coworkers who when at their best were unengaged and when at their worst were actively disengaged, undermining and sometimes hostile. In a matter of months this excited new hire lost his enthusiasm. He stopped contributing ideas and kept quiet during staff meetings. Eventually he became convinced any effort to positively influence the culture wouldn’t do any good. Here’s what’s really sad — his coworkers who negatively influenced the culture dominated the culture.

I can give you examples of people who work for companies that once had great cultures that have deteriorated. The result is the same as I used in my example of the new hire. Eventually people give up on trying to make a difference and they learn to keep their heads down and their mouths shut. The culture continues to deteriorate. Productivity and morale drops, turnover increases. The best people leave and the worst people stay to make an already dysfunctional culture even worse.

I can take anything that is critical to building a successful organization and end the sentence with culture matters. The culture is the responsibility of the leadership. If you are a leader in an organization that looks like what I have just described take a long, hard look in the mirror because the culture is a reflection of you. Now, ask yourself a question. What am I going to do about it?

If your answer is “nothing” you should be fired because you’re not a leader — and you never will be. The correct answer is, “I’m going to change the culture.” If that’s your answer get ready to cowboy up because you’re in for a ride.

Culture change takes place when leaders commit to an organizational development process. People become acclimated to a culture, whether it’s good or bad. Those who have dominated a bad culture are not anxious to have their playhouse renovated. They’re like cockroaches that head for the woodwork when you turn on the light. I’ve experienced it firsthand in my work as a consultant.

On the other hand, a positive change in culture brings out the best in an organization. Good people who have previously gone unrecognized come crawling out of the woodwork when you turn on the light. I help organizations create purpose-driven cultures and it’s fun to watch what happens to the people who “get it.” They excel in a culture where they can be partners in a purpose that is positive, powerful, simple and serving.

Changing a culture is not easy and requires an investment of time and money. You have to, in Texas Hold ‘Em terms, go all in. But the benefits are worth the investment. Productivity and morale improves, turnover decreases. Finding, hiring and keeping good people gets easier because when choosing a job, culture does indeed matter. So, leaders, what kind of people do you want in your organization? Good or bad? It’s your choice because you’re the keepers of the culture.

I read an article that listed the five most useless college degrees and found out my degree is number four on the list. This really upset me. I paid a lot for that degree.

Actually, a pretty good argument could be made that all college degrees are worthless. I have a nephew who graduated from high school last year and will make over $80,000 in his first year working for an oilfield service company. Bill Gates and Steve Jobs were college dropouts and became billionaires.

We have been conditioned to believe that to be successful we’re supposed to go to college and get a degree. Having a contrarian bent I decided against attending college and instead enlisted in the army after graduating from high school.  If you want evidence of just how ignorant I am, this was during the Vietnam War. Other guys were going to college hoping to get deferments and here I was trying to join. But I couldn’t pass the Army’s entrance exam — I flunked my physical.

Rejected by Uncle Sam for having a bad back I enrolled at Northern Oklahoma College as an art major. After three semesters I decided I didn’t want to join the ranks of starving artists so I dropped out. I worked in a feedyard for a few months, worked on a hog farm a few months, then worked for the Oklahoma Methodist Boys Ranch for a few months and was fired.

So, what do you do when the Army and the Methodists don’t want you? I applied at Oklahoma State University. Fortunately they weren’t nearly as picky as the military and the church — they actually accepted me. Of course I had to pay them instead of getting paid. I switched my major to animal science and managed to graduate with a 3.00015 grade point average. Finally, I had succeeded at something! And now, 35 years later I find out that my degree is a dud.

It’s worth keeping in mind that this article about useless degrees was posted on the Yahoo! Education website and was written by a guy named Terence Loose. I’m not making this up. Yahoo! Education has to be the ultimate oxymoron. Put Yahoo! Education and Loose in the same sentence and you’ve got the makings of a Saturday Night Live skit. According to Loose, the most useless degree is just plain old agriculture. Fashion design is number 2, theatre is number 3, animal science is number 4 and horticulture is number 5. So, three of his five most useless degrees are in agriculture. All I have to say about that is, “Yahoo!”

