It’s oft been said that one of the problems of operating in a senior position is the greatly reduced volume of useable feedback you get. Too many people try to be nice or are simply pulled in so many different directions that they can’t really take the time to care too much. So, if you really want to continue improving, you start looking for input and feedback through a broadened contact base and you might even have to resort to reading some.
One of the best articles I’ve read recently was a discussion with Jim Collins (“Built to Last” author) in the February 24, 2009 issue of Fortune magazine. It is good enough that I strongly recommend you read the whole thing. Here’s a link http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2009/02/02/toc.html.
The main points that I got out of this is how important it is to, as Vince Lombardi says “Do the right things all the time.” Collins notes some pretty important points that are particularly consistent with the way of life at West Cryogenics. Here are some:
- Speaking of P&G- “….. they said a customer will always be able to depend on the fact that a product is what we say it is- we will always build our reputation on quality. When they were under pressure to start cutting corners or use cheaper ingredients, they just didn’t do that. What we have found is that what really matters is that you actually have core values- not what they are. The more challenged you are, the more you have to have your values.”
One of the best articles I’ve read recently was a discussion with Jim Collins (“Built to Last” author) in the February 24, 2009 issue of Fortune magazine. It is good enough that I strongly recommend you read the whole thing. Here’s a link http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2009/02/02/toc.html.
The main points that I got out of this is how important it is to, as Vince Lombardi says “Do the right things all the time.” Collins notes some pretty important points that are particularly consistent with the way of life at West Cryogenics. Here are some:
- Speaking of P&G- “….. they said a customer will always be able to depend on the fact that a product is what we say it is- we will always build our reputation on quality. When they were under pressure to start cutting corners or use cheaper ingredients, they just didn’t do that. What we have found is that what really matters is that you actually have core values- not what they are. The more challenged you are, the more you have to have your values.”
- And- “One of the big lessons we’ve learned is that turbulence is your friend. If you were disciplined and prepared when the storm came, then you should be thankful for the times. Take Southwest Airlines…… Southwest was once a startup company with a cash-flow problem. Their famous 20-minute turnaround time came about because of cash constraints. They had fewer planes, but they could get them back in the air quicker. They used adversity to invent a discipline that they never lost.”
It is likely that West Cryogenics would never have successfully begun manufacturing were it not for the time and resources that suddenly became available during the post-9/11 downturn. For those of us raised on the likes of Vince Lombardi, John Wooden, Winston Churchill, and Galileo there is an appearance of passion for adversity that has almost the air of masochism. Maybe the sleep we achieve so easily at night is best captured by Lombardi:
"I've never known a man worth his salt who in the long run, deep down in his heart, didn't appreciate the grind, the discipline. There is something good in men that really yearns for discipline."
"Once a man has made a commitment to a way of life, he puts the greatest strength in the world behind him. It's something we call heart power. Once a man has made this commitment, nothing will stop him short of success."
"I firmly believe that any man's finest hour, the greatest fulfillment of all that he holds dear, is the moment when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle-victorious."
"I've never known a man worth his salt who in the long run, deep down in his heart, didn't appreciate the grind, the discipline. There is something good in men that really yearns for discipline."
"Once a man has made a commitment to a way of life, he puts the greatest strength in the world behind him. It's something we call heart power. Once a man has made this commitment, nothing will stop him short of success."
"I firmly believe that any man's finest hour, the greatest fulfillment of all that he holds dear, is the moment when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle-victorious."
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