What’s a CEO to do when confronted with an irritating little gnat of a technology blogger who won’t let her off the hook about her company’s poor performance? 

In the case of Yahoo Chief Executive Carol Bartz the answer is… let it rip.  She stopped the curmudgeonly interviewer in his tracks (and drew guffaws from the audience) when she dropped the f-bomb in response to a line of tough questions that compared her unfavorably to Steve Jobs.  I guess she thought it would get him off her case.  Nice try but now the world is now watching on You Tube.  

Didn’t I just write about this You Tube thing…like…. six days ago?

Bartz has a flair for colorful language and you can’t blame her for playing Mama Bear Yahoo - protecting her company cubs from the bad, bad media.  She’s been on the job 16 months.  In today’s ADD world that’s a life time.  She hasn’t performed a miracle yet.  Yahoo’s stock price has been tanking and the press hasn’t been so kind.  Pressure on. 

Then again, the Bold-Ms.-Bartz did make the decision to get on that stage.  I would assume some poor soul in the Yahoo-land communications department was savvy enough to tip her off that this dude Michael Arrington isn’t a fan.  It wasn’t gonna-be-no-love -fest.  

Bartz: I’ve been at this company 16 months. and so I’m supposed to have an iPad, iPod… I mean, c’mon. You are involved in a very tiny company [pause].

Arrington: Very tiny.

Bartz: And it probably takes a long time to even convince yourself what the hell to do. So I don’t want to hear any crap about something magical that the fine people of Yahoo are supposed to do in this short time. So f___ off.”

Interestingly, some people are falling all over themselves praising the blunt Ms. Bartz.  Guy Kawasaki, a  Twitterer-extraordinaire, tweeted, ” I respect Carol Bartz even more now..” @GlennF tweeted, “I especially like how Carol Bartz doesn’t play the marketing-speak messaged CEO. She destroys Arrington there.” Another, @Segphault, wrote in a tweet, “Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz is awesome.”

This has nothing to do with women by the way.  A few weeks ago Vice President Biden also made headlines when he slapped President Obama on the back with a congratulatory “this is a big f___ing deal.” 

I’m beginning to think I need re-examine my media training program all together.

Really.

I used to videotape executives just to show them that the APPEARED A BIT IRRITATED at the tough questions we threw at them.  I would make them to watch and advise them to keep cool.  A little passion is always good.  You don’t want to look like you don’t care.  But letting them get under your skin is generally counterproductive.  They focus on your emotion and stop hearing your message.

The pressure of running a public company with a once-glorious-now-somewhat-tattered brand-name notwithstanding, I still think it’s better when you’re in control.  And once again, I’m not claiming to be any kind of saint in the profanity department.  My dad, a common sense Midwest country lawyer always used to let it rip in the house, and tell me cussing sure as hell isn’t the worst sin.

But back to basics, people.  You are a leader.  What do you want your company’s culture to be?  And what do you want your leadership BRAND to be?  Carol Bartz seems like the kind of gal I’d enjoy having a beer with.  Her people may be mighty proud she’s standing up for them.  But the f-word will forever be tattooed on her precious executive reputation.  With an exclamation point.

Just something to think about.

YaHOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

 Carol Bartz, Yahoo CEO: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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I couldn’t believe I did it. 

Just kill me now.

I was responding to an email from our consultant Sarah.  I don’t know why.  I hit REPLY ALL.

Tell me you’ve done it too.  (Please.)

Okay here’s what happened.  I was in a hurry.  (check one.)

I assumed it was from my consultant with a copy to our business manager.  (check two).

I didn’t review the name in that second line.  (check three.)

I was trying to be clever. (check four.)

I didn’t see his name until my curser was poised on send in a downward motion.  It was just like when you see someone falling off of a chair backwards; you’re watching it in slow motion, you want to scream but you can’t and you are helpless. Nothing you can do.  Nothing.  

Out it went– into cyberspace.  A message intended for the consultant went to the CLIENT!!!!

Panic. 

