Imagine that you're standing on a street corner, waiting for the stoplight to turn green so you can cross. You're in a hurry. There's no traffic coming, so you could make it across safely. You consider the ethical dilemma: should you cross against the red light so you can get where you're going faster, or should you wait and obey the law. Then, another pedestrian comes along and crosses on red. Seeing that, you cross, too.

Did the other person's aberrant behavior influence you to break the rules? That's a question Malcolm Gladwell raises in his wonderful book, The Tipping Point. Gladwell suggests that people leaning toward a certain bad behavior look for "permission" from others who demonstrate that conduct. For instance, Gladwell points out that suicide rates increase immediately following a highly publicized suicide. Case in point: the national suicide rate increased 12 percent in the period right after Marilyn Monroe's death.

With a jury now seated in the trial of Enron's former Board Chair Ken Lay and Chief Executive Jeffrey Skilling, I can't help wondering how many recent corporate scandals resulted from the publicity surrounding this case. Did Enron's alleged behavior grant approval to those corporate leaders who were already tempted to fudge the numbers? Or, to use Gladwell's concept, did Enron create an "epidemic" of bad corporate behavior?

As leaders, we must be aware of how much we influence the behavior of others. Not long ago, I stood on a corner, anxious to cross although the light was red. Just as I prepared to step off the curb, I looked back and saw two young children waiting behind me. The we'll-go-if-you-go looks on their faces reminded me of my grownup responsibility to set a good example. So I waited. Like those youngsters, your employees are watching to see how you behave. Be sure to live by the values you profess. Bookmark this post on del.icio.us

Arguably, the most anticipated speech by a corporate CEO is Steve Jobs' annual keynote address at the Macworld conference. Feeding the needs of Apple loyalists eager to hear what Jobs had to say this year, Web sites like engadget.com posted live written updates of his remarks as he made them. Shortly after his speech, visitors to Apple's Web site could download video of Jobs' entire presentation. And in the days that followed, newspapers, PC industry Web sites, and bloggers analyzed everything Jobs said--and looked for hidden meanings in what he left unsaid.

How does the CEO of a company with a meager 4 percent of U.S. market share in its industry attract so much interest when he speaks? Because Steve Jobs is the Apple user's hero. In his book, The Cult of Mac, Leander Kahney writes, "The biannual Macworld conference is often compared to a religious revival meeting, where Steve Jobs is worshipped like a rock star or a charismatic cult leader."

I'm not sure we should label Jobs as a cult figure, but it is fair to say that he has a special connection with his customers. His presentation at Macworld would suggest that he considers himself a geek first and a CEO second. Dressed to defy in jeans and a turtleneck, he looked nothing like a conforming corporate-world Dell user and everything like the typical Mac devotee: creative types who delight in knowing that their computers are incompatible with the masses. Rather than just telling his audience about Apple's new gadgets, he enamored them by sitting down at a keyboard and demonstrating the added features. And if there's one thing a geek respects, it's another geek who knows his stuff.

What distinguishes great leaders like Steve Jobs is the ability to share their vision with those they lead. Some people confuse that idea with the image of prophets, futurists, or renegades attempting to attract followers with radical or extreme ideas. Just the opposite is true. The best leaders enlist people by identifying the interests they have in common, and showing them how they can work together to satisfy their mutual needs. It's a heart-felt approach that convinces people to buy--and to buy in. Bookmark this post on del.icio.us

"What is Ford an abbreviation for?" asks the old riddle. "Fix or repair daily," is the joke's reply. The response is meant as a reference to Ford's unsavory reputation for shaky quality, but these days, it could also refer to Ford's business plan.

On Monday, Ford announced plans to eliminate up to 30,000 manufacturing jobs, cut 4,000 salaried employees, and close fourteen plants by 2012. The ensuing media buzz continued on Tuesday when the company dumped its head of sales and marketing, Steve Lyons, a 33-year Ford veteran who'd been in his current job for less than a year.

