Categories
Values

Live Your Values

Live your values. Phillip Kane’s andwin.net blog
Image credit: Ian Kim | Unsplash. Com

Saturday, January 21, 2023

This week, I had the privilege to speak at Black’s Tire’s annual associate meeting in South Carolina. Not only is Black’s a significant customer of mine, but I have a close association with the Benton family, who own the company, which dates back almost 20 years. So the opportunity to speak to their team twice this week was very special to me, indeed. 

In my prepared remarks, I planned to remind the folks at Blacks that organizations should either: ensure that every single associate in their organization is able to recite, by heart, the values of that organization … or not have values at all. It starts with communicating those values to associates, talking about them constantly, and expecting them to both be able to repeat them when asked but more importantly to live them day in and day out. 

But at Black’s, Ricky Benton Sr., the patriarch of the business, whose remarks on Saturday preceded mine, beat me to the punch. He reminded his team of their four values, and that they need to know them and live them each and every day. Ricky didn’t need to hear my speech to understand a plain truth of life and business: teams that have, know, and live by a set of common (positive) values win more often. 

And that’s the point for the week. 



The values of any organization should define and telegraph to others how it and its people will conduct themselves in any situation. They detail how they treat their people, their customers and their suppliers. They make it clear how an organization’s employees will care for its property and other assets. They tell others what a relationship with their company and its people should be like. And because of these things, they create alignment around positive ways of doing things. Because of that, teams with lived values win more often. 

But like everything else in life, learning then living the values of an organization is a choice. But it’s ultimately a choice between winning and losing. Because the behaviors associated with learning then aligning with an organization’s values and its culture are directly tied to job success and in turn organizational success and winning. 

Organizations that post value statements on their walls then refuse to live them are guilty of nothing less than making promises they have no intention of keeping. Because posted values that go unlived are simply empty words that rob every person in the place of any credibility they might ever have had. 

Black’s Tire lives their values. And because of it, they have credibility with others and are exceedingly successful in the marketplace. 

That same outcome is available to any organization … if they live the values of their organization, every play, every day. 

Organizations that achieve that will be regarded by more and more of their associates as a great place to work – because organizations where people do what they say they are going to do are the kind of places people want to work. They are also the kind of places people want to buy from, sell to and invest in. 

And building a place like that is, after all, what winning is all about. 

So, be like Black’s. Learn then live your values. 

And win. 

To learn more about the author, please click HERE.

To purchase a copy of Phillip’s new book from B&N, please follow this LINK.

Categories
One Team-One Number

Be Part of the Whole

Be part of the whole. Phillip Kanes’s andwin.net blog
Image credit: Pierre Bamin | Unsplash.com

Friday, January 13, 2023

This week, on the plane to Thailand, I watched a movie called, The Duke. It’s a true story about a man named, Kempton Bunton, who, in 1961, was accused of stealing Goya’s portrait of the Duke of Wellington from the National Gallery in London. 

Late in the film, on trial for the theft, Bunton rests his entire defense on the notion that his actions were rooted in what we learn is a near life-long sense of duty to his fellow man. 

In what is the movie’s most pointed moment, Bunton tells the defense barrister, “It’s you that makes me, me, and it’s me that makes you, you.” What he was saying, I think, is that human beings aren’t meant to be or do things alone. Without others, we, the lives we lead, and that which we endeavor to do in them will be incomplete. True fulfillment requires that we are part of a whole. 

And that’s the point for the week. 



Creation of anything valuable – indeed of life itself – requires more than one of us. 

Achievement, happiness and self-realization are not individual pursuits. They never have been. They never will be. In all of human history, banishment, confinement and isolation have been regarded as punishment, not as something to be sought out. Since ever, those that separate themselves from others have been conspicuous. We have not-so-complimentary terms for them. We look at them funny and wish they’d start thinking about someone other than themselves. 

See, challenging convention is one thing. Breaking away from it entirely is a thing altogether different. One says, “let’s go to a different place together.” The other says, “I’m leaving without you.” One is healthy. The other is not. 

What Kempton Bunton understood implicitly is that for any of us to reach a height greater than our own requires more than one of us. There is no other way. No one ever stood taller by cutting those around them down. For us to accomplish anything in this business will require the combined efforts of the people in it – not individuals in it for themselves.  It’s you that makes me, me, and it’s me that makes you, you, means that together we accomplish something that apart we never could. There’s no room in that for those who have it in their mind to blaze a different path than the one the rest of us are on, or for anyone that wants to play on a team of one. 

