Successful Business Leadership

By Frank Kaspar
Former IBM Leader

Charles Dickens, in his novel The Tale of Two Cities, started off with “It was the best of times; It was the worst of times” (referencing the cities of Paris and London in the early nineteenth century). It is with some conviction that I say that any generation of people could make a similar claim regarding the period of time in which they were living. Technology change has a way of providing great positive change, and for some, it can produce great challenges.

For instance, the atomic age that began in 1940’s presented this same dichotomy. Atomic energy provides the electrical power that drives the economy of large sections of the industrial world. On the other hand, atomic energy has the unique capability to destroy large populations. Space exploration and technology has made it possible to land a man on the moon and build a space laboratory capable of supporting life for long periods of time. Space technology is also capable of delivering a guided missile with precision that was unheard of just a decade ago. Medicine has developed cures and processes that save great numbers of people’s lives. On the other hand, microbiology is capable of producing organisms that can wipe out whole cities. The question is not whether our time on this planet is the most difficult; after all, we are we better off than the early settlers who faced starvation and lawlessness. The fact is this is our time and space on the planet and good, bad or otherwise it is imperative that we face our maker having done the very best we could with the talents we are given. I don’t know anywhere in the Bible that it says we should get a pass on difficult times. With the substantial technology changes coming, you may face unprecedented change, good and potentially bad, in your life and career.

Nowhere is change more promising, and potentially displacing to some careers, than in the Information Technology industry. I have spent my entire career in Information Technology and have seen significant change. About the time of the first atomic explosions, information technology was starting to have a significant impact on the way society handled itself and its business. Punched card machines were replacing the bookkeeper with green eyeshades and the ten key operators and the ledger column posting machines. The merchants of progress said that the accounting machine operators were not being displaced but merely being freed to learn new skills. The promise was that the new technologies were simply expanding the potential of the work force to learn newer and more rewarding skills. This promise is the same that was made when punched cards gave way to large scale systems and then to smaller processors and PCs and next all the hand held devices. As new systems are used to develop their own successors the acceleration of this complex labor model will get more difficult. History has shown us that the functionaries of today’s technology are the casualties of tomorrow’s innovations and tools. In economics it is called Creative Destruction and it has led to a higher standard of living today, but it does have a change impact on people’s careers.

I had what might be considered a successful career, but it came with some high points and some low points. Looking back on my career, and in summary, here are the lessons learned in how to adapt in a technology-changing world:

1. The low points are really an opportunity for a turning point

2. If you are negatively impacted by a change, know that it is not personal

3. Throughout a career, just be yourself and be humble

4. Anything you do is worth doing well

5. Always communicate clearly and honestly

6. Win with class and lose with class

Low Points Are Really Turning Points

In my experience, very few people realize a continuous “Fast Track” work career. The Peter Principal states that in the work place people rise to their first level of incompetence, and while seemingly cruel, it is real. It makes little difference whether you or your superiors discovered your first level of incompetence. It is going to happen and it is okay. To quote Sancho’s advice to Don Quixote, “Whether the stone hits the pitcher or the pitcher hits the stone, it is going to be hard on the pitcher.” The issue is not how it happened. The issue is to deal with it in a way that is consistent with moral and ethical principles. And so I tell the following career scenario for me only to illustrate the point that the initial impact of any event may not be a forecast of just how the event will effect you long term. The message is that “Life is like Bumper cars—it is what you do after you have been bumped that determines the success of your next set of moves.”

I was a marketing manager responsible for the success of IBM’s effort in a specific marketplace. With the economy going into recession, I was removed from my managerial spot and made a Senior Sales Representative. This type of move had happened to peer level marketing managers before, but this time it was happening to me. Convinced as I was of the injustice of the action, I considered all the options, including leaving IBM. But I never the less took my next IBM assignment. That new role, Senior Sales Representative turned out to be a position that fit my talents better, but I did not appreciate it at the time. I had independence, reward based on performance, and an opportunity to spend my days with people who became my customers and friends. My territory performance opened doors of recognition that included premier places like Hawaii, New York, Florida, and Mexico. My success in my new role happened because I realized that none of this was personal, that things like this happened regularly to nice people and also to good people. So I took on my new position with the same vigor and energy that I had spent in my role as a manager. In the end, the timing was perfect as the economy soon began to recover, and the customer/industry set I was responsible for was one that I was very well equipped to cover. In my whole IBM career, I never had a position that I truly enjoyed more or had been more successful doing.

