Page 131 - Everything I Know About Business I Learned

Lead by Example

ment must interface with that customer by getting as close as pos-
sible to him or her. As Ed noted, at other organizations, “man-
agement is so removed from its workforce.” My own consulting
has shown that to be true. At one organization, a national chain
of restaurants, the executive level was never involved in touring
and visiting the restaurants and missed out on the benefits asso-
ciated with these visits. While we tried to get them to understand
the importance of this, and the benefits at all levels, ultimately
they never got it. The business was soon sold after our discus-
sions with them. There is no substitute for the truths you gather
by observing in the field, and the importance of executives from
the top leading by example. Take it from Andrew Carnegie, who
once said, “As I grow older, I pay less attention to what men say.
I just watch what they do.”

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Lessons Learned
There can be no greater motivator for an organization’s lead-
ership than to spend quality time closest to the customers and
staff members who interact with them every day. The rewards
are threefold. Executives benefit because they learn on the
frontline. Staff members benefit by learning to exemplify
behaviors. And the customers benefit because their overall
experience usually improves by the leaderships’ presence.

Frank Kuchuris, a longtime bun supplier for McDonald’s and
second generation in the business, summed it up well to me: “I have
a routine. I never go into the office when I visit one of our plants.
Every time I go, even though it is against the rules, I always go in
the back door, and walk the plant from the back forward and say
hello and chit chat because one of the biggest things is that they