See, it’s not about any one of us. It’s about all of us and the dreams we have for this place, dreams that come true only because I make you, you and you make me, me and because each of us wakes up every day secure in the knowledge that the whole will always be greater than any one of its parts.

So, be part of the whole. 

And win. 

To learn more about the author, please click HERE.

To purchase a copy of Phillip’s new book from B&N, please follow this LINK.

PK

Categories
Hope News

Start with Hope

Start with hope. Phillip Kane’s andwin.net blog
Image credit: Kent Whitty | Unsplash.com

Friday, December 30, 2022

This week, a man whom I have great respect for, said something to me that I have heard him say before, but that, this time, maybe owing to the time of the year, I found myself thinking even more about.

He said to me, “We try. We hope.”

On this occasion, I told him that I am a great believer in hope and that hope is vastly underrated. I think that’s because the “Hope is not a strategy” crowd has done much in recent years to diminish the standing of hope in the world. But in the history of mankind, every notable accomplishment has likely been preceded by hope. See, achievement is not possible without hope.

And that’s the point for the week.



Hope begets belief. And belief begets doing. And doing begets winning. But hope comes first.

With hope, that which seems impossible enters the realm of human consideration. That’s because intrinsic in hope, I think, is the notion, or better yet, the assurance, that we are not alone. And that together, with help, almost anything can happen.

Bolstered by that belief, we try more often. And because we do, solely on the basis of math, we will win more. But it starts with hope.

So much did Pope, now Saint John Paul 2 believe in the power of hope that about it, he said, “I plead with you, never ever give up on hope, never doubt, never tire, and never become discouraged. Be not afraid.” What he seemed to know, beyond any doubt was that hope, in fact, will never disappoint. Because even in suffering, darkness, and uncertainty hope brings with it the promise of something new, a chance at redemption, an opportunity to get the thing we failed at right the next time around.

We try. We hope.

As we stand on the doorstep of a new year, I wish for all of you, and for all of mankind, great hope. Because in hope, there is nothing that remains unavailable to us.

So, start with hope.

And win.

To learn more about the author, click HERE.

To purchase a copy of Phillip’s new book, please follow this LINK.

Categories
Joy News

Release Joy

Release joy. Phillip Kane’s andwin.net blog.
Image credit: Telemundo

12/23/2022


This week, Argentina defeated France in the FIA World Cup in what was arguably one of the greatest sporting events of all time. Within the match were many breathtaking moments of skill, sportsmanship, and sheer determination ‐ not the least of which was Gonzalo Montiel’s penalty kick to seal the championship. But it was what came immediately after the Montiel kick that was, for me, the most enduring memory of the tournament.


Telemundo announcer, Andres Cantor, in calling the goal, burst forth, releasing an exclamation of nearly a full minute and a half, at times shouting, other times whispering, and at other times sobbing, that can only be described as pure, unadulterated joy ‐ one that I will never forget, and that moved me to tears, for only that I understood the joy that he felt. That’s because joy is unmistakable. Joy is also contagious. And the world needs more joy in it, because with Joy, human beings accomplish more together.


And that’s the point for the week.




During this season, it’s appropriate to speak of joy.


Regardless of what you believe, the notion that more joy brought to the world is better than less should be beyond argument.


But for so many joy has gone out of style. It’s become more fashionable to choose cynicism, hate, cancellation and division instead of joy.
But having one or the other is a simple choice: between one that makes the world a better place, and one that doesn’t.


See, joy makes it impossible for any negative human condition to persist. With joy, anger, hate, strife, despair, loss, or any other self‐indulgent emotional state or relationship between us and others cannot exist. Because with joy, there’s no room for these things. Joy has no time for negativity.


And because of that, with joy, almost anything becomes possible ‐ like that which many of us believe happened in a stable 2,000 years ago. Because joy opens the lens of possibilities. With joy, we focus on goodness, hope, and what can be. With joy, we want better for not only ourselves but those around us too.


Teams where joy is persistent are bound together tightly, like a cord of many strands. Not easily broken, these teams endure more, move with greater force, and rise to greater heights propelled by the sheer force of joy that makes anything otherwise absolutely unthinkable.


