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Posts Tagged ‘Integrity’

Follow Through Changes the Game

Posted in Excellence, Faith, Faith and Work, Influence, Integrity, Relationships, Work, tagged , , , , , , , , on November 6, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

How often do you let emails or phone messages pile up before you communicate back? Have you ever had a business meeting with a customer, but never followed up with them? Or committed to do something but never followed through with it?

What if Tiger didn’t follow through with his shot? How about you at work?

These are issues we all face at one time or another.  So, what’s the big deal?  Read what our guest blogger, Michael Dodd, former University of Arkansas ASG president, WorkMatters Kairos alumni, and now a Walmart associate in the Merchandise Leadership Program, has to say on this subject…

The Sundown Rule was Sam Walton’s twist on that old adage “why put off until tomorrow what you can do today.” It is still an important part of the Walmart culture and is one reason Walmart is so well known for its customer service. The observation from the Sundown Rule means that Walmart strives to answer requests by sundown on the day they receive them, following through in a big way.

I have learned a few lessons in the workplace as a young associate, but none has stuck with me more so than the importance of following up and delivering what you say you’re going to do. Through many failures and successes, I’ve seen the power that following up has in defining my competence, trust, and in some cases, integrity. I’ve also seen how it can mean a lot to spiritual growth opportunities, as well.

But at what point do you put emails before quality time with others? At what point does it take too long to answer emails, and you just stop answering? Think about this…

  • While email communication is losing value, God desires us to be excellent in our work and in our communication and replying to requests or just shooting a quick “nice to meet you” is something that sets the tone for a relationship.
  • The ability to follow up can add more value to a career or relationship than nearly anything else, by simply being intentional to follow up and doing it in a timely manner.
  • Following up on prayer requests is something that God has been pointing me to do more and more – and revealing his ability to answer prayer can be a great testimony to his power!
  • Following up to set a relationship in motion that could be kingdom-oriented is exactly how you make work a calling.

“For he says, ‘in a favorable time I listened to you, and in a day of salvation I have helped you.’ Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” 2 Corinthians 6:2

The more we follow up, the more we are able to influence lives for the Lord. And when we’re too busy to follow up with everyone, we should seek the Lord’s counsel on how best to spend our time.

Mike Duke recently spoke to a UA class that I visited, and passed on this last piece of advice to those of us that were there: “Be trusted first; deliver what you say; when you make a promise, keep it.” As we look toward our Heavenly boss, let us strive to follow up: “I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do.” John 17:4

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5 Ways to Thank Administrative Professionals

Posted in Excellence, Integrity, Servant Leadership, Serve, Trust, tagged , , , , , , , on April 24, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

Regardless of the focus of your work,  many of us interact in some way with an Administrative Professional. As Wednesday is Administrative Professionals’ Day, it is a perfect day for us to give back! To say thank you to someone with a real servant heart.

Today, there are more than 4.1 million secretaries and administrative assistants working in the United States, according to U.S. Department of Labor statistics, and 8.9 million people working in various administrative support roles. More than 475,000 administrative professionals are employed in Canada. Millions more administrative professionals work in offices all over the world.

If you are an Administrative Assistant…THANK YOU! I have found in my years in the marketplace that a talented “Admin” has an enormous impact on an organization. As a general rule, Administrative Assistants are smart, organized, have a servant heart, have good communication skills, know how to say no, can manage multiple projects simultaneously, and most of all they are trustworthy and of strong integrity.

WorkMatters would like to honor one Administrative Professional today by donating one ticket to our May 4 WorkMatters Leadercast here in northwest Arkansas! Be the first to send us an email and we will be honored to make that happen.

If you work with an Administrative Assistant, here are a few tips to say thank you:

  1. Simply walk up to their desk and tell them how grateful you are for the important work they do.
  2. Nothing says thank you like a DaySpring or Hallmark card or e-card!
  3. Give them an inspirational book with a personal note written on the inside cover.
  4. Take them to a thank you lunch with their boss/es.
  5. Providing training opportunities (like the Leadercast) through continuing education, self-study materials, or seminars.

Administrative Professionals…your work matters!

Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not people.    Ephesians 6:7


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10 Lessons Learned from Jeff Long

Posted in Adversity, Honesty, Influence, Integrity, Leadership, Relationships, Vision, Wisdom, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on April 12, 2012 | 6 Comments »

The last seven days have yielded one of the most powerful displays of leadership that I have ever witnessed. Even if you are not a sports fan, you have likely heard the recent saga of University of Arkansas Football Coach Bobby Petrino. While  there are undoubtedly critical lessons we need to learn from Coach Petrino’s story, the REAL leadership story is found in University of Arkansas Athletic Director Jeff Long.

This is a story of a leader who found himself in what most people described as a “no-win” situation. Jeff Long had an employee on his team who was an incredible performer. He had achieved almost superstar status from his “customers”. Revenue was at an all-time high largely due to this employee.  The national buzz was off the charts and the future looked even brighter than the past. This is a story that  we often see in the marketplace, isn’t it? As the leader, what do you do?  The only thing riding on the decision is the psyche of a state, a potential national championship and the near-term future of the University of Arkansas.

A good case could be made for forgiveness with discipline. Let’s keep the train on the tracks. Let’s do what most other leaders do. Let’s do what the “world” tells us to do. That is NOT what Jeff Long chose to do.

I have included the full press conference here. If you haven’t seen it, please take time to watch it. You will be amazed. If you have seen it, I encourage you to watch it again. But this time, watch it with your leadership eyes. Go to school on what you see here from a courageous leader.

Here’s a sampling of the leadership lessons I learned:

  1. Integrity - Doing the right thing, is never the wrong thing.
  2. Wisdom and Courage - have the wisdom to know what to do, and the courage to do it.
  3. Compassion - his heart is deeply connected to the mission. He hurt for everyone who lost in this situation (especially the players).
  4. Details - a great leader is willing to understand and execute.
  5. Decisiveness - his assuredness created a persuasive confidence in the masses.
  6. Vision - communicating the future state with confidence creates emotion and commitment.
  7. Choices - as leaders we face them everyday. Are we willing to do the right thing no matter what the outcome?
  8. Excuses – it was never about Jeff Long. You can only imagine the turmoil he went through. 
  9. Passion - do we really care about the mission and purpose of our work? 
  10. Influence - last…our work is a platform for influence. Jeff Long made the hard choice. The by-product is an impact in thousands of peoples lives that you can have honor and integrity.
Thanks Jeff…for giving us hope. For allowing your life at work to be a bright light for the rest of us.

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Integrity in our Words

Posted in Integrity, Seven Pillars of Faith and Work, tagged , on November 9, 2011 | 1 Comment »

Our final guest blog on INTEGRITY comes today from John Roberts, CEO, J.B. Hunt Transport. John has begun blogging inside J.B. Hunt to share ideas and create a dialog between associates. He agreed to share this thinking with you today.

We have talked a great deal about our Team and the People that make it work.  Each day, every one of us makes commitments and promises to other people no matter what job we are doing.  These vows we make to each other drive us forward.  The company has been built on that principle of integrity from the very beginning.

It is said that you don’t need to add incremental promises to your word by swearing an oath.  You word is good enough on its own.  A good line is…”your word is the only thing you can give and keep at the same time.” Every day, we are a surging mass of connections and commitments, all working together.  That means that we are entirely counting on each other to do whatever it is that we said we would do, every time.

I will work hard to do my part.

John

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Navigating the Integrity Minefield

Posted in Faith and Work, Honesty, Integrity, Leadership, Seven Pillars of Faith and Work, tagged , , , , , , , , , on October 26, 2011 | Leave a Comment »

Ethics training often comes to us as hypothetical scenarios that barely resemble anything we see as “regular” workers, and hardly provides a map to navigate the hazards challenging our integrity at work.  Most of us will never experience an Enron scandal, or a Madoff ponzi scheme at work.  People familiar with these matters must have been pros at navigating around the landmines planted by the choices of their leaders…

More likely, our landmines look like small choices made every day; how do I report my business results and how they were achieved, or should I expense this or that.  In office environments our landmines are often temptations that take us away from our work.  Maybe it’s fantasy football, endless web surfing, or bidding for that primo iPhone 4 on eBay.  Often these landmines seem very small and insignificant, but that’s EXACTLY where we get blown up.

