Additional Reading Recommendations for Military and Business Leaders

I love to read and apply what I learn.  I encourage other military leaders and business professionals to do the same because I value the deep knowledge and various tools I have developed over the past 15 years since I started a reading development program.

For those accepted into our program, our Development and Preparation Program^© (DPP) provides a comprehensive list of books to prepare for a business career, our Resource Center has an abridged list for those who are not accepted into our program, and PCS to Corporate America 4^th. Ed. (Cameron, Alvarez and Junker) also has an extensive reading list.  To view the DPP Reading List and the abridged list, visit our Resource Center http://www.cameron-brooks.com/candidates_resourcecenter.html.

While those books recommended in DPP, in our ResourceCenter and in PCS 4^th Ed. are great places to start, excellent leadership and business books are being published all the time.  Therefore, we have numerous other books that we like and use.  We recommend these to someone who has read all of the books in our program or to Cameron-Brooks Alumni asking for recommendations.  Below is a list of some of our favorites.  As you can, see we like a variety of books – those on talent, skill development, biographies, and more.  We recommend a well-balanced reading program just like your diet.

What Got You Here Won’t Get You There:  How Successful People Become Even More Successful (Marshall Goldsmith and Mark Reiter).  Marshall Goldsmith is an executive coach who describes bad habits that derail careers and provides advice to overcome them to help you become the leader you want to become.

MOJO:  How to Get It, How to Keep It, How to Get It Back if You Lose It (Marshall Goldsmith).  Another great book by Marshall Goldsmith.  Let’s face it, a career is a marathon and not a sprint, and has several bumps in the road.  We all lose our motivation at times.  This book helps you find your “winning streaks” and how to keep them coming, overcoming those bumps in the road.

Wooden on Leadership:  How to Create a Winning Organization (John Wooden and Steve Jamison).  Can you believe that the most successful college basketball coach, and probably the best coach of any sport, did not focus on wins and losses?  No, they were the result or the outcome of great habits and developing great teams and organizations.

Mindset:  The New Psychology of Success (Carol Dweck).  Stanford Psychologist, Carol Dweck, addresses the differences between a fixed and growth mindset and how the growth mindset can help you reach your potential, and how you can help others reach theirs.

The Executive and the Elephant:  A Leader’s Guide for Building Inner Excellence (Richard L. Daft).  This is a book on personal mastery.  Even great leaders can be stuck in poor habits, be reactionary, overreact, etc. (the Elephant), but we can be better by being thoughtful, rational, circumspect and more disciplined (the Executive).

Honest Signals:  How They Shape Our World (Alex Pentland).  Subtle patterns in how we react to others indicate whether we are listening, paying attention, interested, etc.  They reveal signals towards other people that may not agree with the words we are using.  This is a great book to help all leaders with their body language and listening, and also how to read others’ body language.

Talent is Overrated:  What Really Separates World-Class Performers from Everybody Else (Geoff Colvin).  Hard work and talent will only take a person so far in a career.  Colvin argues it also takes “deliberate practice” to become extraordinary.

Plain Talk:  Lessons from a Business Maverick (Ken Iverson).  This is a great biography by the CEO of Nucor and how he saved the company.  He shares his ideas and lessons learned from saving the company and building a world-class organization.

The Power of Habit:  Why We Do What We Do, and How to Change (Charles Duhigg).  This book will make you think twice about what you do and why you do it.  It will help you look at yourself, others and your organization to understand key habits that drive you, and other habits that are good to keep and ones you should change.  Easy read with great stories to support his points.

The Servant Leader:  How to Build a Creative Team, Develop Great Morale, and Improve Bottom-Line Performance (James A. Autry).  Servant leadership is a big topic in business today.  This is the type of leader that teams and companies want.  Ken Blanchard and Robert K. Greenleaf also have good books on this topic.

The Snowball:  Warren Buffet and the Business of Life (Alice Schroeder).  This is the biography of Warren Buffet.  If you want to be successful in business, shouldn’t you study, learn about and know one of the most successful business people ever?