(What ensues next is chaos in my office - I go down the hall to find our tech guy.  Revise that–I FLY out of my office and down the hall yelling…”Can you recall it?” Bob RACES to the server, shuts it down, but I can see by the look on his face that this is just for show.  The phone is ringing.  It’s Sarah.  “Yes, she knows,” I hear our new receptionist say.  “We’re trying to recover it.”  We stand their staring at each other.  Futile.  For some idiotic reason I’ve never activated the delay feature on my email- you know the one that keeps the email in your outbox for a minute or two?  Of course, now, I’m thinking, “What did I say, exactly?”   I go back to read it.  It’s not terrible.  It’s just…. well….EMBARASSING.

I wish I could tell you that this was a bad dream brought on by indigestion from a piece of undercooked fish and too many glasses of Pinot Grigio.  I wish I could say it didn’t happen.  But it did.

Oh, that damned REPLY ALL button.

Why did I do it?  It’s my rule?  I NEVER use replay all. Okay, honestly? Maybe once in awhile.

Into the consultant penalty box go I.  The price will be steep.  I will have to call immediately to explain the inside joke.  

Thank GOD IT WASN’T A BAD MESSAGE. 

Just for the record - we like to celebrate bringing in a new client by virtually ”throwing the Gatorade.”  You know, that ritual that teams have when they drive down the field, score, grab a big barrel and dump it on the coach.  It read, “Sarah, let’s get the signed contract and then we’ll throw the Gatorade.  Nice job!  Your clients must have give you some great recommendations.”  

Like I said, it’s not a BAD message.  It’s just that we are in the COMMUNICATIONS business.   We are not supposed to make these mistakes.    

If I worked for ME?  I’d be in a lot of trouble today.  

In a way I would argue that it’s worse when you’re the boss because you’re supposed to set the standard.  I can guarantee right now that I will awaken at 3 a.m. –reliving this horror.

So … learn from my mistake.  Be careful.  Don’t get sloppy.  Copy and paste emails - don’t hit forward.  Never hit reply all.  Put every name in that line intentionally.  

Gee, I hope he laughs when he gets my voice mail.  

Just kill me now.

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Decked out in red midriff-baring tops and hot pants, performing to “All the Single Ladies,” the 8 and 9 year old dancers at a recent competition earned whoops and praise for their skilled moves, imitating the above photo.  Yet when the video hit You Tube, their gyrations launched an internet firestorm.  It sparked a raging controversy regarding the age appropriateness of those sexy Beyonce-like dance moves.   

The girls’ parents were dumbfounded, saying the video was never meant to be viewed by millions of people.  “This is taken completely out of context,” Cory Miller, father of one of the girls, told Good Morning America.  “The girls are doing something they love to do,” he added.  But “once something becomes viral it gets out of control.”  

That got me thinking about you.  Not the situation where your kids post video of you doing the air guitar routine.  More like when your employees, competitors or even perfect strangers decide to post a video of you speaking in a quasi public forum.  Let’s say you’re on a panel, or giving a conference presentation; or even speaking at an all hands meeting.  Someone with good, bad or benign intentions might just decide to create some mischief.  Are you comfortable with that?  Are you even thinking about it?  

I don’t know what percentage of cell phones and blackberries can capture digital video but it’s certainly growing.  88% of Americans have cell phones.  4 billion people in the world carry one.  I can only think of one or two places where I’ve been asked to surrender mine - mostly going into locations related to government or defense.

Ubiquitous video capability has had a fascinating impact on TV news gathering.  TV news crews no longer have to be “on the scene” to get the story.  I understand the arrest of one of three Pakistani men who may have been in cahoots with the Time Square bomber was captured by a neighbor who happened to see the FBI outside the door in Watertown, MA.  Here’s a link to the raw video  

There are ways to protect yourself but it’s confusing.  On You Tube’s web site the first thing they tell you is you can only take down a video if you uploaded it yourself.  Videos can be removed by You Tube for copyright infringement.  Other than that, after several tries, I couldn’t easily find out on line what the policy is.  

What if you don’t happen to like a video of you that someone else loaded?  I hadn’t done a You Tube search on myself in awhile.  I found most of the videos were posted by our marketing director - tips on communication and clips of speeches.  However, there are also excerpts from television newscasts (when I was a lot younger and more of a brunette - but yes, that’s me.)  No reputational harm - kind of fun to see the old news sets - but I sure didn’t post them.  No idea who did.  What if I just didn’t like them?  I’m not sure I would have recourse.  I don’t own the copyright.  This is what I mean.  It’s a brave new world.  

