March, 2019 | Lorne Rubis

Hot Topic Friday: March, 29 Newsletter

Abundance Accountability Personal leadership Respect

Happy Friday everyone! Here are some Hot Topics that caught my attention this week.

Hop Topic 1: Hilton Named No. 1 Company on Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to Work For List

What it’s About:

Fortune published its Best Companies list. Check out the following from Hilton President and CEO, Chris Nassetta. He notes, “We lost our way a bit…We forgot that we are a business of people serving people, and the corporate environment got very disconnected from the front line.” Under Nassetta’s guidance, Hilton launched an expansive program to upgrade “back-of-house” areas used by staff, and introduced many other employee focused changes.

Why it’s Important:

Organizations sustainably thrive when they really get the people side of the business right. With the stock up 274 percent from its IPO price in 2013, you gotta believe that Hilton’s investors are cheering the employee-first philosophy the hotel has executed on. Every organization can learn from what the great ones do. The Top 100 Best Companies to Work For list offers a roadmap to become culturally and financially better.

Hot Topic 2: Human Contact is Now Considered a Luxury

What it’s About:

Reporter Nellie Bowles points out that screens used to be exclusive to the elite. Nowadays, avoiding them is a status symbol and makes the argument that human contact is rapidly becoming a luxury good. She shares a “WTF” story of a 68-year-old lonely man, whose life is emotionally richer through his relationship with a virtual, avatar cat named Sox that lives on his tablet. It’s what he can afford. At the opposite end of the rich scale, and in unabashed irony, the wealthy of Silicon Valley are paying huge dollars to send kids to screen-free schools.

Why it’s Important:

I do not want to minimize or judge the special relationship between a virtual cat named Sox (being controlled from a remote destination), and the “master” human being sitting on a couch. However, when human contact becomes something for the rich only, we might have a BIG problem. Work, although allowing for much more remote and gig experiences, must make room for our human need to be with each other. Let’s keep an eye on this trend.

Hot Topic 3: WeWork Loses Billions and is Excited About It

What it’s About:

The co-working company disclosed on Monday that its losses more than doubled last year to about $1.9 billion, even as its total revenue also expanded to about $1.8 billion. It will not slow down it’s breakneck, worldwide growth and the President, Artie Minson, believes it can get profitable as it needs to. The company also feels it can withstand a recession because organizations will move to more variable space commitments; WeWork’s wheelhouse. In eight years, it has grown to a company valued at $42 Billion USD with 401,000 paying members. Wow!

Why it’s Important:

This underscores the reality of the gig economy and signals the way many organizations are re-thinking the physical work space. My co-author Garrett worked in a WeWork space in LA and asked in a previous blog, “What if many traditional organizations like post-secondary institutions started using space like the ones offered by WeWork?” Hmm.

And finally! Here’s Cecil’s Bleat of the Week!

“Today’s leaders must be willing to take on the job of driving fear out of the organization to create the conditions for learning, innovation, and growth” – Amy C. Edmondson, from her book, The Fearless Organization.

Bye for now!

– Lorne Rubis

Incase you missed it:

Monday’s Lead In podcast.

Tuesday’s blog.

Wednesday’s Culture Cast podcast.

Also don’t forget to subscribe to our site, and follow Lorne Rubis on Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter for the latest from our podcasts, blogs, and all things offered on LorneRubis.com.

Culture Cast – What Being ‘People First’ Really Means

Personal leadership Podcast

In season 3, episode 8, Lorne and Lynette discuss being “People First,” and what the heck that really means.

Too many leaders are still focused on being “customer first.” While it’s important to be customer obsessed, we discuss the extreme value that organizations experience when they provide the best conditions for the PEOPLE that work there.

Sure, work perks like pizza, pets and casual dress codes are nice… However, Lorne and Lynette focus on steps and ideas that leaders can take to provide an environment that gives employees the chance to be fired up about what they do, and achieve results that WOW. Being People First doesn’t mean you are not also simultaneously customer obsessed.

Leaders can put together the tools, time, opportunities and purpose to make going to work a passionate and PEOPLE FIRST experience.

Please feel free to subscribe to this YouTube channel, follow this podcast on Soundcloud, as well as iTunes, and Lorne and Lynette’s social media platforms for all the latest Culture Cast uploads and announcements.

Lorne Rubis is available @LorneRubis on Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.

Lynette Turner is available on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn as well as through her site, LynetteTurner.com.