The Advantage:  Why Organizational Health Trumps Everything Else in Business (Patrick Lencioni).  We really like this book and have implemented his steps in establishing a purpose, values and behaviors.  It has really elevated our organizational effectiveness and focus.  Whether you are leading a small team, a sales territory or a large division, you can apply some or all of Lencioni’s recommendations.

To Sell is Human:  The Surprising Truth About Persuading, Convincing, and Influencing Others (Daniel H. Pink).  Regardless of our role in a company/organization, we are all in sales.  This book is for everyone, and not just those in a sales or marketing career.  You want to get better at influencing your children, spouse, coworkers, suppliers, contractors, customers, boss, peers, etc.?  Read this book, study it, apply it!

 

Joel Junker

 

Winners and Losers

I was a teenager in 1973, when a friend gave me a copy of a recently published book, Winners and Losers. Over the years the book has served as mentor and friend during times when I needed to apply a lesson learned from the author, Sydney Harris. Sometimes, reading a book allows the reader to avoid having to “touch the stove” to learn a lesson. Several years ago I purchased two used copies of Harris’ book (it has long been out of print) on amazon.com. I gave one to each of my daughters with a note telling them I hoped the book would be as valuable to them as it is to me. Over the years, each of them has mentioned a particular page that helped them through an issue. Last week, my oldest daughter handed me her book loaded with notes attached to the pages telling me specific lessons she has learned.
As a recruiter for Cameron-Brooks, I am often asked by junior military officers (JMOs) what they can do to be well prepared to make a successful transition from active military service to corporate America. One of the most beneficial tools I mention is to establish a professional reading program. Our team reads hundreds of business books and often discusses professional reading with business leaders. As a result of these discussions and our experience, we developed a professional reading list that is part of our Development & Preparation Program©. Many of the books in our reading program have been written by leading authors. Few people have heard of Sydney Harris, and his book may never make our list, but it has a value for those like me who pick up the book and find one page that speaks about a timely issue that will help approve the ability to lead more effectively. Here are a few excerpts:
1. A winner makes commitments; a loser makes promises. Roger Cameron says, “Leaders get promoted based on their big accomplishments and build reputations based on the little things” – making commitments and keeping them – phone calls, appointments, returning e-mails, etc.
2. A winner listens; a loser just waits until it is his turn to talk.  In describing how they lead a team, JMOs often tell me they talk to their team. It is rare to hear someone tell me they listen. I recommend, reading  The Lost Art of Listening, by Michael Nichols.
3.  A winner says, “There ought to be a better way to do it”; a loser says, “That’s the way it’s always been done here.” Companies hire leaders to make improvements. What got us where we are today will not get us where we want to be tomorrow.
4.  A winner respects those who are superior to him, and tries to learn something from them; a loser resents those who are superior to him and tries to find chinks in their armor. Occasionally, I interview someone who wants to leave the military because they don’t respect their senior leadership. The military doesn’t have a lock on bad bosses. We have our fair share in business. It takes effort and skill to learn that everyone has strengths to admire and emulate; and weaknesses to avoid and take lessons from.
5.  A winner has a healthy appreciation for his abilities, and a keen awareness of his limitations; a loser is oblivious both of his true abilities and his true limitations.  We encourage our Cameron-Brooks candidates to develop answers to commonly asked interview questions. “Tell me about a weakness” is a common question. Include what you are doing to improve or mitigate the limitation.
6.  A loser is envious of winners and contemptuous of other losers; a winner judges others only by how well they live up to their own capacities, not by some external scale of worldly success, and can have more respect for a capable shoeshine boy than for a crass opportunist. I keep an article on my desk that I read in USA Today several years ago about Raytheon CEO Bill Swanson who wrote a booklet titled, “Swanson’s Unwritten Rules of Management.” He says, “Watch out for people who have a situational value system; who can turn the charm on or off depending on the status of the person they are interacting with.” Steve Odland, CEO of Office Depot said, “People with situational values have situational ethics, and those are people to be avoided.”