So, be like Andres. Release joy.


And win.

To learn more about the author, click HERE.

To purchase a copy of Phillip’s new book, please follow this LINK.

Categories
News

Believe in Your Own Self-Worth

Believe in your own self-worth. Phillip Kane's and win.net blog
Image credit: Jen Theodore | Unsplash.com

Friday, December 16, 2022

One day, this week, I had come down to the lobby of my hotel ready for work a bit earlier than usual. So, I decided to spend some time visiting with the valet, Salvador, who helps me most mornings. I like being around Salvador. See, I have never not seen him smiling. Talking to him always makes me happy.

On this day, I learned from him that he had recently left Uber. He shared with me that Uber had reduced the percentage of each fare that was paid to him. As a result, he made a decision to leave. He told me that his decision was less about economics than it was about feeling like he was being undervalued by the people at Uber. Salvador believed that he was worth more and left to find someone who believed it as much as he did. See what Salvador seems to understand intrinsically is this: whether you think you and your brand have great value or none at all, you’re exactly right.

And that’s the point for the week.



Only we, as individuals and as organizations, ultimately determine our worth. The world is full of people whose primary goal in life is to get something for less and just as many more who believe that they can increase their own worth by cheapening someone else’s. The plain truth of life though is this: those type of people never find what they are looking for. That’s because nothing of value will ever be found at the bottom of anything nor will blowing another candle out ever make one burn any brighter.

Worth is a matter of self-belief. Being worth more starts with believing we are. The converse is also true; the fastest way to cheapen ourselves or our brand is to start believing it is worth less than it actually is or to let others convince us of the same.

Being more, collecting more, and having more are solely and ultimately determined by each of us – first and foremost by what rattles around inside our heads. If we think that we deserve more, we will achieve more. If we think that we deserve less, we will achieve less. Life is, after all, a self-fulfilling prophecy. Whether you think you have great value, or none at all, you’re right.

When each one of us wants more for ourselves and for the organizations we belong to, we will have more. It is truly no more complicated than that. If more of us want what we’ve always had, we will have just that. If more of us want less, we can have that too. That is the choice that is before each one of us and our teams as a whole each and every day: to accept more, to accept the same as always, or to accept something less.

I want more for all of you.

I want all of you to refuse to accept any less than that. I want all of you to declare that never should you accept less than what you or the organizations you are a part of are worth then act like it each and every day, day in and day out, by giving more, expecting more, and refusing to accept anything less than more.

When you do, one day you will all have the more that you want. But it starts today, here and now, by refusing to let anyone but you define your worth and by reminding yourself every single day that whether you think you have great value or none at all, you’re right.

So, believe in your own self-worth.

And win.

To learn more about the author, click HERE.

To purchase Phillip’s new book, please click HERE.

Categories
General Leadership

Lead by Example

Lead by example. Phillip Kane's andwin.net blog
Photo 74575302 / Don Shula © Jerry Coli | Dreamstime.com

Friday, December 2, 2022

This week, while visiting the NFL Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio as part of a team‐building exercise with some of the leaders of our company, I noticed a quote projected on a wall from the legendary coach of the Miami Dolphins, Don Shula. Shula, who coached from 1963 to 1995 (most of those years with the Dolphins) holds the distinction of being the only coach to have ever led a team to an undefeated season – going 14‐0, then winning the 1973 Super Bowl. Shula, who died just two years ago, was a hero to many of my generation, including me, not only for what he did in football, but for the way he lived his life and led other human beings. So, as I saw his words projected on the smooth, concrete wall, though I’d seen it before, I found myself reading it over, and over again:

“I don’t know any other way to lead but by example.”

What Don Shula understood intrinsically is that people follow the example of their leaders. They don’t do what they say … they do what they do. They watch them carefully. Imitating them. Wanting to be like them. Believing that if they do the things their leaders do, they can be like them someday. And because of this Don Shula understood something else – something far more important even. He understood that the sort of example he set was a choice. He knew that the only person who determines whether a leader creates a positive example or something other than that is the leader themself and no one else.

And that’s the point for the week.