"These cuts are a painful last resort," CEO Bill Ford said. He's probably right. The latest reshufflings come just four years after the company unveiled a similar plan to revive itself, a strategy that included cutting 20,000 jobs and shutting down several factories. Those moves failed to slow Ford's falling profits or dwindling market share. The new plan, which Ford calls the "Way Forward," is very likely a last resort. If it fails, another common answer to the Ford abbreviation joke might apply to the company itself: found on road dead.

Related Post: When Pigs Fly Bookmark this post on del.icio.us

Successful companies hire people whose values are in alignment with their organizations. That practice is critical when filling leadership positions. Yet there's a disturbing trend in hiring: Rather than recognizing the best within our organizations, it's fashionable to believe that the choicest employees are somewhere else--"out there." Perhaps employees from the outside hold added intrigue, as if, once hired, they'll eagerly divulge the trade secrets of their former employers, or introduce refreshing, unwavering attitudes. But, as recent events at Nike show, problems arise when newly hired leaders demonstrate values different from those professed by the organization.

Little more than a year ago, Nike's founder and board chair Phil Knight was ready to relinquish his chief executive duties. Two life-long Nike veterans, Mark Parker and Charlie Denson, were vying for the CEO position. But Nike's board decided to look outside its culture for someone with experience managing multiple brands and international markets. So they hired Bill Perez from household-products giant S.C. Johnson & Son. On January 23, Perez agreed to step down after only thirteen months.

What went wrong? "The cultural leap was really too great," said Knight. In fact, Nike's cult-like culture, made up of creative designers and budget-busting marketers, stood in the way of any outsider's successful assimilation into its upper ranks. But Nike is not the only company with a strong culture, or the first to face this challenge.

When a company hires a leader from outside the culture, employees might conclude that the company's values have changed. For example, with Perez focusing resources on Nike's international business, designers probably wondered if the company still valued great design. If so, why did they hire Perez instead of Parker, an insider who was one of Nike's top shoe designers? Out of alignment with what they perceive as the organization's new values, employees stop producing their best work.

I've witnessed situations just like this in all levels of management. In their haste to attract managers, company recruiters neglect to consider their organization's culture. Often, disenchanted employees leave the new manager. And, just as frequently, the new manager leaves the company after a fairly short stay. So stop looking out there for good leaders. Your best candidates are likely right here, already a part of the culture! Bookmark this post on del.icio.us

Fortune's list of the 100 Best Companies to Work For 2006 is out and the number one spot goes to San Francisco-based biotechnology firm Genentech. You might expect that perks such as employee stock options, onsite daycare, or complimentary beer on Friday nights earned Genentech the top rating. But in reality, what draws employees is the work. As it turns out, the freedom to obsess over finding a cure for cancer means more to the average bio-scientist than free cappuccino. And observing ongoing proof that their company's leaders share their obsession--in other words, their values--is what makes employees stay.

Genentech reinvests half of its revenues back into research, focusing development efforts on "significant unmet needs" in the fields of oncology, immunology, and tissue growth and repair. Of course, the company wants to make money, but CEO Art Levinson won't let profit motivation determine the direction of research. "At the end of the day, we want to make drugs that really matter," he says, confident that by doing so, sales and profits will follow naturally.

Living by the values they profess: it's what gives Genentech's leaders credibility, and what makes the company a great place to work. Bookmark this post on del.icio.us

A few weeks ago, I discovered the magic of del.icio.us and--since then--traffic to this blog has increased dramatically. If you are a new reader, you might be wondering about the origin of the blog's name. So, please, allow me to explain.

I firmly believe that integrity is what leadership is all about. I've spent nearly three decades in leadership positions, presiding over technology workers and fry cooks, clerical staffs and salespeople, ambitious up-and-comers and working stiffs, highly paid professionals and nonprofit volunteers. And I keep returning to the same conclusion: people are searching for leaders with integrity who prove their credibility continuously.

In values-based leadership, credibility means consistency between an organization's spoken values and its leaders' actual behavior. To prove your credibility as a leader, you must habitually demonstrate the organization's values in action each day. Through my experience and research, I've identified six behaviors that are common to values-based leaders. I refer to these practices as "Vital Integrities." Understand these principles, and display them in action each day, and you'll have far greater impact as a leader.