Lessons come from many sources. Perhaps some of you will find and read your own copy of Winners and Losers, learn a lesson, and like me avoid touching the stove quite so often.

Steve Sosland

Integrity Selling Quotes – Part 2

On October 30th, I wrote a blog post on my favorite quotes from the first half of Integrity Selling for the 21st Century by Ron Willingham.  I finished reading the book yesterday (for the third time) and found more insightful quotes about motivation and overcoming obstacles, as well as selling, working and leading with integrity.   In my conversations with junior military officers (JMOs) considering or questioning a sales career, I hear many pre-conceived negative impressions about sales.  After reading Integrity Selling, most JMOs find the book valuable in improving their ability to lead change, “sell” ideas and concepts to bosses and peers AND  in shattering their previous impressions of a career.

Here are my favorite quotes from the last half of Integrity Selling, with some commentary.

“Salespeople with the healthiest and highest self-esteem don’t have overblown egos.  These highly successful salespeople view their job as creating value for customers.  This is a very healthy view of selling.  Serving.  Helping.  Focusing on solutions.  Salespeople who focus on making sales will never enjoy the long-term success, client respect, or self-esteem of those who focus on creating more and better value for customers.”  Some people are turned off by sales because they think that all sales people have huge egos and push products and services on people.  Certainly there are sales professionals out there who are like that.  Those that achieve true success have a healthy confidence and “help” and “serve” their clients.  They do not have overblown egos.

“People who give into their negative feelings often fail because they mis-interpret the truth about themselves.  The truth is that your negative feelings don’t determine who you are; your actions reveal who you are.  Few people escape having negative thoughts or feelings.  But people who transcend the control or grip of negative emotions have learned the difference.  When encountering negative circumstances or emotions, they say: ‘You will not determine my success.  I will determine it!'”  Roger Cameron calls this “self-talk”.  We talk to ourselves a lot, consciously and subconsciously, and we cannot avoid negative talk.  Those who refuse to give into the false negative talk and make a decision to change their thoughts, overcome their fears, challenges and obstacles.

“Emotional intelligence grows within us as we do things that we fear or dislike.  People who give in to their emotions and take the easy, undisciplined course in life’s events have low emotional control…Go where you’re afraid to go, do what you’re afraid to do, and ask when you’re afraid to ask.”  We fail to challenge and push ourselves when we give into negative self-talk.

“Every salesperson experiences disappointments and difficult times.  Success is usually determined by a commitment to working through these tough times.”  True for any career.

“When you view selling as creating value for people, and believe that you’ll be rewarded to the degree that you help people, you’ll also believe that you should be highly rewarded.”  I call this karma.

“People are more apt to listen and understand your point of view when you listen to and understand theirs.”  So easy to understand, yet we all mess  up this concept so often.

“Asking questions and listening to opinions is a powerful method to persuasion.”  This just supports the quote above.  Again, this is about sales but true in relationships, leading change and more.

“Prosperity consciousness is a state of mind that expects good things to happen in the future.  It’s filled with faith, hope, joy, optimism, forgiveness, and gratitude.”   You become what you think about all day long.  Do you think scarcity?  Or do you think about cornucopia?  Scarcity means limited, not enough for everyone.  Cornucopia means plenty, but there are opportunities and rewards for you as well.

“What you feed your mind you’ll become…”  “Your actions, responses, and behaviors spring forth from this, influencing your long-term sales success more than your knowledge, sales skills, products or services, or market conditions.”  Take out the word sales in this quote and it is true for any endeavor.  What are you feeding your mind?  What are you reading?  Who are your friends and acquaintances?  Are they building you up, or are they cynics and bringing you down?  Do you surround yourself with positive images?  Do you take care of yourself physically?  You can control so much of who you are by how you feed your mind and take care of your body.

“After all, people aren’t always logical.”  No comment.

Last quote – one of the most important  and therefore the last sentence of the book – “Success will come to you as you practice, practice, practice.”