The message to gain out of my experience is to measure the things that happen to you from a number of standpoints without the emotion and make your next decision from there. Once you have made that call, move on to the next work role with all the gusto you can muster. Don’t look back.

Be Yourself, Like Yourself, Be Humble

From Shakespeare we hear that King Lear, when advising his son on how to play out his life offered the following advice, “To thine own self be true.” In these six short words, the good King could not have given better life long advice. It may seem trite, but one of the best things that anyone can say about you is “What you see is what you get.” It means that you are predictable and consistent. It means that you are driven by a set of values that are a part of you. It is not superficial. It is not acting for a situation. It is the real you. You can be trusted. To your friends, your word is your bond; to your superiors, your promise is your commitment; to your subordinates, your praises and admonishments are sincere and need to be taken that way. Your subordinates can take faith in the idea that once you have made a commitment on their behalf, you can be counted on and will support them as they pursue your common objectives. To your family, you become a cornerstone. Your actions influence their actions. The things that you feel strongly about become important to family members. They may differ with your choices but they will not consider you to be a lesser person because there is a disagreement. Your sacrifices for the family will be treasured. Your relationship with your God will be a model for your family and friends. There will not be a disparity between your private and public behavior. Your God in public will be the same as your God in private. God will easily recognize you in either arena as he has seen you there before. There is a saying that you will be recognized as a Christian by the way you conduct yourself around others. That saying needs to be completed to say that you know that you are a Christian by the way you behave when no one is watching. Stand back and look at yourself, evaluate your behavior and how you treat “These, the least of my creatures.” Can you find the presence of God in all people, both friends and enemies?

There is a little test of just how you feel about yourself. Pick the name of the five best people that you know personally. Your definition of the word “best”, in this case, is whatever you want it to be. Now add yourself to this select group. There are now six of you. Now chose the best three out of the six. If you are not one of the chosen three, then you have some serious re-evaluation of yourself to do. Fortunately, you have the model of your chosen three to serve as a model for you. Remember, “I truly like myself” is not necessarily a narcissistic pronouncement. It is okay to like yourself, you should like yourself.

If I have a hero in fiction it is undoubtedly Professor Henry Hill (aka “The Music Man”). If you remember, Professor Hill went into a town where no one knew him, sold them something that they didn’t think they needed, and when he left town everyone was better off. When people ask me what I do for a living, I tell them that I am a salesman. I am not a product rep, a marketing analyst, a Manufacturer’s rep or any of the other phrases carefully disguised to avoid using the word salesman. I am proud of my record as a “Salesman”. I don’t have a former customer that I can’t go back and spend time with. I have always considered my customers to be my partners in satisfying a need. I stick around to make sure my company honors the commitment that was made on behalf of the company. I would ask you to consider your own career and skills. It is my most sincere hope that you are as confident and proud of your chosen field as I have been of mine.

Anything You Do Is Worth Doing Well

It seems that “well” may be one of the most encompassing words in the English Dictionary. Let me illustrate. The things in life that mark you as a person can all be identified with well. For example; love well, live well, work well, pray well, give well and play well all define lifelong choices that can mark you as a person of character. Conversely, any of those attributes that are not considered to be done well diminish or devalue you as a person. Think back to friends, acquaintances, workplace associates, and classmates that you most easily recognize. Ask yourself if their description includes those attributes, which the individual did exceptionally well or very poorly. It need not be a moral, ethical or spiritual value that defines a person so clearly to you, just something that there can be little doubt as to how you remember them. For example, “World’s Best Golfer” to anyone who has picked up a sports page could mean only Tiger Woods. “The Missionary of the Poor and Downtrodden” might include a list of several but to many it would mean Mother Theresa. The point is that we can define people by those things that they do best. Therefore, by doing what you do well is how your name will be identified. We are not all going to be world-class golfers or sainted patrons of the poor. We are all, however, going to be friends, parents, teachers, fellow employees, pastors, classmates and partners to many people. It is imperative that we consider our impact, in whatever our role, to be as important, if not more so, than striking a ball for long distances with great accuracy. Remember, though, that Tiger Wood’s greatest reward in his life is the example and the love of his father. With all the adulation and glory thrown Tiger’s way, I am sometimes in awe that he can still relate it all to the love of his parents, especially his Dad.