If we agree that the small things are the most likely to challenge our integrity, what can we do to protect ourselves and bolster our decision-making all week-long?  Here are a few practical tips for navigating the minefields at work:

  1. Follow the manual. Nearly every employer has a handbook of sorts. If they don’t (or even if they do), use Proverbs 11 as your guide.  It’s all spelled out there!
  2. Weigh the consequences.  Sad choices can ruin careers.  Are a few extra bucks in your pocket or praise you didn’t earn worth risking your career or reputation?  Not likely!
  3. Ask “what if Jesus was watching me?”  If you had to submit your reports to Jesus, would they stay as-is? Hey, He knows the truth anyway…

Truthfully, the real landmine damage is actually done to your fellowship with God.  He wants all of you at work and wants you to experience all He has planned for you.  Remember that “…God tests the heart and is pleased in integrity…” (1 Chronicles 29:17) and that He has your back at work.

Honor Him with your eight to five and He will honor you for a lifetime.

In the minefield with you, Steve

This is a guest post by Steve Toth. He is a husband, father of two wonderful children, and the business unit leader at Novar. He was the marketplace teacher at our recent Eight to Five event focused on INTEGRITY, one of the Seven Pillars of Faith at Work. His teaching is available to you now in Video, Podcast, and Executive Summary formats.

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Do I Make Sad Choices?

Posted in Decisions, Faith and Work, Honesty, Integrity, Seven Pillars of Faith and Work, tagged , , , , on October 21, 2011 | Leave a Comment »

This is a guest post by Steve Toth. He is a husband, father of two wonderful children, and the business unit leader at Novar. He was the marketplace teacher at our recent Eight to Five event focused on INTEGRITY, one of the Seven Pillars of Faith at Work. His teaching is available to you now in Video, Podcast, and Executive Summary formats.

My wife and I have young kids.  When they make decisions that don’t go well, we call it making “sad choices”.  Dragging your sister around by her hair is a sad choice.  Our kids are not bad, but sometimes their choices are sad…

It’s likely that most people who get caught up in a workplace scandals are not “bad”, but more likely they just make incremental sad choices.  In yesterday’s WSJ, there was another story about an executive who abused his company’s expense policy, and found himself “dismissed”.

How did this deposed leader get there?  Did he have a career of perfect adherence to policy and then one day decides to start making sad choices?  Who knows, besides him?  Regardless, sad choices may have ruined his career. We all know similar stories, don’t we?

What about you?  How do you protect yourself against making sad choices in the workplace and ensure that your words lead us AWAY  from sad choices and into the light?  Here are some practical tips to improve your odds:

  1. Use crisp messaging. Extra words for effect can easily open the door for black and white to turn to gray. Don’t be tempted to color a story for effect. Jesus said to let your yes be yes and your no be no.
  2. With regards to money or results, don’t round. $3.50 is “three point five”; not “three” and not “four”, regardless of the zeros attached.
  3. Purposefully give credit where credit is due. Let others reap the benefits of their work and results.  You will get your rewards in due time.

The Psalmist implores us to “speak the truth from our heart … utter no slander … and cast no slur on others.”  Psalm 15

All His, Steve Toth

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Are You Courageous at Home and Work?

Posted in Culture, Faith, Family, Friendship, Influence, Integrity, Jesus, Job Search, Marriage, Money, Parenting, Prayer, Trust, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on October 6, 2011 | 1 Comment »

Yesterday was the 20th anniversary of one of the most important days of my life. On October 5, 1991, Theresa and I said “I do and I will”!

In honor of that day 20 years ago, we spent the entire day together just having fun. We reflected on the past 20 years. We looked at old pictures, we told stories, we laughed, we questioned why on a few things that have happened in our lives. We shared two fabulous meals. We visited the site of the soon to open world renowned Crystal Bridges Museum.

And then we went to the movies. But this was not just any movie. This was a movie about life. About the very fabric of why we are here. About our marriages, our children, our work, and our faith. About being COURAGEOUS in living with great purpose in each of those arenas of life.

You may be familiar with the organization that also brought us the movies Fireproof and Facing the Giants. These are powerful examples of using media to impact our culture in positive ways.

For men and women, but especially Dad’s, take the time this weekend to see this movie. I find it impossible to believe that your life at home and at work will not be profoundly impacted.

Proverbs 22:6

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