We look forward to sharing Season 3 of Culture Cast: Conversations on Culture and Leadership with you every Wednesday.

Who Keeps Glassdoor Scores?

Abundance Accountability Personal leadership Respect

The Challenge: Glassdoor is the Yelp of the workplace, and the reviews your company receives really matter. Salesforce.com is arguably the No. 1 large company to work for in the world. Their Glassdoor approval score is 4.4/5, and 89 percent would recommend the company to a friend. Marc Benioff, the CEO, has an approval rating of 98 percent. During the five years I spent as CPO at ATB Financial, our score was consistently 4.4, and CEO Dave Mowat had a 99 percent approval rating, the highest of all Glassdoor companies with more than 5,000 employees in the world. That’s a WOW!

Salesforce.com analyzed both employee turnover and recruitment success. Here’s what they found out: The great people who left, went to companies with a higher Glassdoor score, and they attracted top people from companies with scores lower than Salesforce. It was that clear, and subsequently they pay very close attention to their Glassdoor status.

The Solution: When I ask a lot of people what their Glassdoor score is, many still say “huh?” Too many people are unfamiliar or ambivalent. Here’s an article covering companies with over 5,000 employees who have the worst Glassdoor scores in 2019. The average overall score (among almost 50,000 organizations) is 3.4/5. Crappy companies are in the 2.0’s. If you read this statement about your company or one that you might be interested in joining, what would you think?: “There is a lack of stability and ongoing headcount cuts makes for bunch of unease. Constantly getting new managers as everyone leaves or gets let go so creates a constant starting from scratch. Very negative management style seems to be the normal. Plant closures has begun and maybe to continue so is gloomy as there is a sense of defeat and don’t [sic] get feeling that there is proper plan.” This is a direct quote from one of the sucky companies. I could have picked much worse.

What we can do about it?

If you’re a leader, have a game plan to get the score over 3.4 (unless you like being average). The best organizations strive to stay over 4.0. Be aware of the comments on Glassdoor. Don’t overreact to one off “haters,” but the trend is your friend or not! Take proactive action.
If you’re a team member, be aware of what people are saying about your company and be prepared to honestly post about your workplace. Insist that the company pays attention to the comments. It’s an important listening post!
Go to your Glassdoor score now and find out.

Think Big, Start Small, Act Now,

Lorne

One Millennial View: A great score on Glassdoor is a nice badge of honor. While it’s imperfect, and could be potentially infiltrated by bots, it’s one important data source. Since every organization is invited and joining the Glassdoor party, you might as well strive to be a highly rated guest (and skipping the invite isn’t a good look either).

– Garrett

Edited and published by Garrett Rubis

Lead In With Lorne – Here’s When You Shouldn’t Rescue People

Personal leadership Podcast

In this episode of Lead In With Lorne, if someone needs rescuing when they could be really hurt, then do so. However, if not, don’t plow everything out of the way for them. Here’s a personal story and a valuable learning lesson regarding self-accountability, and the importance of letting people figure it out and rescue themselves when you’re confident they can. Both parties benefit from embracing the struggle. Let people find their way. Watch/listen to get the full story.

Enjoy it on the YouTube video embedded below, or audio listeners can hear it on SoundCloud now too (iTunes coming in the near future). We hope it enriches your Monday!

Kindly subscribe to the YouTube channel and SoundCloud to make sure you start your week with a leadership story.

Lorne Rubis is available @LorneRubis on Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.

Hot Topic Friday: March, 22 Newsletter

Abundance Accountability Personal leadership Respect

Happy Friday everyone! I wanted to share with you some HOT TOPICS that have caught my attention this week.

Hot Topic 1: Goldman Sachs CEO reveals the valuable job skill he now struggles to find.

What it’s About:

CEO David Solomon talks about what Goldman is looking for in talent that may surprise you. The following quotes are instructive:

“’I’ll tell you one that we’re finding less and less inside the firm that I think is an important skill set… Is an ability to write,’” – Solomon in response to a question from Yahoo Finance.

“’The other thing I’d point to that’s so important is there is a real emphasis when people are interviewing around academics and I.Q. I think it’s way overweighted… There should be equal emphasis on E.Q. and how you interact with people, how you relate to people, and how you connect with people.’”

