It doesn’t matter how we got here. The question is how we get out of here. Take all your energy, 101% of it, to find how we get out of here. People usually point fingers: they are the good guy, it’s the others who didn’t do this and that. They blame. So I’d repeat Si Redd’s Southern saying: “The sun don’t shine on the same dog’s ass every day.” Even though your department is going good and you can point fingers at another department today and say that problem is over there, in engineering, that problem is going to find its way to your department soon. It’s always best to eliminate the problem in another department before it eventually gets to your department.
In Radica’s thought leadership meetings, there were 18 managers; they had cultural difficulties admitting a mistake or asking for help. Eventually, I got the culture to accept asking for help. I would explain how problems would circulate through all departments in the company (your turn is coming), and that everyone in the room is family. Colleagues are here to help you before the problem gets to them. I asked at the end of every meeting, “Raise your hand if you need help from anyone in the room.” It took five years, but it was amazing how the team opened up. Every time someone would start to point a finger, I would interrupt and ask the focus to be on a solution, not on a person. We needed all of the team’s energy on solutions. When they were able to separate the real-world problem from personal emotion, great things happened. Problems have no personality.
Growing, from Within
In my companies, I always want to grow from within. In Radica’s design department, if you had ever worked for another company, you couldn’t work there. Their culture was too alien. Thus, my job was to go out and hire recent graduates and spend a lot of my time interviewing. But if you can’t build from within, from the department, the first thing you do is you post in other departments. Now you’re becoming what I call a file stuffer. You put up the announcement—this position is open; it has these requirements; all those who feel they can do the work can apply. The requirements are tough.
You might get one or two candidates who come in. Then, you have to sit down and ask, “How do you match up with this? Well, you’re not exactly there, and you don’t really match here.” You still want to keep it happy, but they’re not matching on these four places. So you ask, “Are you really sure you want to apply for this?” Then, I add, “Because I might have to post this job outside, and when people come from the outside, their credentials in these areas may be higher than yours.”
Sometimes people apply with only 50% of the skill set: I can’t shut them off. If they perceive that I put the lid on them—even if it’s not true—then I’m perceived as a bad leader. So I have to politically set up this scenario, where I give everybody a shot even if I know they can’t make it. It’s a miracle surprise if someone makes it, which is what I want. So my job is always to grow from within.
Hands, Ripping It from Yours
Si Redd used to say, “If the product is right they’ll rip it from your hands.” So, instead of spending time saving money, we take time to spend money on all the things it takes to get the product right. When the product is right, then you can get margins well beyond the norm. I would layoff salesmen to hire designers to get the product right. You don’t need the salesmen if the product is right.
Holding Back, Not To
Holding back means you have no confidence or no knowledge of where you’re going. You’re lacking vision. If you have the vision to go forward, then don’t hold back.
I went forward a couple times in my businesses, which I questioned. The last three businesses, I had a 1000% confidence that I was going to win, and I bet the farm on every one. I didn’t hold back. I believe holding back makes you weak.
Holding back is in fact planning on losing. It’s like, “My good ideas aren’t going to work so I’m going to have to rely on the bad ones, right? So I’ll just plan on not winning and I’m going to take part of my effort and plan on losing.” When I play, I play to win. Second place is the first loser. I never want to be a loser. If I can’t be number one, then I’m in the wrong field. I need to find a field where I’m number one. When I started my wine business or when I did Radica, every single time, if I couldn’t see a clear path—what I call “the rifle shot”—if I couldn’t see in my scope where we were going, then I didn’t do it. But once I see, in the scope, then I bet everything. They asked, “Aren’t you afraid?” I replied, “What’s the worst that could happen? I start over? I’ve already done that five times. Now what?”
In Radica’s thought leadership meetings, there were 18 managers; they had cultural difficulties admitting a mistake or asking for help. Eventually, I got the culture to accept asking for help. I would explain how problems would circulate through all departments in the company (your turn is coming), and that everyone in the room is family. Colleagues are here to help you before the problem gets to them. I asked at the end of every meeting, “Raise your hand if you need help from anyone in the room.” It took five years, but it was amazing how the team opened up. Every time someone would start to point a finger, I would interrupt and ask the focus to be on a solution, not on a person. We needed all of the team’s energy on solutions. When they were able to separate the real-world problem from personal emotion, great things happened. Problems have no personality.
Growing, from Within
In my companies, I always want to grow from within. In Radica’s design department, if you had ever worked for another company, you couldn’t work there. Their culture was too alien. Thus, my job was to go out and hire recent graduates and spend a lot of my time interviewing. But if you can’t build from within, from the department, the first thing you do is you post in other departments. Now you’re becoming what I call a file stuffer. You put up the announcement—this position is open; it has these requirements; all those who feel they can do the work can apply. The requirements are tough.
You might get one or two candidates who come in. Then, you have to sit down and ask, “How do you match up with this? Well, you’re not exactly there, and you don’t really match here.” You still want to keep it happy, but they’re not matching on these four places. So you ask, “Are you really sure you want to apply for this?” Then, I add, “Because I might have to post this job outside, and when people come from the outside, their credentials in these areas may be higher than yours.”
Sometimes people apply with only 50% of the skill set: I can’t shut them off. If they perceive that I put the lid on them—even if it’s not true—then I’m perceived as a bad leader. So I have to politically set up this scenario, where I give everybody a shot even if I know they can’t make it. It’s a miracle surprise if someone makes it, which is what I want. So my job is always to grow from within.
Hands, Ripping It from Yours
Si Redd used to say, “If the product is right they’ll rip it from your hands.” So, instead of spending time saving money, we take time to spend money on all the things it takes to get the product right. When the product is right, then you can get margins well beyond the norm. I would layoff salesmen to hire designers to get the product right. You don’t need the salesmen if the product is right.
Holding Back, Not To
Holding back means you have no confidence or no knowledge of where you’re going. You’re lacking vision. If you have the vision to go forward, then don’t hold back.
I went forward a couple times in my businesses, which I questioned. The last three businesses, I had a 1000% confidence that I was going to win, and I bet the farm on every one. I didn’t hold back. I believe holding back makes you weak.
Holding back is in fact planning on losing. It’s like, “My good ideas aren’t going to work so I’m going to have to rely on the bad ones, right? So I’ll just plan on not winning and I’m going to take part of my effort and plan on losing.” When I play, I play to win. Second place is the first loser. I never want to be a loser. If I can’t be number one, then I’m in the wrong field. I need to find a field where I’m number one. When I started my wine business or when I did Radica, every single time, if I couldn’t see a clear path—what I call “the rifle shot”—if I couldn’t see in my scope where we were going, then I didn’t do it. But once I see, in the scope, then I bet everything. They asked, “Aren’t you afraid?” I replied, “What’s the worst that could happen? I start over? I’ve already done that five times. Now what?”