Morality and public companies…..can they really coexist?

September 18, 2010

I’ve been thinking about personal responsibility and how this ties in to those of us who run businesses, large and small.

I find that most of the time those who run and own their business will operate with much more integrity, authenticity and morality than those who run businesses for others, but are not major shareholders in that business.  Public companies are a great example of businesses that often are run with anything but integrity.

I believe the reason for this is the lack of personal responsibility and accountability that exists in most public companies.  At the end of the day those who are in senior management rarely if ever have to pay for bad decisions on a personal basis.  In fact, many times they are sent away with a huge golden parachute that allows them to move to their next venture being financially independent.

We have a problem with morality in large organizations whether they be in the private sector or government.  Both are charged with working in the best interest of the shareholders or the public.  Too often we find the leaders of these organizations did not work in the best interests of their stakeholders.  In the financial management world we often are asked to be a fiduciary for our Clients.  The same is or at least should be true with public corporations as well as government.

Unless there is a personal price to pay, we won’t see any significant changes.  When the leaders of these organizations get caught doing unethical things, they usually don’t pay a personal price  If they ruin their company, they just leave and sit on the sidelines to re-appear in another company within a few months.

Greed is not good, although many in our society think it is.  Being morale pays off.  For those in small companies the owners know this from first hand experience.  If they don’t run their companies with integrity, eventually their business will go away and they go out of business.  If this happens the owner pays a huge personal economic and psychic cost.  In the public realm this doesn’t happen.

Until we can figure out how to hold the people who run pubic companies accountable personally for their actions, we won’t see any changes.

As always, let me know what you think.  Starting a conversation is always a good thing.

Josh Patrick

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Mistakes really are the road to happines…….or at least learning

September 5, 2010

One of my favorite Elders is Buckminster Fuller.  Yes, I know that he’s been dead for quite a few years.  At the same time he left a huge legacy of writing and thoughts on how we should live in this world.

One of the statements I really like have been attributed to him, “you don’t learn less”.  I’ve lived my life with that credo, even before I heard the statement.

For me, not learning less means getting out there and doing it.  If you’re fortunate enough to do it correct the first time, push the envelope till you make some mistakes and then take stock and figure out what you learned.  If you start making mistakes immediately, take responsibility for those mistakes and figure out what you did wrong so you can start making adjustments.

In my opinion mistakes are not about the corrections as much as they are about taking responsibility for your actions, and learning to modify your behavior to get different results.  This modification should come from both actions involving people and actions involving systems.

Mistakes are also the food that one uses when creating experience.  Having done the same thing over and over is not experience.  It might give you a certain competence at doing a particular thing, but you’re not expanding your horizons and developing the ability to bring more value to you and those around you.  Trying new things is where the fun is.  It’s where you get a chance to experience new things and live from what those new things bring to your life.

Many times we’re afraid that what ever it is we do will be so “embarrassing” that we won’t be able to stand the humiliation that comes with trying something new.  In most cases the rest of the world doesn’t notice and you just get to shrug your shoulders and move on to try again with more refinement.

For me, making mistakes is just the way I live my life.  I find that very few mistakes can’t be corrected easily as long as I’m willing to take responsibility for my own actions.

What do you think.  Please leave a comment and let me know your thoughts.

Josh Patrick

Oh, if you’re an owner of a private business owner we’ve posted a good questionnaire that gathers information on why or why not you’re getting the success you want.  Click on the link and it’ll take you to our questionnaire.

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The new elevator speech…..make it short and authentic

June 2, 2010

I recently attended a study group meeting with a group of my peers in Boston.  During the meeting we had a conversation about “elevator speeches”.  As we all went around the room talking about our elevator speech I realized that none of us is doing the traditional introduction when we tell someone we meet what we do.

The typical elevator speech is supposed to take about twenty to thirty seconds and have a pithy line in it that will get someone to ask you a question.  Instead all of us in our group do a short eight to ten word description of what we do.  For example, I’ll say “I own a wealth management firm that specializes in working with Private Business Owners” or I’ll say “I’m in wealth management where our goal is to make our Clients lives better.”

Both statements take about three seconds to say and both feel authentic to me when I say them.  And, that is the problem with most elevator speeches that I hear.  Most elevator speeches I hear sound fake and are way too long.   By the time someone gets halfway through a twenty second speech I’ve already tuned then out.

Three or four seconds is all we get to pique the interest of someone we’re talking with.  Longer than that, our minds start wandering off.  I’ve come to believe that the traditional elevator speech that we’re taught is not appropriate in most situations.  In fact, I think the traditional twenty to thirty second talk will put off others.

In a world where we won’t wait five seconds for a web page to load we have to understand that we have a very short time to make a first impression that actually impresses.  This means we have a maximum of twelve to fifteen words we can say.  Let’s make sure those words have impact and are authentic.  After all, we’re all looking for authenticity today.