What follows is a list of the six Vital Integrities, along with some brief descriptions excerpted from my book of the same name:

Accept challenges and take risks: "Values-based leaders are risk takers, and more importantly, risk seekers, adventurers who position themselves to discover new challenges. They volunteer for the toughest jobs and always question the status quo. Risk seeking separates these leaders from the yesteryear-theory bureaucrats who sit around supervising the work. Why is that important? Leadership is proactive, as people can only follow leaders who are moving."

Master both listening and speaking: "The way we communicate with our employees impacts how workers understand our messages, and what actions, if any, they take in response. Effective communication goes beyond making certain workers understand our instructions. Values-based leadership must build ongoing 'communication relationships,' in which people feel included, appreciated, and respected. To achieve these goals, leaders need to use clear language, master the art of storytelling, and listen with their eyes as well as their ears."

Live by the values they profess: "Consistency between an organization's stated values and its leaders' actual behavior is critical to credibility. When there is discrepancy between what leaders say and what they do, employees immediately and rightly recognize those leaders as frauds."

Freely give away their authority: "Surprisingly, it is the expectations micromanagers have for themselves that must change. Leaders who consider themselves highly effective are more apt to view all workers as reachable, teachable, and worthy of attention. Managers who attribute their employees' accomplishments to their own success as leaders will probably help their workers grow. You must believe, regardless of your perceptions of each employee's potential, in your own abilities to teach and inspire."

Recognize the best in others: "The most overlooked aspect of the whole idea of ranking is the frustration that leads many companies to implement differentiation in the first place. The term forced ranking says it all. It highlights deeper leadership issues--specifically, issues with managers who fear singling people out for outstanding efforts, who fail to address poor performance, and who neglect their duty to fire employees when necessary. If, as the name implies, we must force managers to perform these aspects of their jobs, they are ill-equipped for their leadership roles to begin with."

Have a vision and convince others to share it: "Under the widespread illusion that reciting financial data somehow inspires performance, managers behave like walking-talking annual reports. Net profit this quarter is up 20 percent over the same period last year. But we're still below budget and need everyone's added effort. Without an inspiring vision from their leaders, employees will struggle to discern any link between their private ambitions and the company's actual mission. And leaders who fail to communicate messages that inspire trust will find leadership unnecessarily difficult."

If you're interested in learning more, you can download the Introduction to Vital Integrities here for free. And I hope you'll participate by regularly commenting on the posts. In the meantime, welcome! Bookmark this post on del.icio.us

When leaders fail to live by the values they profess, employees respond the same way that consumers who realize they've been duped by false advertising do: they stop buying what's being sold. That was my message to the Advertising Club of Toledo today. You can download the slides here. You will need PowerPoint to view these slides. Bookmark this post on del.icio.us

While Americans remember slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. on the national holiday honoring his contributions to equal rights, taking a hard look at the state of workplace discrimination is disheartening. According to a recent Gallup Poll, 15 percent of American workers still experience some form of workplace discrimination.

According to Gallup, nearly one in four women was a victim of discrimination in 2005, more than twice the number of men. Among racial and ethnic groups, 31 percent of Asians, 26 percent of African Americans, and 18 percent of Hispanics reported discrimination incidents at work. But that's not all: 17 percent of workers said they were discriminated because of their age, 9 percent because of a disability, 4 percent because of their sexual orientation, and 4 percent because of their religion.

How can discrimination be this prevalent when companies everywhere conduct diversity training, form diversity councils, and preach diversity as a core value? Bluntly stated, for many organizations, it's all lip service. Whatever their stated reasons for implementing diversity programs, most companies do so, not to discourage discriminating behavior, but as insurance to mitigate lawsuit settlements that might result in their business-as-usual practices.

Employees are not naive. Gallup found that employees who rate their company's diversity efforts highly are more likely to remain loyal to their employer. But when workers sense that their organizations' commitment to diversity is insincere, their loyalty wanes.