I’ll admit I’m biased but I think there are much more worthless degrees than agriculture. My nominations are law, political science and the infamous MBA (masters of business administration). Does the world really need more lawyers and politicians? And think about all those too-big-to-fail corporations we had to bail out. They were run by MBAs!

We’ll have to double food production by the year 2050 to feed 9 billion people and I don’t think lawyers, politicians and MBAs will be the ones to figure out how to get that done. It’ll be up to us aggies to feed the world.

Granted, my animal science degree hasn’t made me a millionaire but it helped get me jobs with a couple of feed companies. Then I discovered the best use for my degree was as a management consultant. We share 98.4% of the same genes with chimpanzees.  What better degree could I have chosen to deal with people than animal science?

So, that’s what I’ve been doing for the last twenty-some years — traveling around speaking at meetings, consulting with companies and writing books and articles. And I actually get paid to do it! So, don’t tell me my degree in animal science is useless.

Editor’s note: I know you have friends and relatives who will be graduating soon so if you want to give them something that will actually help them figure out what to do with their lives consider The Transformational Power of Purpose: Finding & Fulfilling Your Purpose in Life. You’ll find it and my other books at http://www.purposeunlimited.com/books.php.

We’ve been barraged with news about Trayvon Martin who was allegedly shot and killed by George Zimmerman.

I’ve seen photos of Martin and Zimmerman. I’ve read media accounts that describe Martin as an African American and Zimmerman as both Hispanic and a “white” Hispanic. President Obama said, “If I had a son, he’d look like Trayvon.” I can understand Mr. Obama identifying with the parents of Trayvon Martin. There are other parents who might look at a photo of George Zimmerman and say the same about him.

Since race seems to be the focal point for much of the media in this case I did some research to find out how race is defined by our government. Here are the definitions of race categories used in the 2010 Census:

“White” refers to a person having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa.

“Black or African American” refers to a person having origins in any of the Black racial groups of Africa.

“American Indian or Alaska Native” refers to a person having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America (including Central America) and who maintains tribal affiliation or community attachment.

“Asian” refers to a person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent, including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippine Islands, Thailand, and Vietnam.

“Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander” refers to a person having origins in any of the original peoples of Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific Islands.

“Some Other Race” includes all other responses not included in the White, Black or African American, American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, and Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander race categories described above. Respondents reporting entries such as multiracial, mixed, interracial, or a Hispanic or Latino group (for example, Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, or Spanish) in response to the race question are included in this category.

So, how much genetic variance is there between these racial categories as defined by the U.S. government? When we mapped the human genome we discovered 99% of the genetic code mapped on the 23 chromosomes in each of our cells — regardless of race, color or gender — is identical.

Genetically, the difference between you, me or anyone else is only one percent. People are people.

I reported for jury duty on Monday this week and spent the day waiting until I heard my name called. Since it was late in the afternoon the judge had us report the next morning for what’s called voire dire, the process by which they determine who will ultimately be chosen as jurors for the case.

This was a criminal case and the charge was assault with a deadly weapon. The attorneys and judge peppered us with questions to determine if we understood our responsibility as jurors. The defendant is presumed innocent. The burden of proof is upon the government and the jurors have to determine whether or not the state has met that burden before rendering a verdict. It’s a humbling responsibility because a person’s freedom hangs in the balance. You have to think about that when you vote.

I was not selected for the jury and returned to the pool. We were dismissed at the end of the day and I stopped on my way home from the courthouse to vote in our presidential primary. Flags at polling places were flying at half-staff in honor of Staff Sgt. Allen R. McKenna Jr., of Noble, Oklahoma who died Feb. 21 in the Kandahar province of Afghanistan.

On Wednesday morning I reported to the jury pool in but was never called. Those of us left in the pool were dismissed in the middle of the afternoon. I was about to leave the courthouse when I remembered that I had lost the case for my sunglasses sometime during the day. Instead of walking out the door I stopped to ask an officer by the metal detector if someone had turned it in.