Josh Patrick

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Congruency, the other side of authenticity

May 8, 2010

One of my favorite states and words is congruency.  I find congruency goes along with being authentic.  When one is congruent things seem to go better than if you’re fighting with what your believe or trying to fit in someplace that you don’t.

When we advise people on hiring we ask our Clients to list the traits they want under the headings can do, will do and fit factors.  Fit factors is all about congruency.  If someone isn’t congruent with the beliefs, vision and purpose of your company or organization, there is little chance this person is going to fit in.

I believe that congruency is so important that if it doesn’t exist there comes a time where real problems develop.  These problems will usually get to the point where a tipping or breaking point happens in the organization.  If it’s a big organization, there usually is just chaos that follows this person.  In a small organization, the poor fit will often ruin the entire organization.

This is especially true in families.  Even the largest families are small.  If there is a lack of congruency in communications from the elders, there will be a disconnect in the family.  If parents are congruent in their actions and words, there is a good chance the family will function very well.

If you’re angry at someone, letting them know you’re angry is a good thing.  If you’re sad, it’s OK to let others know what’s going on.  If you have bad news, it’s best to share the news than sit on it.  Everyone around you knows there is something wrong and in “polite society” we don’t often to talk to others about the incongruities we’re noticing.

When congruency and authenticity exist at the same time, organizations and families work well.  When either don’t exist or are unstable, life can and often does get difficult.  If things aren’t working well around you ask yourself if there is a congruent message delivered in an authentic manner.  If the answer is no, help those who are not congruent become so.

Josh Patrick

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Authenticity is such a cool thing

May 1, 2010

I’ve been thinking about the importance of authenticity in all things human.  It seems obvious to me that those who are authentic have better lives than those who don’t.

The question then becomes, what is authentic.  Simply stated, authenticity is just being yourself and being real in your thoughts, actions and words.  When you’re authentic there is a congruence about you that becomes obvious to others.  When your not authentic that congruency disappears.

The problem with not being authentic is that others can tell that your not being real and immediately barriers go up.  Working with people who are not authentic is often a very difficult thing.  You’re not sure what the agenda of the other person is and whether dealing with them will cause you more pain in the future.

Being authentic or real requires that you are honest about who and what you are.  If you don’t know something, it’s fine to say I don’t know.  If you need to learn or look something up, that’s OK too.  It’s those who pretend to know or just lie to manipulate that lose.  And, by losing I mean the quality of life you have when your inauthentic is just not as good as the quality of life of those who are.

There have been times when I’ve not been authentic in my relations with others.  I was often not proud of my actions when I behaved in this manner.  When I’ve been consistent, congruent and authentic, then I’m able to get in a zone where time stops and life is good.  This is the place I want to spend my time.

Josh Patrick

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We need more people and organizations to gawk at

April 29, 2010

I am once again going to piggyback on Seth Godin’s blog entry today.  http://bit.ly/9NKvtp

The part of this entry I found most interesting was the section on accreditation.  We think because some organization blesses an organization or person with a credential they are good at what they do.  In the case of colleges, accreditation is more like being able to complete a check list than it is in making sure the quality of the education provided is good.

This thought can be expanded to any “good housekeeping seal of approval.”  Just because someone has been certified by a ranking agency of any type doesn’t mean they’re good.  In fact, often the only thing it means is this person has been able to pass a particular test.

Government licensing is even worse.  What the government or it’s approved accreditation organizations provide is a lowest common denominator, not a guarantee that a licensed person has any way of knowing what they’re talking about.

I’ve said for years we have a service crisis in this country.  What that really means is we have a quality crisis.  There are very few people or organizations that provide quality products and services.  When we find one, it stands out as such an outlier that we all gather and gawk at that particular organization or person.

My question is are you one of the people we gawk at and if not, are you willing to put in the hard work to get there?

Josh Patrick

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Authenticity is such an important part of the Client experience

March 30, 2010

One of my favorite books and concepts is the Experience Economy by Joe Pine and James Gilmore.  This book is about managing and enhancing the experience that a Customer or Client has with a business.

I recently wrote about changing my office to change the experience our Clients have when working with us.  The results have been impressive.  I think much of the reason for the change in response from my Clients has been because the change in my office is authentic and fits in with who I really am.

Authenticity is an important factor in helping enhance the experience a Client has with us.  We can tell a fake a thousand miles away.  If an experience isn’t authentic, we become skeptical of the message being delivered.

Recently we changed our corporate purpose from financial strategies for life to helping our clients make their lives better.  It’s impossible for us to be authentic around financial strategies for life.  I think this is because no one really knows what financial strategies for life means.

It’s easy for our Clients and Stakeholders know if we’re helping to make their lives better.  If we’re authentic about how we go about doing this the experience of working with our firm becomes enhanced.  If we’re not, our Clients will let us know and let us know quickly.

I’m enjoying tying together our refined corporate purpose as well as understanding how this leads to a different and authentic experience with our firm.  It’s something we’ll continue to build on over the coming years.

Josh Patrick

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