Joel Junker

 

JMOs Key to Leading Lean Manufacturing Efforts

A timely article appeared in the USA Today on Monday, November 2, the first day of the Cameron-Brooks November, 2009 Career Conference.  The article titled “Lean Manufacturing Helps Companies Survive Recession” pointed out that manufacturing facilities that have adopted Lean Manufacturing initiatives have converted from batch processing to uninterrupted flow, and reduced waste and inventories.  This has allowed them to reduce costs and improve quality and profitability.  The current recession forced many companies to make these changes in order to compete in the tough economy as well as better position themselves against manufacturing operations outside the US.

You can read the article at:  http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/manufacturing/2009-11-01-lean-manufacturing-recession_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip&POE=click-refer

 Here are some key points I took away from the article:

– One purpose of Lean is producing what customers order versus stocking inventory.  This reduces inventory thus reducing costs.  “Inventory is evil.”

–  Lean helps companies compete against low cost producers outside of the US.  This has allowed them to continue to hire and retain employees during the recession.

– Lean contributed to a 4.9% increase in manufacturing productivity in the recent quarter.  This was the highest increase since early 2005.

– 61% of manufacturers are using Lean.

– Lean leads to smoother production operations and more teamwork.

– Lean requires continuous improvement and constant vigilance and monitoring.  This is a key reason why companies like the JMO for Lean initiatives.

We had numerous manufacturing and supply chain opportunities represented at our November 2009 Conference utilizing Lean.  These clients identified Cameron-Brooks JMO leaders as critical to successfully launching, improving and sustaining their Lean programs.  Here are some quotes from their job descriptions about Lean responsibilities and you can easily see why the companies wanted talented JMO leaders.

“As a Manufacturing Supervisor, you will play a critical role in driving Lean transformation.  Key tenets of Lean include continuous process improvement in the areas of customer focus, waste elimination, employee involvement and a disciplined approach to operations.  To be successful, you will have to lead and engage the manufacturing team in Lean initiatives such as Kaizen (continuous process improvement).  You will also have the responsibility of developing the skills of your subordinate leaders so that they effectively engage their team members in continuous improvement activities.  This will require you to use your change leadership skills to communicate the vision and the purpose, identify obstacles and work with individuals who may be resistant to change.”

“You will use data analysis, Six Sigma, Lean Manufacturing and other analytical tools to conceptualize process improvements to yield savings in material costs while reducing cycle times and improving quality and delivery.”

“You will get involved with Lean projects and act as the Lean Deployment Leader.  You will use an involved leadership style to set goals, plan operations and lead the team to achieve objectives.  You will drive innovation and change by communicating key business unit initiatives and promoting employee engagement.”

To learn more about Lean, I highly recommend the book Lean Thinking by Womack.  The introduction and first 5 chapters are especially informative.  You can also research Lean on Wikipedia.

We had a very successful November 2009 Conference and started the follow-up interview process today.  We will publish some posts on our Facebook page and blog with updates soon.

Joel Junker

Cameron-Brooks Alumni Partnership Program

One of the major benefits of completing the Cameron-Brooks Development and Preparation Program^® (DPP^®) and attending a Conference,  is in becoming a Cameron-Brooks Alumnus and having access to our Alumni services. 

The Cameron-Brooks Guiding Principles state, “We help build the future of companies and individuals by committing ourselves to the development and growth of all we serve…We care about the people with whom we work and the lives we touch and strive to help all who enter into a partnership with Cameron-Brooks to improve their business, achieve their potential and live their dreams.”  These principles are in total alignment with our clients hiring and development of the Cameron-Brooks JMOs to have significant roles leading their companies in the future.  Our clients recognize the value we offer our Alumni, and their trust and confidence in Cameron-Brooks allow us to stay close to our Alumni throughout their careers, mentoring them to reach their potential, develop their business skills, further their education and fight through challenges.

The Cameron-Brooks Alumni services include:

Ongoing self-development support with our Tips of the Month, individual mentoring sessions, and soon we will have a Learning Resource Center on our website with an exclusive section for the Cameron-Brooks Alumni.

