Page 85 - How to Drive the Bottom Line with People

Making Winners Fail

capable of being empowered with the organization’s
mission. Otherwise, how can any leader possibly be

comfortable shouldering responsibility for everything
that conceivably might happen today, tomorrow, or
the next day?

United Supermarkets team members serve more
than one million guests each week. As the company’s
CEO, it is my responsibility to ensure each guest leaves
satisfied. Imagine the stress of dealing with that kind
of responsibility without relationships, trust, compas-

sion, or understanding in the workplace. On the other
hand, imagine the power of more than 9,000 friends—
61
people with whom I have served and whom I have =

mentored—serving more than one million guests each
week.
From General Peterson’s perspective, the leader’s
ability to understand servanthood and friendship is
the difference between a career that flounders and a

career that flourishes.
Subscribing to a leadership style that begins with
servanthood and develops friendships means eradi-

cating harsh and unfair treatment of people. In a cul-
ture-driven, people-centered organization, leaders
have a clear understanding of the difference between
a mistake and a crime. We all make mistakes, includ-