A friend of mine likes to say, “People who know How, work for people who know Why.” Think about that for a minute. What’s the difference between knowing How and knowing Why?

The people in your company who know How are, no doubt, very important.  In fact, the company can’t operate without them. They’re the people who come in every day and get things done.  Many of them are incredibly good at their jobs. They might even be some of the best at what they do, but that doesn’t mean they’re capable of moving beyond their current jobs without something more.

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Recently, we had an interesting discussion in our weekly executive meeting. At our company, we’re just wrapping up our annual performance evaluations. We were talking about how the process went this year and what we could do to improve it. One of our senior team members  said our evaluation system can actually hurt morale.

Here’s his point. Our performance evaluation system includes ratings of outstanding, exceeds expectations, meets expectations, needs improvement, and unsatisfactory. As a company, we expect the distribution of the appraisals to be somewhat of a bell curve that is SLIGHTLY skewed to the top end. That is, we expect the majority of our employees meet our expectations and we have a few more who exceed the middle rating than fall below it. The problem is that the employees see a “meets expectations” rating as a “C” or just average. If “outstanding” is an “A,” and “exceeds expectations” is a “B,” then a “meets expectations” must be a “C.” Of course, the next two ratings would be “D” and “F.” See how it all works?

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The results of a recent survey of our employees here at BLR are in and, frankly, I’m concerned.

You see, our survey contained 27 statements about our work environment. The employees were asked whether they agreed with each statement and how strongly they agree or disagree with it. The statements covered individual, departmental, and company-wide items such as performance feedback, recognition, communication, personal development, and fairness.

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I once read that you need three people to run a successful business — a creative leader, a businessperson, and an asshole. (Sorry, but that’s what it said!) As I recall, the argument went that you need a creative type who has that intuitive ability to judge what the market wanted whether it was in product development or marketing. You need a businessperson to set strategic direction, handle deal making, and manage for profit.  And, the argument went, you need the “bad cop” to do some of the dirty work, make some tough calls, and possess the ability to say no. Now, I’m not sure you actually need these three people, but you definitely need all three skill sets in the top people in the company.

I worked in a company where there were three of us who fit these descriptions. We had a CEO who was a creative force who brought ideas, market sense, and a passion that helped to set the tone for the company. (Yes, Mark, I’m talking about you since I know you read this from time to time.) As president, I was responsible for the day-to-day operations, people management, and business relationships. My job was to identify the ideas that had the highest potential for success and get them to fruition. Finally, our CFO was a disciplined, “by the book” guy who constantly brought standard procedures and processes to what we were doing. Our CEO dubbed him “Dr. No” for his tendency to tell us why we couldn’t do things.

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I’ve been reading Walter Isaacson’s biography of Steve Jobs. It’s an interesting read because Jobs was a fascinating character. Jobs was a polarizing figure, revered by many and hated by others. But regardless of how anyone might feel about him, there’s no denying the man was a creative genius.

Shortly after Jobs’ death I wrote the following: “Steve Jobs has been called the greatest American innovator since Thomas Edison. Like Edison, his contributions have changed the lives of people worldwide and will continue to do so for generations to come. Now that’s a legacy!”

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One of the reasons I enjoy sports is the human dynamic at work in every sporting endeavor. At different times and in different sports, an athlete may do battle with another competitor, the elements, or even with himself and his will. This fascinates me. What’s more, an athlete often has to deal with teammates, a coach, and management or governing bodies. There always seems to be something going on in the sporting world that lends itself to the drama of the human theater.

Jeremy Lin

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They say to never talk about religion or politics, but I’m going to risk it today. The President gave his State of the Union speech last Tuesday night. I was at a dinner event and missed it. And, I’m sad to say, I really don’t care that I didn’t hear it.

You see, I’m incredibly frustrated by what’s going on in Washington, D.C. I know I might be a little late to the party. Millions of Americans have long been frustrated with what’s going in our nation’s capitol, but I think partisan politics has risen to a level never seen before.

The morning of the State of the Union address, I read that the President last met with Republican leaders on July 23, 2011. That’s six months ago! Now before anyone jumps to any conclusions and determines that I’m going to bash our President, let me just say there is plenty of blame to go around. That is, both parties are to blame for the mess we currently have in Washington, D.C. read more…

Legendary college football coach Joe Paterno died on Sunday after a battle with lung cancer. But by many accounts, some people who knew him well say the 85-year-old died of a broken heart. I think Joe Paterno’s career at Penn State University is worth closer examination because there are lessons for employers and employees alike.

Joe Paterno spent his entire career at Penn State University, coming to the school as an assistant coach in 1950. That’s not a typo — 1950. That’s 62 years ago. I’d be willing to wager that only a small minority of those reading this were working full-time in 1950. After 15 years as an assistant, Paterno was named head coach in 1966 — the same year I was born. And he spent the next 46 years winning football games and impacting the lives of young men. In that span he chalked up 409 wins, more than any coach in NCAA football history.

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This past weekend, my son and I went duck hunting. Despite growing up in a rural area in the Midwest where hunting was a way of life, I never cared for it when I was young. Among the reasons was that it was brutally cold in Iowa in the winter. But, my 15-year-old son has become an avid duck hunter and the time with him on these hunting trips has caused me to find real enjoyment in hunting. That, and the fact that we live in an area where the average temperature is about 20 degrees warmer than where I grew up!

In addition to the father and son time, there’s quite a bit of male bonding going on with the other dads and their boys. For a few weekends each year, we get to be guys and do all the disgusting things we do when no women are present. But in addition to all the macho stuff and the lessons the boys are learning from their fathers, duck hunting teaches all of us some great life lessons — things that can be applied to our everyday lives, including on the job.

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Last week I was part of a CEO panel asked to discuss how to achieve double-digit revenue growth. Now, isn’t that the $1 million question!

My co-panelists were highly respected executives, each with 20-plus years of experience in our industry — publishing. Yet, when we started discussing the session among ourselves, I was surprised by the direction of the conversation.

You see, like many industries, ours has suffered in recent years due in part to the recession. In addition to the difficult economy, our industry has experienced significant change that has rendered old business models virtually obsolete. That’s not a complaint, just a fact.

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