See, what Don Shula knew, maybe better than any other coach of his generation, is that life is a choice. Every day of our life is a beautiful, wonderful choice between happiness and sadness, between giving our all or giving in, between bringing our whole heart or bringing something less, between doing the right thing or the wrong one, between helping a neighbor or walking right on by, … or between setting the right example or the wrong one. And this goes for all of us. Each of us is faced with a hundred chances each day to decide what sort of example we’ll set. Each one of us is a leader of something – even if it’s just our own future self. Each of us has an opportunity to choose.

And when more and more of us, then, ultimately, all of us, choose to lead, to set an example for good more often, the lives of everyone around us will improve – here at Turbo, in our homes, and in our communities. It can’t work any other way. It won’t work any other way. For every person here to achieve whatever the “more” is that they seek in their lives, every single person who works here must believe in, exhibit, and be willing to fight for a kinder, more positive example of leadership. And when we do, almost nothing will be able to stop us; because exactly none of our energy will be wasted on negativity, dissent, half‐heartedness, or indifference.

See, what Don Shula proved, beyond any doubt, is that winning, that having more of whatever matters to the people on a team, requires that no room be left anywhere for anyone except those who choose a better way. And because every single person in that organization, beginning with him, chose something better, they never lost a game.

That’s what’s available to us … if we choose a better way … if we choose to set a better example for those around us to follow.

So be like Coach Shula. Lead by example.

And Win.

Categories
General Leadership

Don’t Change Definitions, Change Lives.

Don't Change Definitions, Change Lives. Phillip Kane's andwin.net blog
Image: Annie Spratt | Unsplash.com

Saturday, July 30, 2022

This week, the ruling class and media elites in this country spent most of their time arguing about the definition of long-settled words, most notably, recession. Long understood by all to mean an economic period marked by two or more continuous quarters of GDP retraction, our current administration and its water carriers began seeking immediately, after the news of Q2’s economic decline was announced, to recast the definition of the word recession so as to avoid admitting that the nation was, in point of fact, in one. Some even went as far as to deny that the long-held definition was actually the long-held definition after all. Bastion of truth and objectivity, Wikipedia changed the definition, locked the page from further editing, then, in response to visceral outrage, changed the definition of definition itself to allow for such fluidity as was occurring right before our very eyes.

The trouble with all of the variability, though, is that it was doing absolutely nothing to fix the root problem of the economic malaise gripping the country. Changing definitions is not winning. Changing definitions does nothing to help those whom one held their hand up and asked to lead.

Changing definitions is concerned solely with improving the image and legacy of those with egg on their face; it does nothing to improve the lives of those paying more for eggs.

And that’s the point for the week.



The trouble with insufferable narcissists is that they almost never take responsibility for their failures.

The other problem with them is that they care almost nothing at all for those whom they asked to lead.

It’s why they will bend themselves into a pretzel to avoid even the appearance of blame, let alone actually accepting, then taking action to correct a mistake they have caused. It’s simply not in their nature.

So, they send out their minions to deny that the truth people can see with their own two eyes is actually taking place. They instruct others to change the definitions of words. Still others they ask to recast and reframe data. “Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain,” they shout, “Enjoy the wonderful world of OZ.”

But this isn’t winning. No right-thinking human being believes this is winning.

And it’s not a matter of politics … or comparison … or whataboutism. It’s a simple matter of right and wrong – about telling people the truth or telling people something else.

People who tell others the truth, no matter how difficult, attract followers. They collect around them people who would go anywhere with them and do anything for them, because they know if they tell them something it is the truth. For second only to love, the most important contract between two human beings is trust. And without it, one will never have followers, but only people that do what they are told in exchange for money. But trust binds organizations together and fuels them onward. It’s what enables them to withstand the cycles of the economy and the buffets of the competition. It’s what creates winners – the likes of which we haven’t seen around here for a while … because we keep mistaking things for leadership traits that aren’t, and hiring people to lead who can’t – people who change definitions instead of changing what’s broken.

Don’t be these people. Don’t change definitions, change what’s broken. Don’t change the narrative, change the outcome. Don’t change words, change people’s lives.

And win.

For more about the author, please follow this LINK.

To purchase Phillip Kane’s new book, The Not So Subtle Art of Caring, (John Hunt Publishing) please click HERE.

