Page 116 - The Bible On Leadership

102 THE BIBLE ON LEADERSHIP

on this ark, along with two of every type of animal on the face of the
earth.
A modern example of someone with exceptional listening skills is J.
Kermit Campbell, the CEO of Herman Miller, a furniture company
with over 5,000 employees. Campbell vowed to meet every single one
of them one to one and listen to their individual concerns. He accom-
plished this (while still being able to run the company!) by going di-
rectly to each employee’s workstation, making round-the-clock visits
to all shifts. 17
Another great listener was Sam Walton of Wal-Mart. He set up a
hotline through which any employee could call headquarters in Ben-
tonville, Arkansas, if they were not happy with the inventory they were
receiving or with what was going on in the store. Walton was also not
one to keep his leaders ‘‘in their tents’’ at corporate headquarters. In-
stead, every Monday through Thursday, he sent his top executives out
into the field, flying from store to store. What was the mission of these
highly paid executives? To listen to employees who were often making
minimum wage.
Regional vice president Andy Wilson relished these trips because ‘‘all
the best ideas’’ came from these front-line employees, keeping Wal-
18
Mart agile and responsive to its customers. As Proverbs 18:13 notes,
‘‘He who answers before listening—that is his folly and his shame.’’
Sam Walton knew that any response from corporate without listening
to the troops in the stores was bound to result in the retail version of
folly and shame—poor service and lost revenues.
Richard Teer Link of Harley-Davidson was a leader who was forced
to listen. Sales of the famous motorcycle were going down, and he
didn’t have a clue why. His response was to listen not just to employees,
but (glory be!) the customers. He organized Harley Owners’ Groups
(HOGs) and asked probing questions to determine the underlying need
that made a person buy his motorcycles. By listening carefully, he found
that customers were not just buying a mode of transportation, or even
a beautiful machine. They were buying freedom, independence, and
escape from the stress and routine of their everyday lives. This resulted
in an entirely different marketing approach. Sales soared, as did mem-