My attention was diverted to a group of people rushing through the doors from outside. One of them shouted that someone was shooting a gun on the courthouse plaza.  Deputies rushed past me to get outside. Through the glass doors I saw a deputy stop, level his weapon and fire. I heard more shots before courthouse personnel herded all of us bystanders to the second floor of the courthouse.

That’s how my tour of jury duty ended. Within a matter of 55 hours I could have been a juror in a case involving assault with a deadly weapon or a victim in a case involving assault with a deadly weapon. The melee ended with three people being shot. Had I not stopped to ask about a lost item I would have walked out the door onto the plaza and possibly into the line of fire.

As I reflected on everything I experienced during those 55 hours I thought about freedom. A trial by a jury of our peers protects our freedom. A soldier dies to protect our freedom. Officers of the law put their lives on the line to protect our freedom. When you and I vote, we should be thinking about protecting our freedom.

Whoever is elected President takes this oath: “I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”

That Constitution is what guarantees our freedom. In the words of Ronald Reagan, “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same.”

Fifty-five hours reminded me that freedom is a precious and fragile thing. It’s up to us to make sure we never lose it. You have to think about that when you vote.

I stopped at a fast food place the other day which had an interesting message on its marquee: “Managers Wanted.” Not help wanted but managers wanted.

I went inside and discovered just how desperately they needed managers. I stood at the counter waiting while two employees were busy serving customers at the drive-through window. The only other employee I saw was the manager on duty who was wandering around talking on his cell phone. He nearly bumped into me but completely ignored me. No “hello,” no “I’ll be right with you,” no nod of the head, no nothing.

I slowly walked to the door thinking I might bait him into acknowledging my presence. Nothing. I grabbed the door handle and turned toward him, giving him a third chance. Nothing. I walked outside, got into my truck and watched him through the windshield. He was still wandering around talking on his phone.

I have seen a lot of managers exhibit the same behavior as the guy in the fast food restaurant. Doing what they think they should be doing but oblivious to what they really should be doing. They need to change their behavior but are clueless about their need to change. “What is necessary to change a person is to change his awareness of himself,” said Abraham Maslow.

If you lack self-awareness you can’t change. Why should you? As far as you’re concerned you’re doing everything right. Bryan McMurry wrote about this in the last issue of my eletter: “A lack of self-awareness often manifests itself in denial of the behavior or a rationalization of it. The best coaches possess a high level of self-awareness; those lacking self-awareness are generally marginal coaches and are often virtually uncoachable themselves.”

How in the world can someone coach others when they can’t be coached themselves? Managers who lack self-awareness are dysfunctional leaders. The result is a dysfunctional culture which leads to poorer performance, lower productivity and higher turnover. If you’ve worked in a dysfunctional culture, you know it is an energy draining experience.

Instead of “Managers Wanted” I’d change the message on the marquee to read: “Managers wanted: Must possess self-awareness, be coachable and able to coach others.” I wonder if the manager on the phone would even notice.

Emotional Intelligence
By Bryan McMurry

“Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom.
― Lao Tzu

Arguably, the most valuable trait one can possess is what psychologists refer to as emotional intelligence. Daniel Goleman raised public awareness of the importance of emotional intelligence in managing relationships, building teams and improving organizational effectiveness when he authored the book Emotional Intelligence in 1995. He defines emotional intelligence as, “The capacity for recognizing our own feelings and those of others, for motivating ourselves, for managing emotions well in ourselves and in our relationships.”

The increasing complexity of Cargill’s business requires improved collaboration and greater networking, making emotional intelligence increasingly important.

Building trust and managing relationships are fundamental for success. Emotional intelligence focuses on building the skills of self-awareness, self-management, social awareness and relationship management. Leaders with high emotional intelligence are more capable of building an environment of trust and demonstrating “Level 5” leadership, as described in the book Good to Great.