“Fall down Jesus and adore me and all this can be yours” said the Devil. Christ’s short response, “Be gone Satan, for it is written that you should love the Lord thy God and Him only shalt thou serve.” The point is that while achieving our career aspirations, we all, in our own ways, also leave marks. Those marks may be as small as a kind remark, a quiet and simple donation, a gracious smile and hello to a stranger. It matters not what it is because you are the collection of the “things that do for these, the least of my brothers, as you have done it for me.” One more time, “It is the things that we do when no one is watching that will tell who we are.”

Communicate Clearly, Honestly (as an adult)

Let me start off with a simple definition; “The basic reason for communications is to exchange information and be understood.” This is not complicated. It is not wordy. There are many forms of communication such as verbal, music, physical emotion (road rage), body language and the written word. Since the defined purpose of communications is to exchange information, it would seem incumbent on us to work within the parameters of the communications form in order maximize the transfer of ideas between the sender and the receiver.

For example, in psychological terms, verbal communications between people are often defined as taking place on adult, parent and/or child levels. Adult-level communications takes place between two very rational people without rancor or hostile overtones and in which there was an interest in understanding by both of the parties involved. Parent-level communications, on the other hand, might contain pejorative or command language rather than requests or asking permission. Child-level communications is one in which there is very little regard for the sensitivities or feelings of the other party. It is often direct and can be brutal. An example that is often used to frame these levels of discourse goes as follows:

Jack and Jane are going to a dinner party later in the evening. Jack walks into the bedroom where Jane is getting herself ready for the evening and, in a normal adult voice says, “Jane did you see where my blue tie is?”

Jane responds back at a parent-level, “I can’t keep track of all your stuff. If you would ever put things away, you wouldn’t have to go Easter egg hunting every time we had to go anywhere!” In psychological terms, Jane could have answered at an adult-level, but for reasons outside this simple example, she did not. She could have said something like, “Jack, it seems to be a problem for you finding things in this bedroom, we need to reorganize the bedroom to make it easier for you to put your clothes away. I haven’t seen your tie but I will help you find it.”

After Jane’s parental response, Jack has the option of resorting to a child-level and probably would have ruined the whole evening. He could have gone to his parent-level and told her that she never has learned how to talk to him without some rancor. Or he could have gone to an adult-level to indicate that he should have been more careful and they can talk about organizing his clothes when they get home.

I’m sure you get the point. As mentioned before, the purpose of communication is to transfer information and be effectively understood. Consider that the real needed information is the whereabouts of the missing tie, and ask yourself which responses best addressed that question. In interpersonal communications, the most information is effectively passed at the adult-level. Every other format diminishes the amount of information until at the child to child-level no meaningful information is exchanged.

So it behooves us to consider not only what we are saying to another, but to consider the delivery vehicle in which the information takes place. Communication is the way that we function as a society. Well-intentioned communications receives the respect of the recipient. Anytime you are in a discussion with another, it is important to ask yourself if you are trying to exchange information or simply win a debate. Associated with the exchange of information are a number of personal strategies that play an important part. For instance there is the speaking technique of:

1. Tell them what you are going to tell them (summary opening).

2. Tell them the specifics (provide the detail)

3. Tell them what you told them (summary conclusions).

This doesn’t always work in a one on one communication but there are other techniques that you need to be aware of such as reading the body language of your listener. Also, instead of telling your listener what you have told them, figure out a way to have them repeat your message.

The message of all this is that society, to a certain extent, is driven by information. Therefore accurate transfer of information is crucial in business and personal communications. I’ll close this section with a famous headline that illustrates just how important accuracy is to the content of a story. It seems as though there was a severe earthquake in the Philippine Islands. The press service that sent the news item around the world made a simple error in their communiqué. Instead of the headline reading, “190 Lives lost in Philippine Quake”, the headline read “19 Olives lost in Philippine Quake.”

