Windmill LeadershipTM 2012 Winter by Windmill Leadership

Windmill Leadership

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2012 WINTER

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Windmill Leadership  Man In The Windmill 2

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Vision & Strategic Plan Facilitation Succession Planning Board Retreats Leadership & Management Training Executive Coaching Speaking to Your Publics & the Media Customer Service Training Motivational Keynotes Give Jack or Kathleen a call: 816-617-4823 816-617-4825 Info@WindmillLeadership.com Visit us on the Web! www.WindmillLeadership.com www.WindmillLeadership

So, what’s with the Windmills? Windmills are pretty cool, aren’t they?! Seems wherever you go, you see them – new and old— in all different states of repair and operation. Windmills have been, and will continue to be, key in sustaining life and livelihood for people across the globe. You can see windmills from miles away. And best of all, windmills (and wind turbines) are a constant source of renewable energy! At Randall Resources International our mission is to “Challenge people and organizations to fully discover, understand, and actively pursue God’s unique calling for them and their individual roles as leaders.” Our expertise and passion is to renew your leadership energy. We deliver our message through speaking, training, executive coaching, consulting, and products. So, what’s with the windmills? Windmills provide many visible leadership analogies. Like a windmill, a leader requires both the ability to sense the direction of life’s ‘winds of opportunity’ and the ability to turn all efforts directly toward it. Wind also causes the blades of a windmill to spin round and round, converting kinetic energy into useable power. Likewise, leaders need to face into the wind and respond to life’s challenges, using those challenges to power them on with purposeful passion. At Randall Resources we want to challenge you. As a leader, do you possess the drive of passion for your role? Do you have a strong sense of direction needed to guide you into the future? The next time you see windmills wherever you travel, we challenge you to reflect on what you see— and to thoughtfully consider— What does your leadership “look like” ? At Randall Resources Int’l, we are here to bring you the insight, tools, and strategies to help you, your company, your association, or your staff become  Focused  More Effective  More Successful  More Profitable! 4 More www.WindmillLeadership.com

Randall Resources International, LLC

Windmill Leadership Man In The Windmill EDITOR Kathleen Randall

VISION 6 14

How’s Your Vision? What Does Your Leadership Look Like?

ASSOCIATE EDITOR Jack C. Randall, CIC, PCLA, PFMM

LEADERSHIP & MANAGEMENT PHOTOGRAPHY Big Stock Photo p9 Digital Juice 2.0 p6 Esser Creative Group p 16 p 19 Jennifer L. R. Kern Front cover Nova Art Explosion p 11 Randall Resources Int’l p 12, 14, 15

CONTRIBUTORS

Quit Reacting! 5 Steps to Keeping Your Sanity

CUSTOMER SERVICE 17

Great Expectations! Customer Loyalty & Company Profitability

MORE WINDMILL STORIES 13

Man In The Windmill

Jack Randall’s Newest Book Release

Jack C. Randall Kathleen Randall

TRADEMARKS Windmill Leadership Man In The Windmill

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HOW’S YOUR VISION? The

room was packed with a team of agents ready for my presentation on the new policy forms. We were all set to begin, but there was still one vacant chair up front. “Why can’t that guy be on time?” I muttered. After a delayed start, I simply had to begin rather than wait any longer for “Joe” to appear.

optical jewel and philosophically recounted its short journey. The room instantly erupted with laughter. What a comedian! …And what a DISTRACTION!

While many years have passed since that incident, I still smile when I recall Joe’s “vision dilemma.” Yet now, as I work with company leaders and their boards, I Joe arrived…eventually. He stumbled his frequently hear them struggling with their way to that last seat up front. Even as I own vision dilemmas. Not with physical was speaking, I could tell that Joe was eyesight, but rather, the uncomfortable. From ability to have a crystal “The future behind his glasses, he clear VISION for themselves closed one eye for a while, success of your and their organization… the and then the other. He ability to “see” and tilted his head. He organization communicate that Vision of squinted up at the ceiling, depends on your the future. then down at the floor. I noticed Joe repeating this entire team Joe’s ability to see clearly unusual ritual several “seeing” was essential. Without times. Agents on the team correction, his impaired also began to sense the same thing condition prevented him something was wrong and and working toward from seeing where he was began to watch Joe, rather than listen to my that same Vision.” going. He wasn’t able to identify opportunities from informational training. He obstacles right before him, suddenly started to pat his chest, nor could he take in vital information. unbutton his shirt, and reach down inside. And it wasn’t just Joe…his actions were Was he having heart problems, or a affecting the entire team. reaction to medication? “This might be serious,” I thought. Fearing for his safety, Today’s effective leaders must not only I couldn’t continue. s e e t h e p r e s e n t c l e a r l y , b u t mo r e importantly “see” the future with absolute “Joe, are you OK?” I blurted from the clarity. Furthermore, effective leaders platform. Almost simultaneously, Joe must concisely communicate a picture of yelled, “Found it!!” and pulled the what a successful future “looks like” to missing eyeglass lens from deep within the team. As an effective leader, your his shirt. He triumphantly displayed the www.WindmillLeadership