Not sounding the alarm bell here just yet but it’s something to think about.  

By the way, the video of the dance contest is harder to find now.  On USA Today’s site, a message pops up: “This video is no longer available due to a copyright claim by YAK films.”  But you can still find it on ABC Good Morning America’s web site.

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I had failed to pack running shoes and it was going to be four long days without stress- relieving exercise at the Whittemore School at the University of New Hampshire.  The Bates team was there to deliver a Communicate like a Leader program for 25 senior executives.  By day two, my guys were sick of hearing about the exercise thing, so they dropped me at Macy’s on the way to dinner at Outback (we travel in style) to buy some Nikes.  Macy’s carries 1,973 styles but nary a thing you could remotely consider appropriate for a workout unless you like the look and feel of sexy four- inch black strap pumps on a treadmill.   The ONLY fitness category offering was the new fangled Sketchers “Shape Ups™ that Joe Montana has been so sincerely touting on TV. 

I tried them on.  The foot actually rolls in these odd shaped things.  You can’t stand still.  The rounded heel to cushy middle prods your foot forward.  It’s like walking on a workout ball.    I paid the $100 and couldn’t wait for my maiden test run; rising at 5:30 in the midst of a Nor’easter, I commandeered the only umbrella from the front desk and set off.   I felt like I was bouncing.  These Shape Ups claim to “improve poster, strengthen the back, firm the buttocks, improve blood circulation, tighten abdominals and get me into shape without setting foot in a gym” and at the end of 45 minutes I felt at least optimistic that was true.  

I don’t mean I saw immediate impact on the derriere (thought I did check the mirror); but I had an inspiration for my morning presentation.  This was precisely the metaphor I was searching for; a perfect corollary to the awkward experience of learning how to tell a good story.

 Whether you tell stories or you don’t, learning to use our five step process can put a crimp on your style at first.  It doesn’t allow you to carry on without a point, and everything you put into the story needs to lead to it.  So it can be awkward to apply the structure but eventually it is a roadmap that accelerates the process of developing a story you can use in a business presentation.

I walked into the classroom later that morning sporting the shoes (with my suit) and proceeded to tell my story; I demonstrated the rolling motion; then I related it to the storytelling process. 

Bates Story Structure  

The                    The                   The                  The                The

Set Up             Build Up             Scene              Lesson         Universal Theme

I wouldn’t be able to give you the entire storytelling course here, but here’s a quick sketc.  The Set Up is the who, what, when, where of your story - where it begins. The Build Up provides a storyline with some characters and interesting details.  This leads to The Scene; a pivotal moment in the story such as a conversation or realization.  This moment leads to The Point- a personal lesson, observation or ephiphany.  But you’re not finished.  You still have to expand that to provide relevance to the audience through The Universal Theme- how it applies to them.  

We’ve been perfecting this structure for several years and I’ve watched how executives who thought they didn’t have a story bone in their bodies embrace it and become confident storytellers.  Think of it like trying on a new shoe.  The foot is the moving part - the actual story.  The shoe is the story structure that keeps it laced up, aligned and moving in the right direction.  

I’m still wearing the Shape Ups as I write this.  I guess I’ll have to report back in a few weeks when I can tell you whether it is living up to the promise.

In the meantime, try on some new stories.  Think about how to structure them to make a powerful point. In no time they’ll be in “great shape.”

Anybody have a full length mirror?   

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Well, who are you? (Who are you? Who, who, who, who?)
I really wanna know (Who are you? Who, who, who, who?)
Tell me, who are you? (Who are you? Who, who, who, who?)
‘Cause I really wanna know (Who are you? Who, who, who, who?)
The Who, 1978

When the English rock band The Who (Roger Daltrey, Pete Townshend, plus bassist john Entwistel and drummer Keith Moon) recorded one of their iconic 70’s anthems, their chorus posed a haunting rhetorical question to a guy who wakes up in Soho after a drunken, brawling night.    

More than 30 years later, it’s hard to get those words out of your mind isn’t it?  Not only when you’re 23, nursing a hangover, pondering how to make something of your life; but also when you’re older and figuring out what am I doing here?  It’s important to ask because we all have a need to connect who we are with what we do.  Call that - authenticity.    

