Читать книгу High Ten - Martin Rooney - Страница 12

4 Arthur's Bagels

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Amid the buzz of Arthur's patrons enjoying their breakfast, Sam scanned the busy seating section and thought, “Maybe he isn't coming.” Then he noticed someone waving with both arms in the back corner. That someone was Brian.

“Hey Brian,” said Sam, sitting down. “Good to see you again, and thanks for meeting. Been here long?”

“Only a few minutes,” replied Brian. “I've learned that if you're on time, you're already late for something.”

Sam scanned the restaurant. “I haven't been here in a while. This place hasn't changed a bit. It was one of my favorite haunts.”

“Me too. So you went to school here?”

“Yes. My friends and I used this place as a study hall, but Arthur's coffee also saved me after many a late night,” laughed Sam. “Should we order or is this just a meeting?”

“Actually,” smiled Brian, “my first lesson's about why we must order. If I wanted to have ‘just a meeting,' it would've been somewhere quieter. We're here to break bread.”

“You made a good choice. Few bagels better than Arthur's.”

“You'll see,” hinted Brian, “why you're so fond of this place has less to do with the bagels than you think. Breaking bread isn't only about food. It's about building relationships. When people enjoy a meal together, guards come down and communication goes up. I don't know the science, but meals make connections stronger.”

Sam pulled out his phone and started typing “break bread.” He said, “I hope you don't mind, I want to take notes on your ideas.”

“I don't mind notes at all. They show you're a good student and value the information. What I do mind is how you take them. It seems ‘old school,' but I brought something for you.”

Brian pulled out a gold-colored notebook and slid it to Sam.

“What's this?” asked Sam.

“That could be the most important business book you ever own.”

Sam flipped through the pages.

“But there's nothing inside? Lemme guess; it'll be my most important business book after I fill it with your lessons, right?”

“Bingo, kid. Call me old-fashioned, but I believe writing notes is better than typing on your phone. Once you ‘think it and ink it,' you've made that idea more real.”

“I didn't bring a pen,” said Sam, frowning.

Brian reached into his coat pocket and produced a pen like a magician pulling a rabbit from a hat.

“Voilà! I've always got pens with me. My old coach said to have a pen and paper because your mind might forget, but the paper would always remember. Now,” said Brian pointing at the book, “when you said there was nothing inside, that wasn't true. One of the pages isn't blank.”

On his second pass, Sam still found nothing.

“Okay, what's the trick?”

“No trick, Sam,” Brian said opening it to the first page. “It's the next lesson: culture's hard to see if you don't know where to look. What's on that first page?”

“Well, I do see that tiny dot.”

“And what else?” quizzed Brian.

“I see it's blue?”

“And?”

“Nothing?” offered Sam.

“That's what most people see, Sam. Especially with culture.”

“A blue dot? I don't get it.”

“The blue dot represents the ‘little troubles' bringing you down – your problem with Dana or the deal you missed. It can also represent the minutia of the products Stamina produces,” said Brian. “You see those dots every day. But what people can't see is all the white space that surrounds the dots in our lives. We get so focused on the dot, we forget the white space. The culture of your business is that white space, and like most leaders, to you it's invisible. And when something's invisible, it gets no attention.”

Sam nodded.

“As your culture coach,” continued Brian, “my goal is to help you see things you never saw before. Because I'm ‘old school,' I can't change the dots in your life. But I can help you change your culture surrounding those dots.”

“I won't forget that one.”

“Let's not forget to break bread, either,” smiled Brian. “Before your next lesson, you owe me a bagel and coffee. So get me an everything bagel and a latte.”

While standing in line, Sam thought about the blue dots in his life, and felt hopeful Brian could help with them. He returned with their food.

“Here you go. You didn't say what size latte, so I went with the biggest.”

“Good move, kid. Can't go wrong with overdelivering, right? Now, for your first quiz as a cultural apprentice. What did you see in line?”

“What do you mean?” asked Sam.

“You said you've been here many times. So, tell me about the culture of Arthur's.”