HOW’S YOUR VISION? Continued from previous page

ability to conceptualize and convey this message is essential. A written Vision, reading like a story, complete with all the details, shares and documents that picture. The future success of your organization depends on your entire team “seeing” the same thing and working toward that same Vision. If a Vision is vague, unclear, or nonexistent, people tend to independently form and pursue their own pictures of success. That’s why confusion, frustration, and unmet expectations commonly occur. A well-articulated, written Vision is a crucial element towards building a successful organization and compliments the company Mission Statement, Business Plan, and Succession Plan. I advocate a 5-year timeframe for your Vision since it isn’t practical to do one every year. After 5 years, the vision needs to be recast. 8

A written Vision:  Communicates  Documents  Clarifies  Helps to organize  Provides direction  Reduces stress  Reduces conflict  Helps to identify opportunities  Unifies  Provides motivation.

Proverbs 29 reads; “Where there is no vision, the people perish…” I am convinced the author is reminding us that pursuing something without unity will only lead to conflict and ultimate failure, whereas a shared Vision is vital to harmony and success.

As a leader for your c o m p a n y : H o w ’s YOUR Vision? 

Jack C. Randall, CIC, PCLA, PFMM is a Visionary Leadership Expert who helps leaders and organizations achieve greater profitability in today’s challenging economy. Through Man In The Windmill ™ and Windmill Leadership™ Principles, Jack will help you and your organization gain the insight, tools, and strategies to become more focused, more effective, more successful, and more profitable. Give Jack a call today!

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Jack @WindmillLeadership.com

Photo by Big Stock Photo

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1. Breathe. Yes, breathe … not sigh. Whenever the human brain encounters some type of stress trigger, it often causes the body muscles to tense up. With this tension our blood pressure begins to rise in response to a perceived danger, and people do one of two things: begin breathing faster and shallower or hold their breath. Either one takes away oxygen needed for the brain to function rationally . So be aware of and learn to consciously slow down your breathing.

2. Listen through the emotions. Let your emotion pass before reacting. Easier said than done, right? Your fight-or-flight mechanism just kicked in. But you are the only one who can control your reaction. Jack Canfield first introduced the equation: Event + Reaction = Outcome. Understand what triggered you to react and what your instinctive reactions are. Was it the other person’s tone of voice? Was it their choice of words? Was it their body language? Was it your perception of the situation? Each one of us needs to understand what triggers cause us to react.

3. Understand & Identify the problem or behavior… not the emotion. Stay in the moment and carefully listen for details. Listen through their emotion. What situation (not emotion) are they actually talking about? Is there something you can quantify… some result they aren’t getting… some deadline that didn’t get met? Is there something that is causing them to feel a loss of control? Charles Kettering – farmer, school teacher, mechanic, engineer, scientist, inventor, and social philosopher – once said, “A problem well stated is a problem half solved.” Beyond your emotions about the situation, what problem or behavior was the cause? What was the effect of that problem or behavior? When you can identify this, you are on your way to finding a solution for the situation.

4.  Defensive nonverbals. First, don’t take it personally. Most situations that cause us to lose our cool are generally due to our perception about how something was done, how we were treated, a lack of results, or the

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timeliness of the issue. When these perceptions invade our minds, our bodies instantly respond to the potential threat, whether perceived or real, and our body language tends to become more rigid and closed. So what are some practical ways to reduce defensive nonverbals?

1. Open body language: arms comfortably at your side… not crossed.

2. Regulators: use of occasional head nods to let the other person know you are actually listening.

3. Relaxed facial muscles: not a giddy smile… but not a sour scowl either.

4. Eye contact: maintain eye contact without those eye rolls.

Keep your voice at a conversational level without sarcasm.