Years ago in designing our executive coaching program we developed an in-depth personal history interview for that reason.  We realized we couldn’t coach anyone until we knew who they were.  Where were you born; what did your parents do; what kind of student were you; what was college like; what did you want to be when you grew up?  What happened earlly in your career; who were the people who shaped you; why did you choose this path?  Why this industry?  This company?  This leadership role?  

What’s intriguing is that this process isn’t just a valuable coaching tool.  It helps our clients remember stories they had forgotten that reconnect the past with the present.  These stories are a bridge to authentic leadership; useful not only to you, but to the people you lead.  They also want to know.  Who are you?      

Years ago I met Dan Wolf, CEO and founder of Cape Air. Dan is a pilot with a side-splitting sense of humor and a gift for storytelling. Known as the airborne executive, he grew up fascinated by flying, hanging around airports.  In the summers between college at Wesleyan, he learned to fly around Cape Cod. He tooks his last semester of college off to become an instructor and commercial pilot.  Cape Air began as a flying school and then expanded to take on more and more routes.  Eventually they became America’s largest privately-owned and operated commuter airline. 

In an interview in CNNMoney.com a couple of years ago, he said, “There are airline CEOs who make a point to be active on the front lines — handing out nuts and meeting passengers in the airplane — but I really love the idea of still being able to fly. I make it a point to fly Saturdays in the summer because I know we’re busy. I’ll see how the operation is working, and since I’m flying on the weekend, I’m not taking time away from my desk job.”

Now there is a guy who is passionate about his company.  He loves flying.  I understand who he is.  So do his employees.  This could account for the fact that when you click on the awards list of their web site you have to keep scrolling and scrolling.  They’ve won everything from the prestigious Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award in New England to the Greater Boston Chamber Small Business Award, and Cape Cod Citizen of the Year Award, and dozens of others.

I don’t have any interest whatsoever in promoting or highlighting Dan Wolf - I’ve only met the guy once.  But I think I “get” who he is.  And I would imagine that people who work for him do, too. 

When people understand who a leader and that resonates with them, they’re like to want to be part of his or her organization.  If you love the Cape, enjoy the aviation business, like the idea of working for an employee owned company run by a guy with passion and a sense of humor, then you’re quite like to find Cape Air attractive.  And once you get there, you’re likely to work hard and stay around.  

It isn’t always an easy question to answer.  But I will tell you this.  It’s worth examining.  

Who are you?

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“Courage is being scared to death but saddling up anyway.”  -John Wayne

A couple of years ago a good friend and mentor told me that he thought I needed to get a little more “swagger.”  Not confidence, specifically, he used the word swagger.  It’s a cool word.  Fun to say.  Swagger.  I wasn’t sure exactlly what he meant at the time, but the message was that something needed to be ratcheted up.

Was it, attitude?  Charisma?  Self-Assurance?  Sauntering into the saloon, boots jangling, John Wayne-style, ordering a double and tossing it down?  Swashbuckling onto the ship, Johnny Depp-style, to take prisoners into foreign waters and make them love it?   

I looked it up.  

 swag·ger (swgr)

As an unabashed fan of American Idol, I’m particularly intrigued by one of this year’s top three finalists, Lee DeWyze.  His musical talent has always been obvious but he looked like he was hiding his personality under a bushell.  He was kind of …well…shy.  More than once, judge Kara DioGuardi prodded him.  ”Do you believe you can win this thing?”  Wow, that’s tough on live TV in front of 35 million Idol fans.  But we got what she meant.  You can’t be a superstar unless you believe you are.

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How we spend our days, of course, is how we spend our lives”

-Annie Dillard, The Writing Life

The meeting was in downtown Boston, about a 25 minute ride with no traffic.  For some reason I had reserved only 30 minutes travel time on my calendar.  Then it dawned on me, that when I got there I would have the nauseating round and round drive through a circular parking garage; 13 precision point turns of the wheel to maneuver into a Smart Car-sized parking spot; standing in line at the security desk for a photo ID; and a ride up to the 32nd floor with a phone call and another wait in the lobby of that floor.  Fortunately I left earlier. Actual time (no delays) - 47 minutes.  

