Occasionally, we have opportunities to cheer, celebrate and say, “WOW!”
We’re cheering, celebrating and offering a hearty “WOW!” in our office today after receiving word that our client, the 305th Services Squadron at McGuire Air Force Base, New Jersey has won the prestigious and coveted LeMay Award from AMC (Air Mobility Command).
This is HUGE! I mean REALLY BIG, especially if you’re in the Air Force. The LeMay Award is the military equivalent of the civilian Malcolm Baldridge Award.
And we helped!!!
This has been a challenging project seeing that McGuire has not qualified for the competition in the last 15 years. That’s 15 years, they haven’t even been considered “in-the-game.” Mac Dill AFB has won the Trophy the last three years straight. And now, McGuire AFB claims the championship title!!!
WOW!
So how do you get 570 military and civilian employees playing the game at a higher level and creating a “I Got WOW!ed” culture-- especially in the military?
It’s no easy accomplishment and it's the topic of this month’s e-WOW! newsletter!
One more note: I need your help! I’m requesting your assistance with an important project: Finding a cure for Blood related cancers: Leukemia, Lymphoma and Hodgkin’s Disease.
For the third year, I’ll be running and completing a 26.2 mile marathon in order to raise awareness and donations for this worthy cause.
Last time I ran the marathon, I was the #1 fundraiser. Why? Because loads of my readers and seminar participants sent in contributions that made the difference.
Please consider this a personal request. I need your help in reaching a HUGE goal: $50,000. I’ll run and you donate. Sound like an even trade?
Please see our web site at www.wowcoaching.com/marathon for more detailed information and a sponsor form.
Thanks in advance for making a difference.
Mark Rosenberger
Featured Article
"How to Move From "NO" Place to First Place!"
by Mark Rosenberger, CSP
From last to first—it’s always a compelling story in sports, and even more so in the business world. And although there really isn't a last place, there is certainly a first place.
McGuire Air Force Base in New Jersey had not been invited to “the Dance” in the past 15 years. That’s 15 years where they didn’t even qualify to compete for the coveted LeMay Award. Now, under the vision and leadership of Lt. Col. Rhonda Schlumpberger, the 305th Services Squadron has taken home the prize.
So what’s the secret to this modern day Cinderella success story and how can you apply the winning principles to your business? Here’s the behind the scenes scoop:
Background: The LeMay Award
The LeMay Award was established in 1965 as a special recognition for excellence in programming and service on Air Force bases around the world. The prestigious award is named in honor of General Curtis LeMay, who in addition to his accomplishments in aviation understood the importance of the support provided by Air Force Services personnel on all parts of the globe.
The purpose of the Award is to encourage excellence in the Services’ programs and service Air Force-wide. Each year on-site visits are conducted at each nominated base by a team of Services professionals. The teams evaluate each nominee based on specific criteria defined in the awards’ nomination criteria.
From “not even nominated” to First:
The success principles of the 305th Services Squadron have application to every business in the U.S., both Military and civilian.
The Success Secrets:
A Clear Vision
A Gnarly, Unbelievably HUGE Goal!
A Shift in Perspective
A Game Plan
Un-relentless Leadership
My first visit to McGuire AFB left me both challenged and concerned. I was excited about the management team in place and their HUGE, unbelievable goal. I like playing big and shooting to be the best. I loved the vision, commitment, passion and drive of the Commander.
However, I was concerned the goal might be just a bit out there. It was as if they wanted to win an Olympic Marathon but had never run a mile. They wanted to win the LeMay for service excellence and my thinking was if we could move them up to mediocre service it’d be a significant win.
Success Secret #1: A Clear Vision:
Commander Schlumpberger was clear about two things: Her squadron had the potential to be the best and they were going to win the LeMay Award. Every time I called a Services Squadron member they answered the phone with: “We’re the Best!”
Quite frankly, I don’t think most folks believed the words in the beginning. But, they followed orders and answered every call with the theme song, “We’re the Best!” As you can imagine, some answered with more conviction than others.
Here’s the secret: tell somebody something long enough and they start believing it. Whether it’s children: “You’re an awesome kid” or “You’re a loser,” they start believing and living the self fulfilling prophesies. The stroke of genius was planting the seed on a repeated basis that they are in fact, “the Best.”
Vision secret #2: The vision wasn’t about where they were but rather where they could be. It wasn’t about current conditions but where they’d like to be in the future. Imagine if they answered the phone: “We’re last, we’ve always been last and we’ll never get out of last place.” Granted it’s a bit long for a phone salutation but you get the point. Most companies are stuck looking backwards rather then being forward focused.
Vision Secret #3: The vision was communicated and over communicated. It was mentioned at every meeting, lives in the logo and on every printed piece of literature and is reinforced every time someone picks up the phone. Application: Most change efforts fail because the vision is under communicated.
Success Secret #2: A Gnarly, Unbelievably HUGE Goal!
My experience is that people like to play for something BIG. They are looking for someone to raise the bar and challenge them to take performance to the next level. The 305th Services Squadron is a classic example.
Winning the LeMay to Air Force personnel is coveted, prestigious and hard to come by. To put it in civilian terms, it’s equivalent to winning the Malcolm Baldridge award for a business or the Super Bowl for football.