5. Respond versus React. Reaction is the instinctual defense mechanism occurring after the situation has happened. Response is proactive and requires thinking ahead. Reaction is often centered in protection of self; response can chose to respect both parties. When learning to respond, take time to choose your words, vocal tone, and body language. But what about those times when you’ve been blind-sided with a situation and you didn’t get time to choose? Congratulations, you just found one of your triggers. Take time to learn from this event. Figure out how you would handle that situation if it happens again… because it probably will. Write it down. If processed, this experience will allow you to better respond the next time you find yourself ready to react. Stressors are all around us. They are a natural part of life. While we can’t control every situation or person that comes our way, we can control our response to those situations. Our responses will ultimately determine our success in business as well as in life. Even more importantly, our response will determine our own state of health. So the next time a stressor pushes your buttons, QUIT REACTING! And start CHOOSING to RESPOND!  ©2007 Randall Resources Int’l LLC. All rights reserved.

Quit Reacting!

5 Steps to Keeping Your Sanity by Kathleen Randall Stress and conflict. Conflict and stress. It’s all around us—at work, at home, on vacation. What about that last committee meeting you just attended—the one that was so tense you could just feel the heat start to rise? Or what about that family gathering you just attended—the one that was so tense it caused you to snap at everyone around you? How tactfully did you handle those situations? For some of us “losing our cool” comes in the form of a louder, more demanding voice and rigid body language. For others, it is internalized in the form of raised blood pressure, migraine headaches, ulcers, or, quite literally, a pain in the neck. In our over-extended lives of constant to-do lists and day-timers, many of us are living just one step away from emotionally boiling over. We’ve had Photo by Nova Art Explosion.. our buttons pushed one too many times and our gut instinct sends us into reactionary mode. We’ve been polite … we’ve tried to contain ourselves … but now, as the pressures mount, our natural defenses kick in and tact goes out the window. Think back to one of those times when you lost your composure. Did losing it really get you the outcome you desired? Or did it just make you look like the one out of control? If you find yourself wondering, “How could I have handled it differently?” then the following information is for you. There are five easy steps to remember when your mind is a BLUR and you need to keep your cool without heating up. (See previous page.) Kathleen Randall works with people and organizations who want to improve leadership effectiveness and team performance. As a communication strategist, Kathleen helps you achieve results through keynotes, training and team-building, and executive coaching. For more confidence, credibility, connection, and results contact Kathleen at Kathleen@WindmillLeadership.com.

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Man In The Windmill by Jack Randall, CIC, PCLA, PFMM

My dad used to tell me a thrilling bed-time story about a man who owned a very squeaky, problematic windmill. The man, not being very mechanically inclined, asked repair advice and help from all sorts of people, but with little luck. Finally in frustration and haste, he climbed to the top of the windmill to perform the much needed repairs himself; but in a short instant he accidentally found himself perilously caught up and whirled around in the massive windmill fan. As a child, I could envision the whole terrifying scene being described. However, each time my dad told the story, he would assure me the story could have a happy ending with a neighboring farmer rushing to the man’s aid with a wagon load of loose hay in which to eventually fall. Almost a half-century has passed since I first heard dad tell this tale, but I remember it well. That story was probably the greatest gift he ever gave me. I think of it each time I drive past an old farm windmill beside the road. I think about it when I travel past a new wind farm with the new style windmill / wind turbines. Whether new or old, the concepts and principles of windmill operation are essentially the same. The more I thought about windmills, the more I saw them as effective, visual metaphors about the various aspects of leadership. For example, a windmill needs drive; so does a leader. A windmill needs to have a great sense of direction to use it as an opportunity; so does a leader. We look up to see a windmill; a leader is a person who we should look up to as well. You get the idea. One aspect of windmills should concern us. T h a t a s p e c t i s t h a t ma n y o f t h e o l d dependable windmills are falling into disrepair. Some who used to stand independent, tall, and proud have been taken down for one reason or another. We can ponder various questions: In a similar fashion, will today’s leaders be around tomorrow? Will someone be there to succeed