Howard Gardner, in his book Changing Minds, considers emotional intelligence as a group of personal intelligences that, “involves knowing human beings.” He states that we use interpersonal intelligence to distinguish persons, determine their motivations and work effectively with them. Complimentary is intrapersonal intelligence, which is directed inward. Having intrapersonal intelligence means one possess a good working model of one self, indentifying personal feelings, fears, strengths and weaknesses, and uses that model to make sound decisions. We often refer to this as self-knowledge or self-awareness.

Self-awareness means knowing how others perceive us. We are not who we think we are, to the world we are who others think we are. The differences or gap between who we think we are and how others perceive who we are measures our level of self-awareness. Effective behavioral coaching is about helping a team mate narrow the gap between how others see him behaving and how that person sees them behaving. A lack of self-awareness often manifests itself in denial of the behavior or a rationalization of it. The best coaches possess a high level of self-awareness; those lacking self-awareness are generally marginal coaches and are often virtually uncoachable themselves.

During the process of learning about ourselves through understanding other’s perceptions of us, we gain a deeper knowledge and understanding of others, and a deep knowledge of others is paramount to building trust and high performing teams. A keen sense of self is another level of consciousness to which all should aspire.

“Letting go of who I think I am, and embracing who others think I am, is the secret to being who I can be.”

Bryan McMurry, PhD is Business Development Manager for the Pacific Southwest Region of Cargill Animal Nutrition. They are in business for the purpose of nourishing animals through successful partnerships.

My friend Don Riley sent me this email after the holidays:

Hi Jim,

Hope you and your family had a wonderful holiday season.

I don’t know why it just popped into my head, but I have belonged to an organization for the past 10 years that epitomizes your purpose principle.

The organization is called Harley Owners Group or HOG for short.  It was formed in 1983 by the Harley-Davidson Motor Company after the executives bought the company back from AMF.

The purpose of Harley Owners Group has remained the same for 29 years.  The ONLY purpose of Harley Owners Group is RIDE AND HAVE FUN.  Short, simple and everyone can easily remember it.

Best wishes for a great 2012.

Don Riley
HelpPoint Claim Services by Farmers
Specialty Claims Manager

Harley-Davidson has what could be described as a cult following. And I don’t mean that in a negative way. I think they have tapped into a human desire that is missing in today’s society.

In The Denial of Death, Ernest Becker writes, “People are capable of the highest generosity and self-sacrifice. But they have to feel and believe what they are doing is truly heroic, timeless and supremely meaningful. The crisis of modern society is precisely that people no longer feel heroic.”

We live in a society that preaches the opposite of heroism. We are conditioned to believe we want life to be easy. So, we consciously seek comfort and security and subconsciously seek heroism and meaning in movies, books, music and video games.

Nothing embodies heroism more than the western story where the cowboy plays the lead role. And the closest most people will ever come to riding a horse across an open stretch of prairie will be riding a motorcycle down an open stretch of highway. I think maybe this is where the Harley Owners Group plays a role in our modern-day western.

In the old west, a brand not only identified a ranch’s cattle, it was a symbol of pride and loyalty for all of its cowboys — they rode for the brand. Harley owners ride for the HOG brand.

CEOs and business owners can take a lesson from HOG. People today want more from their work than a paycheck — they want to be partners in a cause. Like cowboys of yesteryear they want to ride for the brand. There’s nothing heroic about a job if people find no meaning or purpose in their work. So, they search for it somewhere outside their work. And that’s precisely why studies show that the overwhelming majority of employees aren’t motivated. And that costs businesses billions of dollars.

PS: If you want to learn more I’ve written a book on the subject: Riding for the Brand: The Power of Purposeful Leadership.

In response to my December 14 issue entitled Lessons on PURPOSE from our armed forces, I received this email from my friend Fred Vocasek:

Jim,

My step-son served two tours in Iraq with the 82nd Airborne.  After hearing about the troop withdrawals earlier this month, he expressed concern about all of the young, returning troops.  He said they were coming back “all amped up” and had to adapt immediately to civilian life.