“You're talking about the white spaces, right?”

“Yes,” replied Brian. “Tell me something you saw and how it made you feel.”

Sam thought and said, “One thing was how the girl behind the counter knew the first name of the person in front of me. That was cool. And the way everyone was smiling and said ‘thank you' made me feel good.”

“Nice,” said Brian. “Anything else?”

“Something that made Arthur's special to me was ordering a half dozen bagels and having the server throw in an extra one. Like our little secret or something. I loved that about this place and I saw they're still doing it.”

“After all your visits, that was your first view of Arthur's ‘white spaces,'” smiled Brian proudly. “Don't worry, you'll get better at it. Like gravity, culture isn't something you see. It's something you feel. Culture's like your business's life force, and just like a life force makes the grass and your hair grow, the culture can make your business grow too.”

Sam took a note in his golden notebook.

“Whoa,” sighed Sam. “That was deep. Is culture tough to implement?”

“Don't worry, kid. Culture can seem complex, but I'm going to break it into simple pieces for you. Over years of teaching culture, I've learned not to overwhelm people.”

“Thanks,” said Sam. “You're a great teacher. Where do we start?”

“We start with the first of the three Bs of culture … Beings.”

Sam wrote the word.

“Since you're aware every business has a culture, you're ready to learn the three things that determine how a culture looks, acts, and feels. What you mentioned about Arthur's wasn't about the bagels – it was about the people! Simply put, you can't have a culture without people. So, before a business concerns itself with ‘what we make,' it should focus on ‘who we are.'”

“Makes sense,” said Sam. “Does having the right people always lead to a great culture?”

“No. Creating a great culture would be easy if it wasn't for the people!” said Brian with a laugh. “You need great people, but getting those people to create a great culture takes work. You must understand your people are the centerpiece of your culture – and those people fall into one of two categories.”

Sam bulleted the numbers.

“The first category is Culture Crusaders,” Brian explained. “These people are the ones who not only determine the culture they want, but are also tireless champions of that culture. As CEO, you must be a Crusader. It's your responsibility to create and uphold the culture at Stamina. Most leaders, unfortunately, are taught less about culture and more about delegating. The one thing a leader should never delegate is their culture. But this happens all the time.”

Sam said. “That stings. I haven't been much of a Crusader.”

“That's okay, kid. That's why you're here. Since I've convinced you to stop ‘owning” Stamina and start ‘leading' it, it's up to you to set the culture and embed it into your business. Embedding your culture starts with Crusaders, but maintaining that culture relies on the second category of Beings: your Culture Custodians.”

As Sam took notes, he said, “When I hear ‘custodian' I remember high school. Custodian was a fancy name for ‘janitor.' Does this next group deal with taking out the garbage?”

“Not exactly, but you'll learn one subgroup of Culture Custodians don't take out the garbage, they feed off it! Although the word ‘custodian' can refer to a person who cleans a building, I use a different definition – a custodian's someone who has a responsibility to look after someone or something. A Culture Custodian is responsible for looking after your culture.”

“Got you,” said Sam. “So the Culture Custodians look after and uphold the culture the Crusader has created?”

“In a perfect world, yes. But perfect cultures would be easy if it wasn't for the people! The word ‘custodian' isn't positive or negative. It means they've been given authority over your culture. How they use that authority's another matter. That's why there are two subgroups of Culture Custodians. One of them strengthens culture and the other destroys it. The first subgroup is your Culture Keepers and the second's your Culture Vultures.”

“Keepers, huh?” said Sam. “Sounds like a big fish.”

“Yup,” smiled Brian. “The word's used for partners too – ‘she's a keeper.' You're on the right track because your Culture Keepers are Beings you don't wanna let go. A keeper's defined as a person who manages something for someone. The difference from being a neutral ‘custodian' is that a Keeper's expected to ‘keep' the culture better than the leader left it. If you think about a zookeeper, they're expected to make the zoo a better place, not worse. Or from sports, imagine a goalkeeper. That keeper minds the net he's responsible for, and attempts to prevent bad things from happening.”