Career mentorship helping our Alumni overcome the natural and expected challenges throughout a career.  Our Alumni and client companies value our advice because we can provide 44+ years of experience to help our Alumni directly tackle business and individual professional challenges versus “cutting and running” when the going gets tough.  We have seen it over and over again, those who stay committed and lead in their company during a “bump in the road” achieve more career success than those who take the easy way out and leave to look for something “better.” 

Assistance with continuing education.  Each year we write numerous letters of recommendation for part time and Executive MBA programs.  Business schools know that Cameron-Brooks works with a select few JMOs each year and the competition to get into our program is high. Guidance to prepare for promotional interviews includes mock interviews and advice on navigating and negotiating career advancement.  We have deep knowledge of career management and how to prepare for competitive promotional interviews.

There is no fee for our candidates because this is part of the Cameron-Brooks Guiding Principles philosophy.  Also, our Alumni continually reward us and our candidates by attending Conferences and recruiting for key positions within their companies, as well as supporting other Cameron-Brooks Alumni throughout the business world.

We commit to our clients and candidates that we will only facilitate the career of a candidate to a company once  – meaning we will never re-place a candidate.  We seek to achieve a Win-Win-Win relationship for candidates, clients and us.  We believe replacing or taking a candidate from one of our client companies, only benefits the recruiting firm in another fee, not the other partners in the relationship.  Our client companies respect our philosophy and 44 years of credibility.

With 44+ years of experience in facilitating career searches, we know the Cameron-Brooks program works and is designed to help the JMO candidate launch his or her career in the right industry, company and position the FIRST time. 

We know from experience that developing a track record by staying with a company and achieving successes is the fastest way to grow a career.  In the book First Break All the Rules,  Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman back this up with data from the Gallup Poll that found it takes 5 years just to have a significant effect in a career (figure out what you are doing and make a meaningful impact), and 10 to 18 years before one develops a world class competency.  Leaving a company early in a career, or job hopping, results in a lot of “false starts” and beginning over.

Our clients use Cameron-Brooks as a strategic resource to build the future leadership of their companies.  We don’t just help our companies fill positions, we help them hire and develop leaders who can be key persons in the future of their companies.  This is the commitment we make to our clients, and our program works because we have thousands of alumni in leadership positions throughout Corporate America.

 Joel Junker

Company Paid Time Off (PTO) and Vacation Benefits

It’s midsummer and that means my annual family vacation is approaching.  With vacation on my mind and thoughts of kayaking, swimming, fishing and good food a near constant, I thought I would let my thoughts lead my blog post this week and address company paid time off  (PTO) and vacation benefits.  The business world accounts for and treats PTO and vacation very differently than the military.  Below are answers to some common questions junior military officers (JMOs) ask about this particular benefit.

1.  What is PTO or Paid Time Off?  In the last decade most companies transitioned to a comprehensive plan for time away from work, with vacation as one aspect.  There are several components to PTO.  Company holidays are days when the company is closed. These  include Christmas Day, Thanksgiving, July 4th, Labor Day and a few more.  Floating holidays are different from company holidays, allowing the choice of taking a few additional days away from work while the company remains open.  Some examples of floating holidays are President’s Day, Good Friday, Martin Luther King Day, and typically you can only choose 2  or 3 of these.  Personal days are like vacation days and I am not sure why companies don’t  just lump them in with vacation days.  They are to be used for such things as funerals, staying home with a sick child, and studying for a master’s or trade exam, but I have heard people use them for vacation as well.  There are sick days which are to be used for exactly that, and  finally vacation days, for what I will be doing soon – relaxing and recharging. 

2.  How much PTO can I expect?  This will vary from company to company and depend on the number of years you have had with a company.  For company holidays I commonly see 8 days, and most companies offer 3 floating holidays.  For personal days, I mostly see about 3 to 5; and generally I see 5 sick days, though I have seen as many as 10.    As vacation, most companies will offer 2 weeks  for your first year, meaning 10 working days, though some may consider a JMO as an industry experienced hire and offer 3 weeks.  I know only a few of our clients who offer less than 1 week of vacation in the first year.   If you total up my averages, you get roughly 30 days a year which is about what the military offers a JMO. 