I haven’t seen statistics on the percentage of people who are on time, but you can do your own unscientific poll.  How many are late for meetings?  Conference calls?  Project deadlines?  You can bet if they do it to you they do it to “important people,” too.  They’re also the ones who drive to appointments like they are in the last lap of the Daytona 500, with their middle digits getting plenty of exercise along the way.

There are 1,001 excuses for being late.  But there really is only one reason - failure to develop the habit of being on time.   

When I worked in television news, I was frequently late. In TV you have plausible excuses - the news day was crazy; the assignment desk couldn’t make up their minds; no camera crew available; side tracked by breaking news, etc, etc. 

It wasn’t until I went into business that I finally understood what is meant by, “Early is on time, and on time is late.” I was dressing for dinner in Dallas, meeting a client in the lobby.  Took the elevator downstairs, arrived right on time.  He was already there.  Next morning, I arrived a minute or two early; again, he was waiting.  That evening for dinner, you guessed it.  There he was again.  I asked how he developed this habit.  He said when he started working closely with his CEO it was made early that being early was a minimum requirement.  In the C Suite, it was simply how it was done.

I used to dial in on conference calls a minute early but I’ve taken to checking in about 5-7 minutes ahead of schedule these days.  You just never know.  Some hapless client assistant innocently transposes two numbers in the participant’s code and there you are, high and dry.  It isn’t worth the stress.

People who are truly punctual are on time even when it doesn’t “matter.”  They don’t dash in five minutes late for the morning meeting.  They don’t deliver their proposals at 7 pm on the day they are due.  They figure out a way to be where they’re supposed to be and do what they are supposed to do, no matter what.     

10 Tips on Being Punctual

1.  Acknowledge that punctuality is an issue.  You can only address an issue if you confront it. 

2.  Determine that you will be 15 minutes early for every single meeting; no exceptions.

3.  Build in more between time than you think you will need because something almost always happens.

4.  Put the due dates for projects, outlines, drafts, proposals and presentations on the calendar the day before they are due, and put your prep time on the calendar in the days and weeks before that.

5.  Make it a point to be the first person sitting in the room when others walk into the meeting. 

6.  Keep your eye on the clock and your watch - be aware of the time.

7.  Don’t allow people to grab you in the hallway or ring you for one quick second when you are on the way out the door.  A lot of people are happy to chat you into being late.

8.  Get better at estimating how long tasks take and schedule ample time to do them.

9.  If someone else is running late, let them know that you still need to end your meeting on time.

10.  Back time your day; to arrive at 8, for example, get into the shower at 6:20 and on the road by 7:05. 

One of my dearest friends always, and I mean ALWAYS gets to a restaurant before my husband and me.  She is 15 minutes early, no matter what.  In the ten years that I’ve known her I think I beat her once, and it was because I made a point of it.  I love this about her.  She is utterly, totally reliable.  This habit is just one reason why she builds such trusted relationships with her clients.  It isn’t about the clock.  It’s about respect.

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“The key is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities.”

-Steven Covey

It’s that time of year - corporate strategy meetings, team off-sites, global leadership meetings, board of director meetings; they’re coming fast and furious.  If you’re like my clients you are preparing at least one presentation, probably a few.  Some of my clients go into this process like a Chinese fire drill (which I realize isn’t exactly politically correct - I looked it up - it’s a pejorative expression originating from the 1900’s referring to a bucket brigade that is accomplishing nothing) so if I’ve offended you then so be it.

Now I love all these clients but let me explain what I mean by the fire drill.  One of them emailed his 14 page draft with about 17 slides at 10 p.m. the night before our 7:30 a.m. coaching session.  Another sent five separate documents related to her presentation with detailed notes five minutes before our 1-hour coaching call.  A third guy just went MIA.  We were scheduled to talk the day before a ”test run” with his boss and I never heard from him.  Three days later he replied to my voice mail with an email apology - he was sorry but it hadn’t been ready, he thought it was okay, not sure, would like to talk… but was heading out for a long weekend… catch up next week… 

Let me take a step back and say it’s fine to do some things “just in time.” If you’re asked to bring a salad to the neighbor’s backyard barbeque Saturday night you can run to the grocery store at 5:45, whip it together at their salad bar and show up looking like a hero.  However, preparing a presentation is not like making salad.  You can’t just toss it all together the day before you speak.  And once you’re past the third grade, the dog ate my homework excuse just doesn’t fly.   