Why it’s important:

Goldman arguably hires to the “best and brightest.” They are totally a service business based on applying top talent. When Solomon says they’re giving more attention to writing skills and EQ, it reminds us that these are important areas even bankers should personally invest in.

Hot Topic 2: The 8-Year-Old Homeless Refugee Chess Champion.

What it’s about:

NYT opinion columnist Kristof reports on a story of how we can overcome circumstance to excel. Tapping into our passion and aptitude within a supportive environment is a winning combination.

“In a homeless shelter in Manhattan, an 8-year-old boy is walking to his room, carrying an awkward load in his arms, unfazed by screams from a troubled resident. The boy is a Nigerian refugee with an uncertain future, but he is beaming. He can’t stop grinning because the awkward load is a huge trophy, almost as big as he is…This homeless third grader has just won his category at the New York State chess championship… What’s even more extraordinary is that Tani, as he is known, learned chess only a bit more than a year ago. His play has skyrocketed month by month, and he now has seven trophies by his bed in the homeless shelter.”

Why it’s important:

Much of the news last week focused on wealthy families buying access to great universities, either illegally through bribes or legally through donations. This put a bad taste in our mouths. We need Tani stories, and to fight for the benefit that comes from the struggle. Tani wasn’t “rescued” by so called “bulldozer” parents. He was given the opportunity and HE did it. Whether at home or work, let’s not rob people we care for of the bumps. They build character and ultimately confidence… But not when we rush in to take away the pain associated with learning.

Topic 3: The Right Way to Follow Your Passion.

What it’s about:

There is lots of discussion about the importance of being passionate as a vital and distinguishing characteristic. Yet, there is a difference between harmonious and obsessive passion. Passion should not be valued as “good” by default. NYT contributor Brad Stulberg says,

“Put simply: Passion can be a gift or a curse… The good news is that the form it takes is largely up to you… Jeff Skilling, of Enron, and Elizabeth Holmes, of Theranos, oversaw two of the biggest corporate frauds in recent American history. Before the scandal-ridden downfalls of their companies, both were widely celebrated for their passion and obsessive drive, something Ms. Holmes said was a most important asset. Alex Rodriguez and Lance Armstrong, two of the most notorious cheaters in sports, were also two of the most passionate competitors… What all of these individuals have in common is that their passions went awry because of an incessant focus on results, results, results. When the results weren’t meeting their exceedingly high expectations, they turned to unethical behavior to close the gap.”

Why it’s important:

There is an argument for results being everything. And yes, leaders must get results, but NOT without the guidance of values that advance humankind. Stulberg notes: “Obsessive passion — fueled by a longing for external results, recognition and rewards — trouble lies ahead. That’s because people typically crave more. More money. More fame. More medals. More followers.” When we focus with meaning, deep purpose and have harmonious passion, it often leads to great results, but not at the cost of our decency.

And finally! We’d like to introduce you to our mascot, Cecil.

Here’s Cecil’s Bleat of the Week:

“The greatest life-lie of all is to not live here and now.” Excerpt from
The Courage to Be Disliked by Ichiro Kishimi & Fumitake Koga.

Bye for now!

– Lorne Rubis

Incase you missed it!

Monday’s Lead In podcast.

Tuesday’s blog.

Wednesday’s Culture Cast podcast.

Also don’t forget to subscribe to our site, and follow Lorne Rubis on Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter for the latest from our podcasts, blogs, and all things offered on LorneRubis.com.

Culture Cast – Peer-to-Peer Leadership Works Best in Today’s Organizations

Personal leadership Podcast

In season 3, episode 7, Lorne and Lynette discuss moving away from command and control in leadership to make an even bigger, more effective impact with a peer-to-peer system.

Organizations are simply moving too fast for traditional leadership systems to be as efficient and effective as they need to be. Both leaders and team members should be comfortable enough to let go and adopt peer-to-peer models that work.

Team members are hired to be free-thinkers and creators, and it’s their responsibility to look for opportunities to contribute to solving big issues at work, not just doing assigned transactions. Abandon the “what are they going to do about it?” and “that’s not my department” attitude.

When team members’ ideas can get out and be implemented, they can be put into the community so it becomes a bigger and better idea, which is more gratifying for both the individual and the organization as a whole.

Lorne Rubis is available @LorneRubis on Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.

Lynette Turner is available on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn as well as through her site, LynetteTurner.com.

We look forward to sharing Season 3 of Culture Cast: Conversations on Culture and Leadership with you every Wednesday.