Win With Class or Lose With Class

I can remember once at a baseball game of the California Angels a situation that still is fresh in my mind. It so happened that the Angels won the game on a passed ball by the visiting team’s catcher. There was the usual amount of celebration that takes place when a team wins a close and exciting contest. After it died down, the catcher responsible for the passed ball leading to the winning run was still sitting on the visiting team’s bench with his head down. I don’t know how many people realized it but Reggie Jackson, “Mr. October,” left the Angels side of the field and went over to the visitor’s bench. He put his arm around the catcher and must have said the right thing because the catcher got up and they shook hands and parted company. Did it change the outcome of the game? No. Did it get any press coverage and recognition for Reggie? No. Did it make the catcher forget his error? No, but it did console the catcher enough for him to move forward from that moment. In baseball, like life and a career, there is a new game tomorrow and when you lose is the time to start thinking about getting ready for it. Reggie Jackson consoled the catcher enough for him to get up and move forward. For me, this was a great example of winning and losing with class.

You need to realize that winning over the long term is about establishing trusts and positive relationships. Winning does not only occur in selling something or in a sports event. Winning can also mean a promotion or a new opportunity in your career. Winning could also mean claiming the hand of your most special heart interest for a lifetime commitment. Winning can occur when you provide convincing information in a discussion about religion, politics or how to plant your garden. Winning is integral to our everyday life. Winning well, however, is the thing that leaves everyone with dignity and respect, regardless of how the outcome might be settled. Winning includes the responsibility to keep the promises you make, and the values you have, a reality.

Though it may be more difficult, learning to lose with class is a shortcut to turning a loss into a future win. First of all, in sales, there is the tendency to think that the reason the prospect might have selected another supplier is that they were just wrong, poorly qualified to make a decision, or on a more sinister note, somehow under the influence of a personal favor from the winning vendor. When you lose in any situation, business, personal or otherwise, you need to take stock of why you lost and quickly move forward. No excuses. For example, if you were more expensive then you didn’t really solve the buyer’s needs, or you presented your case poorly, or you were just simply outsold by the competitor. Losing can be a great learning opportunity if you ask the right questions and have a healthy attitude. When I lost, I let my prospect know that I respected his decision, I looked forward to the opportunity to respond when future needs occur, and most importantly, would like to let them know that I am still available for advice and consultation as new challenges surface for the prospect. In other words, you still consider your relationship with the prospect to be a valuable one and worth pursuing.

Believe me, it is not always an easy thing to do. It often requires a lot of self-examination and may be difficult to talk to someone who, in your heart, you feel made a flawed decision. I can tell you that, in my own career, some of my best wins occurred after I had lost in a previous situation. I have had prospects tell me that it was because of my attitude and interest in the success of the prospect’s company that I came into the follow-up opportunity as the preferred vendor. Once, I won a very large lease deal from a prospect that I had previously provided four free tape drives after I lost. It turned out that one of my other customers no longer needed the tape drives and was looking for a local company that might need them. Instead of trying to sell tapes out of my own inventory, I got the two of them together. As a consequence, when a very large lease came up later, my prospect brought me in without considering another lessor.

Both win and lose with class. It is part of the heritage that says that you treat others, as you would like to be treated and respect others as children of the Father.

In summary, remember the thoughts of Don Miguel Ruiz in his book The Four Agreements (A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom):

1. Be Impeccable with your word

2. Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Use the power of your word in the direction of truth and love.

3. Don’t take things personally

4. What others do is simply a projection of their own reality. Deal with it as an adult.

5. Don’t make assumptions

6. Find the courage to ask questions. Communicate with others as clearly as you can to avoid misunderstandings.

7. Always do your best. Your best is going to change from moment to moment, but never the less always do your best.

Frank spent 39 years with IBM in positions such as Systems Engineer, Senior Marketing Representative, Regional Banking Specialist, Marketing Manager, Systems Engineer, Systems Engineering Manager, and Senior Sales Representative. Frank has also taught at IBM and other places including the Customer President’s class, Using Information Technology to Compete, the Fashion Institute (New York City Garment section), IBM Marketing Training, Advanced Banking Applications, Pacific Coast Banking School, IBM Management Training, and Manufacturing and Production Control Executive classes.