Susan Meisinger, president of the Society for Human Resource Management, said it best: "In today's global marketplace, workforce diversity is not a politically or morally correct obligation--it is also a business imperative. It simply makes good business sense to use the talents of all workers." Bookmark this post on del.icio.us

I always considered problem solving a personal art form, like painting or playing music: either you have an aptitude for it or you don't. But while teaching leaders how to inspire with their values, I've discovered that many organizations possess cultures that hinder the problem-solving efforts of their employees. So, as my New Year's resolution to help you find better solutions to your problems, I've put together a short e-book called RESOLUTION: Changing the Workplace Problem-Solving Culture. You can download it for free here. Please let me know what you think. Bookmark this post on del.icio.us

Blockbuster settled another false advertising lawsuit over its "no late fees" program last week, this time with New Jersey. The $140,000 settlement is in addition to the $630,000 the movie-rental giant paid to forty-seven other states to resolve similar charges in 2005. Blockbuster began waiving late fees a year ago to combat competitive pressure from online rivals, and their advertising led consumers to believe that there was no cost for returning movies or games after the due date. But they neglected to mention that, in lieu of a late fee, they would charge customers' credit cards for the entire retail purchase price of a past-due item after seven days. The company stands by the policy and, to comply with the settlements, now spells out every detail in its advertising. But it may be too late: many stock analysts blame the program for driving Blockbuster's share price down more than 60 percent last year.

Here's a different example of false advertising. In its written guide to ethical conduct, Tyco International included the following statement: "We must demand of ourselves and of each other the highest standards of individual and corporate integrity. We safeguard company assets. We comply with all company policies and laws." Late last summer, a jury convicted Tyco's ex-CEO Dennis Kozlowski and its former CFO Mark Swartz of twelve counts of grand larceny, eight counts of falsifying records, and on charges of conspiracy and violating business laws for looting the company of $600 million.

Both of these costly deceptions add to our preconceptions that companies are trying to pull the wool over our eyes. Face it: won't you be skeptical the next time Blockbuster introduces a special deal? For that matter, will you trust the future promotions of any movie-rental store? Likewise, with newspapers reporting daily on scandal at companies like Enron, Arthur Anderson, Global Crossing, WorldCom, and Tyco, is it any wonder that employees start to associate all business leaders with dishonesty and untrustworthiness?

Thanks to false advertising, we think of used-car salespeople as deceitful, personal injury lawyers as greedy, and politicians as, at best, insincere. Now, thanks to people like Dennis Kozlowski, we conceive of business leaders as justice-obstructing, massive-debt-hiding, earnings-overstating thieves who use company funds to purchase personal artwork and put on lavish birthday parties for family members. No wonder only half of all employees trust their senior managers. And no wonder establishing trust with your employees is such an uphill battle. Bookmark this post on del.icio.us

During the 1920s and 1930s, Harvard professor Elton Mayo studied the behavior of workers at Western Electric's Hawthorne Works facility in Chicago. Mayo initially set out to determine how the physical workplace environment affected productivity. He suspected that workers would be more productive when factories had more light, so he tested his theory using two groups. He increased the amount of light for one group and, unexpectedly, the productivity of both groups increased. When he lowered the lights for the test group, productivity again went up in both groups. Obviously, the amount of light had no effect on efficiency. So, Mayo continued experimenting.

His next experiment at Hawthorne, over a five-year timeframe, involved six relay switch assemblers. Mayo introduced gradual improvements to the test group's working conditions, including ten-minute rest breaks, shorter work days and weeks, wage increases, and a cooperative supervisor who discussed each change with the workers in advance. Productivity went up after each enhancement. Then he took away the improvements and returned the six workers to their original working conditions. Their productivity went up again!

In every one of Mayo's experiments, regardless of what he did, productivity seemed to soar. Eventually, he recognized what he had been ignoring. By separating his subjects from the main workforce and including them in his experiments, he made them feel special and unintentionally raised their self-esteem. As a result, test workers believed that management actually cared about them, so they worked harder.

William James said, "The deepest human need is the need to be appreciated." Mayo proved that during his scientific search for the secret to increasing productivity. What he found was even more illuminating: human nature. Bookmark this post on del.icio.us