Image: Annie Spratt | Unsplash.com

Categories
Empathy

Don’t Fake Empathy

Image credit: engin akyurt | Unsplash.com

Friday, July 22, 2022

This week, I sent a tweet that some may have found a bit cynical, which suggested that the attempt by large corporations to convince their associates that a CEO who earns $20 million per year understands the well-being concerns of their average employee is, as a matter of fact, contributing to the well-being concerns of their average employee. See, no reasonable person believes that someone with an 8-digit compensation package has any ability at all to relate to the health and welfare issues of individuals making 100 times less than them. So, for anyone in the organization to suggest that they do is not helpful; in fact, it’s upsetting.

As if on cue, two days after I sent the tweet, up pops a post in my LinkedIn feed from a CEO sharing the great news that he had finally taken the advice he’d been giving to his team about self-care and had decided to embark on a 5-star retreat to one of Europe’s most exclusive destinations. It was a rather long post, complete with pictures of the posh facility and some regret on the leader’s part that he doesn’t do enough for himself. I tried to put myself in the place of one of his average workers. I tried to decide how the post would contribute to my own well-being and rather quickly decided that it likely would not, imagining that with the rising cost of everything my own vacation had likely been postponed as personal budget worries mount … creating real live health concerns at a time when people in the office are being asked to do the work of more than one associate.

And to know that the boss’s idea of empathizing with it all is to jet over to Switzerland for a spa week was likely the last straw. Because the goal of empathy is not to show people how much more important you are than their problems. It’s to show them how important their problems are to you.

And that’s the point for the week.



Trying to show people that their problems shouldn’t matter to them by proving they are trivial to you will almost always serve to remind them only of why you should no longer matter to them. No one wants to be reminded of power they don’t possess, or money they don’t have, or luxuries they don’t own. People want to be made to feel big, not torn down or made to feel small. They want to work for people who are empathetic with their plight – not tone-deaf narcissists who seek to minimize the importance of their lived experience.  

See, empathy is not a function of trying to convince people that things that they very well know do matter don’t. It’s a simple function of putting yourself in another’s place and understanding as best as you possibly can, how they feel … either because you’ve asked them or because you’ve been there before – purposely having walked a mile in their shoes.

At a minimum, it’s about honestly admitting that you have no earthly idea how they feel but promising that it matters enough to you to find out and then caring enough to do so. Because two things are true. One, all that most people care about is that you care. Second, you can’t fake empathy. Either you care or you don’t. If you care more for the person in the mirror than the person sitting in front of you, find another line of work. Leadership probably isn’t your bag. Because if putting yourself first matters more to you that anything else, you’re going to be spotted a mile away. And when you are, people will turn and run – joining the more than 4 million others per month that are heading for the exits, looking for people who truly and actually care.

So, don’t fake empathy.

And win.

To learn more about the author, please follow this LINK.

To purchase a copy of Phillip Kane’s new book, The Not So Subtle Art of Caring, please click HERE.

Image credit: engin akyurt | Unsplash.com

Categories
Forgiveness

Give Second Chances

Give second chances. Phillip Kane's andwin.net blog.
Image credit: Tommao Wang | Unsplash.com

Friday, July 1, 2022

This week, for Catholics universally, was the solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul. The Gospel reading was from Matthew, chapter 16 – the story of Jesus promising that upon Peter, himself, would he build his church. 

We know that he followed through. John 21 tells us so.  Even without the text from John, the existence of some 2.5 billion Christians globally would make it clear enough besides.  Christ kept his word … despite Peter failing to keep his.

Many of you may recall that between his first being told he would be the foundational rock for the future Christian church and his ultimate commissioning, Peter denied Jesus 3 times – even after promising, upon penalty of death, not to.

But despite what many might view as the ultimate slight, the ne plus ultra of betrayals, Jesus the Christ gave Simon Peter another go. But that’s what you’d expect from a perfect human being. It’s a notion rooted in forgiveness and the idea that few ever achieve first place without having been given a second chance. 

And that’s the point for the week.



There is a persistent notion in American business that, in the often cut-throat game of corporate ladder climbing that the rule of one strike and you’re out applies. There is no margin for error. There is no allowance for a temporary loss of self-control. There is no understanding for decisions to prioritize other aspects of your life over the business. And so, over time, the field of “leadership” candidates winnows away as a greater number of once well-regarded high-potentials violate this coda or that, disqualifying themselves from further ascension.