3.  If I take one week of vacation is that 5 days of vacation or 9?  In business, if you take Monday through Friday off , but you leave home on Saturday morning and return the following Sunday – gone for a total of 9 days – your company will only consider Monday through Friday as vacation.  This will be 5 days, and not 9 as  in the military. 

4.  How far in advance can I plan for vacation?  My experience has been as far as you want, and I hear the same thing from Cameron-Brooks’ alumni.  This is a major difference between the business world and the military.  You can plan for and expect to take your full time off.  In my ten years in business, I have never heard of one of our alumni having vacation plans canceled by their company. 

5.  Do I get to take all of my vacation?  I highly recommend you take all of your vacation, floating holidays and personal days.  You earned them, and if you don’t take them no one else will.  Also, there have been numerous studies done that prove taking time off from work makes people more productive in the long run.   I’ll do a self-study for you on my upcoming vacation and let you know if that’s true. 

6.  What do I do with my sick days if I don’t need them?  I am a believer in using sick days for exactly what they are intended – being sick.  So, if you are not sick or your kids are not sick, don’t take them.  An added benefit of not taking sick days in some companies is that they roll over to the next year.  Therefore, if you truly do get sick and need to be out for an extended period of time, you have those extra days.  I never like it when people call in sick and are actually doing something else.  You want your company to be fair and honest with you on issues, you need to be the same with them. 

Once again, I have not seen any company Paid Time Off program that is exactly the same as another, but most are similar.  This is just a brief primer and not in any way an extensive explanation.  There is really no way to compare details unless you are evaluating a specific Paid Time Off program .

One final point, I highly, highly, encourage you not to make a decision on a company/career opportunity based on their Paid Time Off program.  The nature of the work, position, career field, industry and company quality should always be the main factors in making a career decision.  If I had used Paid Time Off as a criteria in accepting Cameron-Brooks, I am quite sure I would have declined.  However, I am passionate about my career and role at Cameron-Brooks and I do get enough time off to spend time with my spouse and children, see extended family, travel to see interesting parts of the country and re-energize. 

Joel Junker

From JMO to Business CEO – Leadership Lessons

Monday, Procter & Gamble  (P&G) announced Bob McDonald, current P&G Chief Operating Officer, will assume the CEO position at P&G and A.G. Lafley will step down after a very successful tenure.  Both Mr. Lafley and Mr. McDonald are former JMOs,  Lafley Navy, and McDonald a USMA graduate and Army JMO.  When Roger Cameron started the JMO recruiting industry in the 1960’s during the Vietnam war, Procter & Gamble was one of the first three companies to partner with Roger to hire JMO leaders.  It is exciting for Cameron-Brooks to see the success JMOs can have in their companies and the impact they can make.

I just finished watching an hour-long video of McDonald speaking to MIT MBA students earlier this year.  He discusses the importance of self-analysis, developing a purpose for your life and career, sharing that purpose with others, why leadership is the most important and scarcest resource in the world and his 10 tenets of leadership.  If you are a JMO, current business leader or in any type of leadership position, this is a must watch video.  Go to http://mitworld.mit.edu/video/664.  You will learn how to develop a purpose for your life and understand your leadership style, why feedback to your team members is critical, the importance of adapting to the environment, leading change and more.

For those of you who are familiar with the Cameron-Brooks program, you will hear references to many of the books in Cameron-Brooks Reading Program© and McDonald also highlights the importance of self-development throughout your career.  It makes sense that the Cameron-Brooks Development and Preparation Program© is aligned with P&G since they were one of our first client companies and Roger based the program for Cameron-Brooks candidates to be successful in the transitions and careers with his clients at the time.

I want to thank FB Castro, current Cameron-Brooks candidate, for sending me the video link.  It really made me think through my leadership and how to apply it at Cameron-Brooks, as well as teach others in our program.

As a side note, Bob McDonald took an active role of continuing to hire JMOs at P&G and attended past Cameron-Brooks Conferences.  He actually talks about the importance of staying connected with recruiting during this lecture. 

Joel Junker