“I understand,” said Sam “As we're covering these, I'm already categorizing my staff.”

“That's natural,” replied Brian, “and something a leader should do. Each Keeper's ability to uphold your culture is different, but to be categorized a keeper, they should at least maintain the culture you want. Before you get excited figuring how many ‘Keepers' you've got, let's worry about another animal at the zoo. As much as Keepers help your business, Culture Vultures do damage.”

“Let me guess,” interrupted Sam. “They feed off the garbage?”

“Yes! A vulture's a scavenging bird of prey that feeds off carrion – decaying flesh of animals. You might be familiar with vultures because they're often depicted circling above people in distress.”

“That's how I picture them. They're ugly!'

“Ugly for your business. If you've seen vultures, they're never alone either. Vultures gather and interestingly, a group of them sitting together is called a ‘committee,' while a group of them feeding's called a ‘wake.' So you're right about the garbage. The Culture Vultures not only love to feed off the bad news and negative aspects of your business, but they also gather in committees to enjoy what's rotten.”

“Ugh,” grunted Sam. “I've placed some staff in this category, and one of those placements hurts. Can your business survive with a bunch of Vultures?”

“Sorry, kid. That ends up with a wake.”

Sam reviewed his notes. “This morning's been more insightful than I hoped. I had my doubts, but you've made me a believer. Any chance we can work together? I know you can help Stamina get on track.”

“Thanks, Sam. It's my pleasure to share these lessons. For me to best help you and Stamina, we'll need more than one-on-one meetings. I'm recommending my Cultural Checkup.”

“What's that?” asked Sam. “Checkups remind me of my doctor.”

Brian chuckled. “You're not far off. But instead of your health, imagine the Culture Checkup's an examination of Stamina's health. Many people ignore the health of their business until there's a problem. With my checkup, your business won't get sicker before it gets better. How it works is I meet with you individually for three mornings to teach more about culture. Then I meet with your staff, and do a ‘walk-through' around Stamina. At the end of the three days, I'll share what I found and deliver a treatment plan. Sound good?”

“Sounds great … and expensive,” sighed Sam. “Let's cut to the chase. What's this checkup cost?”

“That's the best part. Unlike visiting your doctor or mechanic, you decide what I'm worth after the checkup.”

“Really?” asked Sam.

“Once we cover my diagnosis and treatment plan, you can decide whether to hire me as a consultant,” Brian said. “So, do you want the checkup? What've you got to lose?”

Sam agreed and the men shook on it.

“Great work today,” encouraged Brian. “Until we meet up, I want you doing two things in preparation. First, continue to categorize Stamina's Beings into either Crusaders, Keepers, or Vultures.”

“Check.”

“And second,” said Brian, “get some new glasses …”

“What's wrong with my glasses?”

“No worries,” replied Brian. “I mean I want you to use a new set of culture lenses. Think like X-ray vision, but instead of bones, they expose culture. Look at Stamina like you examined the ‘white space' of Arthur's. Take detailed notes, and email what you find.”

“Check,” affirmed Sam.

“It's not as easy as it seems,” said Brian as he flicked a coin toward Sam and said, “Catch!”

Sam caught it.

“What did I throw?”

Sam answered, “A dime.”

“Good. Now close your hand around it. You seen a dime before?”

“Of course,” replied Sam.

“Tell me who's on the front and which way he faces,” said Brian.

“Uh …” Sam hesitated.

“Not sure? Okay, tell me the three items on the back.”

Sam stood in silence.

“The man on the front's Franklin Roosevelt, and he faces left,” said Brian. “On the back are an olive branch, torch, and oak branch, from left to right.”

Sam opened his hand and confirmed it.

“I didn't do that to you to distress you,” said Brian, “but to impress upon you there's a big difference between looking and paying attention. And last thing. The lenses also work at home. I know we haven't talked about it, but Stamina isn't the only place with ‘white space' around the dots. Culture happens at home too.”

High Ten

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