them? What will tomorrow’s leaders look like and who will help to equip them? To answer these concerning questions, there is hope. Using the lessons found within these windmills, we, at Randall Resources Int’l, have developed 15 Windmill Leadership™ Principles to provide leaders with fundamental, concrete examples to assist them in pursuing their leadership potential. Through Randall Resources International, Kathleen and I have committed ourselves to the mission of “…challenging people and organizations to fully discover, understand, and actively pursue God’s unique calling for them and their individual roles as leaders.” We strive to build up leadership through a variety of means – presentations, coaching/ consulting, and our product offerings. Is your leadership as effective as it could be? Do you feel like the man in dad’s story— caught up and “spinning” out of control? Do your direction, drive, and focus require adjustment? If you don’t know, or you are not sure, take heart. There is hope. Contact us. We would love to come alongside to assist you and your organization to fully become what you are meant to be.©2008 Randall Resources Int’l www.WindmillLeadership

What does your leadership look lik

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As we travel throughout the U.S. and overs Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s always interesting to note the condition a leadership. Is it working to its full potential, or i

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ke?

eas, we see windmills everywhere we go. They are symbols of ingenuity and principle. and physical state of use or disrepair. Each windmill is a reminder of the condition of our is it in a state of disrepair? What does your leadership look like? www.WindmillLeadership

In today's business climate, what is the difference between a dying business and a thriving business? C U S TO M E R S , C U S TO M E R S , CUSTOMERS! And what does it take to keep customers loyal so they'll come back time and time again? It's all in understanding customer expectation and customer experience. Today's consumer has many choices wherein to spend a dollar. What keeps that customer coming to your place of business? Let's take a look 3 key elements. The CUSTOMER Take a quantitative look at your customer. Can you afford to lose even one? What is the value of your customer? Consider the following equation:

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Average Customer Transaction Amount X Number of transactions per year = Yearly dollar amount spent with your company X Expected years as a customer = Lifetime value of your customer. What have you done to strategically plan to retain your customers? The RELATIONSHIP Relationship is a vital key to every interaction with your customers. A basic human need is to be valued by another human. Being valued is part of relationship. And relationship is what builds customer loyalty. Do you value every one of your customers-- even those 'difficult' ones? When was the last time you actually thought about and strategized how to build a relationship with each customer that calls or walks through your door?

GREAT EXPECTATIONS

Customer Loyalty and Company Profitability The EXPERIENCE As you build relationship with your customer, your customer begins to measure the experience with you. The customer's experience is not measured in numbers, it is measured in feelings. How did the customer feel when working with you? In fact, "Customer service is not measured by what you have done for your customer. Customer service is measured by how your customer feels when interacting with you," (Kathleen Randall, Customer Service Excellence. 2009). If a customer's experience with you is below what is expected, that customer will likely not return. If the experience is satisfactory and what the customer expects, that customer may only consider coming back. However, if the customer's experience exceeds what was expected, that customer will not only keep coming

back, that customer will spread the word! The E 3 Factor, Experience Exceeding Expectations, has now created a loyal customer. While Customer Service builds on procedure, Customer Loyalty builds on relationship and experience. Customer Loyalty is what keeps a business thriving despite the economy. What are you doing to bring the skills to every person in your organization in order to build customer loyalty and affect company profitability? Give Kathleen a call. She can provide you the insight, tools, and strategies that will bring you more credibility, more trust, more loyalty, and more profitability!   

Kathleen Randall works with people and organizations who want to improve leadership effectiveness and team performance. As a communication strategist, Kathleen helps you achieve results through keynotes, training and team-building, and executive coaching. To keep your customers coming and calling back, contact Kathleen at Kathleen@WindmillLeadership.com.

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A series of books by Windmill Leadership and Man In The Windmill

Life is too short! Are you living your life with maximum impact and purpose, or are you caught in a default life spinning out of control? Let Jack inspire and challenge you with insights to:    

Examine the perceptions that hold you back Take responsibility for your choices and decisions Get off the “windmills” in your life Identify, find, and pursue your unique calling with passion!

Are you working at the important things that matter the most to you? The world needs You, and it needs you NOW. Become the leader you were meant to be! - Jack C. Randall, CIC, PCLA, PFMM

To find out how you can purchase Man In The WindmillPerceptions, Choices, and Pursuing Your Calling visit Jack’s Web site at 18 www.WindmillLeadership.com

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What are you waiting for? Give Jack a call. WindmillLeadership.com The Visionar y Leadership Exper t.