But true, caring leaders – those being sought out by many of the more than 50 million workers who have left jobs in the last year looking for kinder, better work environments, and the leaders behind them, behave differently. These leaders not only believe in second chances, they encourage the sort of line-crossing and mold-breaking that leads to needing them. 

That’s because these people know that protecting the world as it is or insulating the old guard from any challenge or criticism will merely result in a world without change and a business that watches its competition stream past it. They know that people and organizations learn, not from success, but from mistakes, failures, and knocks on the head. They understand that the best of us has have been given a second chance, an opportunity for redemption and the occasion to prove that tossing them aside would have been a monumental error. 

For many, a second chance is a first date with adversity. Without second chances, we build columns of so-called leaders who have never known defeat, nor trial, nor the requirement of picking oneself up and pressing on. We build soft-skinned and soft-palmed tyrants mostly, with zero soft skills and almost always a world’s best boss mug that they bought for themselves. 

To find the winners in life, simply look for the ones passing out second chances. They’re the ones people want to be around – not because they are pushovers, but because they recognize that having more and being more in life is a direct function of having fallen and been helped back up by someone kind enough to give them a chance to try it all again tomorrow.

So, give second chances.

And win.

To learn more about Phillip Kane, please click HERE.

To purchase a copy of my book, The Not So Subtle Art of Caring: Letters On Leadership, from John Hunt Publishing, please follow this LINK

Image credit: Tommao Wang | Unsplash.com

Categories
General Leadership

Do Things Cleanly

Do Things Cleanly. Phillip Kane's Andwin.net blog
Image: Charlotte Kane

Saturday, June 25, 2022

This week, my daughter, Charlotte, started a blog of her own. She named it Bellezza Pulita, or Clean Beauty. Charlotte has a passion for a more refined sort of lifestyle without artificial fillers or extraneous things that either don’t belong or don’t add value or worse, that are potentially harmful or disruptive. She believes strongly that there is a cleaner path to beauty, style, food and culture.

As I thought more about what Charlotte was doing and saying, besides being proud of her, it also occurred to me that a lot of what she’s talking about has application for our lives in business too. It makes perfect sense. When we seek to do things more cleanly, with less waste and with greater refinement, we’ll win more often.

And that’s the point for the week.



I often tell those I have the privilege to work with or coach that the expenditure of any effort, resource, or expense on anything not 100% tied to attainment of the organization’s goals and objectives is waste. I tell people this because it’s true. The cleaner anything is, the less waste will be associated with it.

That’s because what is clean is sleek and streamlined; it’s something pure and undefiled; it’s something without unnecessary adornment or extra bits that contribute nothing to its stated purpose or objective. So, it would follow, then, that things done more cleanly will be far less wasteful and far more aligned to organizational goals. They will also tend to be beautiful.                                                                                           

Beauty is not just a superficial asthetic. It is, or should be, something far deeper than that. Beauty defines the way all parts of something come together in proportion and balance. Too much of anything or something out of place destroys not only appearance, but functionality and effectiveness as well. 

True, caring leaders seek beauty in all they do because they know that not only does the creation of beautiful things more often guarantee winning but it also guarantees that people stick around longer and bring more of their heart to everything they do. That’s because if given a choice, most people would rather create beautiful things than the alternative. It’s also because in creating things of lasting beauty, human beings derive great joy. And along with love and trust, it’s joy that people seek to bring fulfilment to their lives whether at home, at work or in giving back to their communities.

And it all starts with doing things more cleanly, with less wasted time and effort, less of everything no one wants and more of what customers will actually pay for, less resources squandered on things that don’t matter and more spending on things that do, less screaming and more encouraging, less hidden agendas and far more transparency, less trash and more treasure, less L and more P, and, more than anything, fewer people who don’t care and far more people who do.

Because like almost anything else in life, to do things more cleanly is a choice – a beautiful, wonderful choice between caring enough to create something beautiful or, as is the case for many, to not quite care at all. 

So, choose beauty. Do things cleanly.

And win.

For more like this, visit https://AndWin.net

To purchase a copy of Phillip Kane’s new book, The Not So Subtle Art of Caring, a better alternative to narcissistic, old-school, micromanagement, please click HERE.

Image: Charlotte Kane