It would be a dangerous time for them.  He was 29 and 30 when he returned from his two tours.  He watched the 19 and 20 year-olds get drunk, stupid, and crazy.  Makes sense … they had lost their purpose.  Walking down an insurgent-infested city street with loaded weapon and body armor, they were highly focused on their purpose.  One of which was to stay alive and unwounded.  Each soldier had a place and purpose that would be painfully obvious to their brothers if they were missing.

Now they return to a society that will go on just the same – with or without them.  “PTSD” is an abbreviation for “post-traumatic stress disorder”.  Maybe it also stands for “Purpose Taken Somewhere Distant”.  Yes they do deserve our prayers.

Regards,
Fred Vocasek, CCA
Senior Lab Agronomist
Servi-Tech Laboratories, Dodge City KS
“Making the planet more productive.”

The thing that stands out to me in Fred’s analysis is that those who serve in our military are committed to a purpose that is POSITIVE, POWERFUL, SIMPLE and SERVING. But they return to a “purposeless” society. This is an indictment of our society.

Fred works for Servi-Tech, a client of mine that is in business for the purpose of MAKING THE PLANET MORE PRODUCTIVE. Notice that’s the tagline under Fred’s email signature. That’s not just a slogan. It really is their purpose and they are fulfilling it every day.

Imagine if there were more purpose-driven organizations for veterans to come home to. It would help them cope with post-traumatic stress disorder.

Imagine if there were more purpose-driven organizations for all people to work in.

Imagine purpose-driven organizations where people come to work not just to be employees but to be partners in a cause that is adventurous, idealistic and heroic.

Imagine organizations where people come to work not just for paychecks, perks and pensions but to fulfill their purpose in life.

Imagine a society where this is the norm and not the exception.

I received this email from my friend Peter McGuill:

Jim,

Hope all is well.  I was thinking of you earlier today.  I am participating in a Leadership Development program right now.  As part of the program we spent the day at Ft. Sam Houston in San Antonio listening to U.S. Army officers describing “Military Leadership.” One of the officers described leadership as “Protection, Projection, and PURPOSE.”  I was thrilled to hear someone talk about purpose as it relates to leadership.  The points he made were very much in line with those that I have heard you present in the past.  Here are a few of his comments from my notes.

“Leaders need to be sure of their own purpose and communicate it through their behaviors.”

“Be passionate about what you do and convey that passion through your words, as well as your actions.”

“Purpose is not something that should be allowed to sit on a shelf to be admired. Rather, it can be a catalyst for stimulating creativity, engagement and strategy in ways that drive results.”

— Lieutenant Colonel Timothy L. Hudson, 264th Medical Battalion Commander

Take care,

Peter J. McGuill

I forwarded Peter’s email to several clients which provoked this response from my friend Phillip Beatty:

This was a Wow! It turns out there is another aspect of US Army leadership philosophy that I think is incredibly important. When a unit is assigned a mission to accomplish, the leader communications the overall mission to everyone in the unit. The squad leader communicates the big mission all the way to each private. The idea is that if something happens to the leader, the next guy in command steps in assumes the role of the leader and so on down to the last soldier. This could be adapted to teams in a business.

It turns out I have a copy of the US Army Leadership manual, FM (Field Manual) 22-100, 1999 version which is fairly up to date since it is post First Gulf War. I would be glad to share it with you because it could give you many more ideas for using purpose strategically as well as tactically. Get this, the Army’s definition of leadership:

Leadership is influencing people – by providing purpose, direction, and motivation – while operating to accomplish the mission and improving the organization.

Be safe,

Phillip

Lessons in purpose and leadership indeed! Over the years I have had many members of the armed services and veterans in my audiences and when I talk about purpose they “get it.” I know because they come up after my presentations and we talk about it. After receiving these emails from Peter and Phillip it’s easy to see why.

It is especially appropriate to share these lessons on purpose and leadership from the military during the holidays. We are celebrating the birth of Jesus who gave up his life for us on purpose. Our troops are willing to give up their lives for us on purpose. They deserve our gratitude and our prayers.