It’s BIG, real BIG.
Furthermore, there was no track record of success to build upon. McGuire had not even qualified to be nominated, let alone compete. The leadership team had never won the award and I guarantee you the front line personnel had never hoisted the celebrated trophy.
The key point: Folks always cheer for the underdog but they want to play for the winner.
The goal was specific, timely, measurable and reasonable (not necessarily believable for some) but not totally out of the question. They took the “We’re the Best” theme and added substance, heart and actionable to-do’s to reach the desired goal: “Win the LeMay.” The team understood the positive ramifications of moving closer toward the vision and accomplishing the goal.
Success Secret #3: A Shift in Perspective:
Key point: Perspective influences behavior. If you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re right.
Commander Schlumpberger led the team in seeing new possibilities and then equipping her team to gain the skills, talents and insights to perform from a different perspective.
Once the team understood there was a new way to play the game and a new desired outcome, the shift began taking shape.
Similar to every change effort in all businesses, some people didn’t want to play by the new rules and perspective. They liked it the old way. They were comfortable with status quo. Many folks decided this wasn’t the place to play any longer and made a change.
Key point: Help people see that the world isn’t flat and there are different ways to play the game.
Success Secret #4: A Bold Game plan
Together with Commander Schlumpberger and her Executive team, we formulated a game plan which included the following elements:
a. Assessment: Where are we today compared to where we want to be? This was used to identify the high leverage, high payoff opportunities and to determine the perspectives of the entire squadron. (Remember, Perspective influences Behavior). For more information on this topic see our article: Measure What Matters
b. Alignment: We worked at gaining buy-in and ideas from the key players, the Activity Managers. They were involved in designing the process for moving from square one to the finish line. For more information see our article: Increasing Buy-in and Lowering Resistance to Change—Part 1 of a 3 Part Series
c. Commitment to Training: It’s unreasonable to think personnel will provide “WOW!” service unless they’ve been trained on the skills and attitudes needed to WOW! customers. Especially when you have a young workforce with little real world work experience and you face a high degree of employee turnover. Sound familiar to some of you? Therefore, we established a “I Got WOW!ED” orientation and training program. The goal: set people up to win from day one.
d. Leadership Development: A strong emphasis has been placed on growing and developing leaders within the squadron. We hold the belief that leadership is not for the few but available to all. Again, top leadership sees it as their responsibility to “grow the team.”
e. On-going evaluation: The Air Force understands that “in-flight corrections” must be made from time to time. It’s part of the game. Leadership aggressively looks for opportunities to keep moving progress forward.
Application to your world: Have a plan that includes all of the above and get outside help if you’re serious about playing to win.
Success Secret #5: Un-relentless leadership & Implementation
This is where the rubber meets the road. This is the missing element in most change programs: Leadership & Implementation.
If I had a dollar for every company that wants to provide “World Class Service” or be “leaders in their industry,” I’d be rich, retired and writing this article from my sail boat in the Bahamas.
The difference between a good idea and achieving success is leadership and implementation. I firmly believe that a mediocre plan which is implemented well will beat the best laid game plan implemented poorly.
We’ve worked with numerous companies who have proclaimed a desire to be number 1, the best, win the prize. They’ve had a game plan for success but when the going got tough, many of them folded under the pressure.
That’s where un-relentless leadership kicks in. It’s leadership that moves a company through the “We don’t quite see it yet,” periods. Leadership helps move the team through the tough times when folks are breaking out of their comfort zones. Leadership helps keep the focus on the prize ahead and works diligently to help remove road blocks leading toward the vision. Leadership supports everyone in performing at a consistently higher level. Leadership keeps raising the bar and challenging the performers to reach even further. When folks begin saying “No,” leaders counter with “Why not?”
As a professional performance strategist, I feel very passionate about this leadership piece. I’ve seen it both make and break, change efforts and innovation. I believe many companies have superb manager-ship but lack the leadership needed be the best-of-the-best.
Commander Schlumpberger and her team are to be commended for their leadership in this process. They didn’t allow circumstances to dictate success. They played the cards dealt to them: tight budgets, understaffed, high turnover, demanding schedules, unexpected interruptions (preparing for a war), and countless day-to-day challenges of performing their job. They already have plenty on their plate without this new goal, yet they found a way to win. One more important note, the Commander was supported and encouraged by her boss, Brig. General Teresa Peterson. The process must be supported at the top!
Leadership and Implementation—I saved it for last but it should most likely be number 1. Without leadership, why bother?
High five, Commander & team! I’m inspired by your example.
Conclusion: I love stories of teams, organizations and individuals who go from worst-to-first, over come insurmountable obstacles and say “YES!” to possibilities. I love hearing about folks who have a dream and work diligently to make the dream a reality. I love being part of a winning team.
To the folks at the 305th Services Squadron: Thanks for allowing me to play a small part in your success. You should take a long sip from the sweet urn of victory!
P.S. To Readers:
If you haven’t taken the time to say “Thanks” to a member of the military, their families or the civilians working to support our troops, make a point to do so this week. I witnessed first hand the hard work, countless hours and dedication of our men and women in uniform. Let ‘em know you appreciate their sacrifice.