Whenever clients fail to meet a deadline or go right up against it, you can take it to the bank - they’re doing the same thing at work.  With a coach, they’re just flushing company money down the drain.  At work it can be their careers.  In their wake - they create chaos.  It doesn’t just hurt them - it hurts everybody who is waiting on them and counting on them.     

We all have pressure.  Unless you work for the Save the Endangered Caterpillar division of the Environmental Protection Agency and your hours are 9 to 3:30 and everything can wait, you have deadlines. If you’re not busy you’re dead.  For the sake of your career and your sanity it is time to stop pretending that you can do it all.  You have to know your priorities and be ruthless about how you use your time.        

The other day I was on the phone with a client and I recommended he make a list.  1 through 10.  What are you priorities?  What’s the next action step?  When can you complete it?  How will you know you’ve succeeded?  It’s easy to do this with a coach or mentor but you can also do it for yourself.    

1. priority -activitiy - deadline- measure of success

2. priority -activity - deadline - measure of success

3. priority - activity - deadline  - measure of success

etc. 

It’s simply amazing what happens when you write things down.  Writing engages your brain, the list stimulates creativity and checking things off gets you pumped.  You don’t need a ten hours of strategic naval gazing introspection to get your priorities on a piece of paper.  They’re in your head anyway, for heavens sake.  It took my client ten minutes.   

Of course, if making a list was the start and end of success then we’d all be Warren Buffet. Once you have the list, you have to take one more step.  SCHEDULE those activities ON YOUR CALENDAR.  What gets scheduled gets done.  You know this because if you switch over to your own calendar right now you’ll see a bunch of things scheduled today.  You’re an efficient person.  these will get done.  

So stop trying to rearrange your to do list.  Put the important stuff first.  Get it on your calendar.  Stop the madness, set priorities and put down your bucket. It’s spilling all over the place. 

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“When we understand that slide, we’ll have won the war.”

-General Stanley A. McChrystal, leader of American and NATO forces in Afghanistan

One of the most widely-emailed stories last week was an above-the-fold, color-splashed New York Times PowerPoint diagram portraying the complexity of American strategy in Afghanistan.  As the NYT observed, it looks more like a bowl of spaghetti than a strategy.  As I read it I thought about the old black and white war movies in which war generals drew battle diagrams in the dirt with a stick.  Boy we’ve come a long way, haven’t we?  

Computer generated charts, graphs and bullet points are now apparently a running joke at the Pentagon.  Military communications are dominated by unruly PowerPoint presentations that are stifling real communication.  “It’s dangerous because it can create the illusion of understanding and the illusion of control,” said General H.R. McMaster. 

I don’t know about you but I’m not laughing.  I’d like to know that when those brave guys and gals go out on the battlefields in Iraq and Afghanistan that everybody’s got the same clear plan in their heads.  I don’t mean to imply that the military considers this a laughing matter.  High ranking military officials have serious concerns that PowerPoint is damaging critical thinking and thoughtful decision making.  But the horse is out of the barn and nobody knows how to corral it back inside.

Kinda makes you think, doesn’t it?

Bad PowerPoint is such a running joke in American business today.

Maybe lives aren’t at stake, but your business is. 

The other day one of my new clients came in to prepare for a presentation he was giving in London to about 400 global leaders in his company.  He’d delivered the same presentation to small groups; but it was going on the big screen and he wanted to “check the slides” before he left.  “Minor adjustments,” he said.

“More like a PowerPoint grenade,” I replied.

One structural diagram had so many boxes and messages in the smallest type I’ve ever seen (is there a “nano-point”?) which you couldn’t read with a magnifying glass.  Another had six text boxes each with 12 bullet points.  I’m not kidding. 

Here’s what I’m going to propose.  Copy my article, or just cut and paste the photo and send it around your company today.  Ask for comments.  Get people talking about PowerPoint.  Then send me your comments.  I will post them in the blog.  

By starting the conversation perhaps you can make some changes.  It’s time to start using visuals to make things easier, not harder, to understand.  It’s not too late to win the battle in business.  

Pass the sauce, please.

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