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Trust is the foundation that leadership builds upon. All effective leaders know this to be true. As PepsiCo chairman and CEO Craig Weatherup put it, “People will tolerate honest mistakes, but if you violate their trust you will find it very difficult to ever regain their confidence. That is one reason that you need to treat trust as your most precious asset.” 

When I accepted the opportunity at the Institute, the President of the Board was accustomed to being in control and so was I. He was a man in his 60’s who had been brought up in a generation where men were very often thought to be the ‘real’ leaders. I, too, was accustomed to leading and required absolute authority to implement the steps I believed would take us to our goals. I am both an entrepreneur and a visionary and there is probably not a tougher combination; those two things do not necessarily go hand in hand.

How these two personalities came to not only work together effectively, but to prize each other immensely, is a work in leadership. Each had to learn when to lead and when to follow and with a rhythm that allowed the changing of roles to occur without a break in step. If there is any word that describes the foundation required to support this, it is “trust.” Trust in not only in the protection of the other’s best interest, but trust in the decisions that the other would make; trust that supported each other’s decisions even when we weren’t in full agreement.  

One of the first examples of the development of this trust was the negotiation of my contract. First of all, I come from a culture where I do not work without one, and secondly, I am accustomed to negotiating them. Let me describe how my negotiation with the Board President went. He knew I was ready to go to the mat. After all, it was clear to me that I was taking on a serious endeavor in a culture that constantly surprised me. He carefully reviewed my contract after which he looked up with pen in hand and said, “Well, I don’t like this for you and I don’t like this……”  And so began our relationship of trust.  

The President of the Board was a smart and highly intuitive man, and he understood, as did I, that to accomplish the goal we had to secure the environment. We both knew that if I did not have unshakable backing, the tough decisions I would need to make would put the whole operation at risk. If your leader is a casualty of war, you have no real hope, and we were at war with the challenges of a start-up. This was the first step of leadership collaboration that set the stage for many others. And the initiator was trust. 

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There is a difference between a strategic planner and a strategic thinker. Strategic planning is an intellectual process where the greatest risk is convincing the author that all is on track; strategic thinking is an instinctual process that requires ongoing evaluation of decisions, and continual readjustment. Strategic planning is like a road trip with a map in hand; strategic thinking is more like sailing, where an ability to remain consistently in tune with changing elements is essential for arriving at the destination. 

Though the elements necessary to the writing of a business plan can be found in many books, the ability to actually develop one requires years of tactile experience. These are skills acquired in the field and sometimes the best teacher is failure itself. The ability to translate a negative experience into one that adds to the wisdom and insight of a professional is an important one. In the late 80’s, I took the challenge of working with a failing market in Boston. It was at this time that I established a practice focused primarily on firms in transition. This not only included start-ups, restructuring and mergers, but dissolutions as well. It was a transitional market with many firms in great need of support. The lessons gleaned from that experience have been universally beneficial to me in my ongoing work.  

If I had taken a predictable route, I would have kept my secure internal position in an insecure market. I also would have foregone a tremendous opportunity and one I have never regretted. It takes an entrepreneurial heart to bear the risk of a new venture. More than anything, it takes logical processing of the risks and benefits and then, most importantly, a plan for overcoming the obstacles. Intuition is your greatest weapon and it is a skill bought with experience.  

When building your team, value collaboration with those who have lived through the process. Recognize strategic thinkers and find ways to engage them in your plan. Don’t make the mistake of executing a textbook exercise. Sometimes your most valuable players are very different than you might have imagined them to be. Acknowledge experience, but prize instinct. Become an expert in collaboration. It is all about informed intuition.  

Leaders are readers of their situation, of trends, of their resources, of people and most importantly themselves. 

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“People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.”

-  John Maxwell

When I was asked to take a firm in middle New Hampshire from a primarily manual system to an automated one, from a staff of untrained, uneducated personnel to a high-quality work force and to relocate the organization from an old Victorian mansion to new office space downtown, I knew I was in for a challenge. As you can imagine, the staff regarded me somewhat suspiciously. I had entered their world to elicit profound change. One of the first things I do when I enter a new environment is observe. What is the culture, what are the dynamics, what are the issues at hand? And, most importantly, if I identify problems, are they really what they seem?  

In this environment, the staff was in the habit of taking long breaks during the day and they literally watched the clock waiting for the break times to occur. This was a professional environment and, oftentimes, the staff stopped for a break at crucial times during the day, rather than waiting for a lull in the workflow. As I observed this situation, several things came to light. First, when on break, the majority of the staff made a beeline for the snack machine or cigarettes. Secondly, the staff was made up of an unusual number of single mothers with young children and, thirdly, they really seemed to want to perform well, but something was in the way.  

As I watched the daily dynamics, it occurred to me that these people were hungry. I realized that a single mom who is struggling to get her children off to school rarely has time for breakfast, and the rural proximity of the business did not offer many places to pick up something to eat. I began to remove the rules and address the problem. I delegated the responsibility of grocery shopping to the firm’s messenger and stocked the kitchen with fresh fruit, cereal, milk, juice and other nutritious foods. The staff began to arrive a few minutes early to have breakfast. They began to take their food back to their desk and begin their day early. When they were hungry during the day, they again brought food back to their desks. Break times all but disappeared without notice. 

My credibility as their leader was greatly enhanced by my willingness to identify and meet their needs. All of the policies and procedures cannot accomplish what connecting with your people will do.   

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When I began my work at the Institute, I saw how establishing it in a number of markets would give it the greatest opportunity for success. My goals began to stretch beyond the Institute and include economic growth for the city. I began to make trips to National Institute of Health on a regular basis, building relationships with those who could further our goals. We lobbied for increased NIH funding on Capitol Hill and developed contacts with state and local government to encourage citywide effort for growth in this area.  

Through the process of stretching the original vision of the Institute and what it could do on a larger scale, I began to understand and appreciate more about the Southern culture. I began to understand that the city was in some ways in the same state of flux as the businesses I had worked for so long to assist. I began to see that, what originally I perceived as resistance to change was often a lack of understanding of what the change could mean. I found community leaders to be warm and receptive to the concepts at hand, once they were assured that the direction would lead to a stronger Memphis. Where I had once felt like a fish out of water, I began to feel like a part of a team driven toward a common goal. As I ventured out as the spokesperson for the Institute, I was logically concerned that as an “unknown” my message would not be heard. I had also been told many times that the South would be resistant to a female leader. However, I believed that the essence of good leadership is defined by character, not gender. I also believed that if I lived by my beliefs, utilized my skills and experience, and persevered in the face of all obstacles, my point would become clear.  

One of my most prized memories in this process is a moment I shared with an observer. The person was a family member of the Board’s President. The story went like this: “Well, it has been interesting watching him evolve with you. The other day he said, ‘Well, she thinks like a man, she works like a man, why shouldn’t she be paid like a man?” Now I know some may feel offended by this comment, but to me it was a gift. It was the verbalization of a person’s evolving understanding of the many faces of leadership. It was spoken within the context of the culture he had helped me begin to understand.  

There is no one face of leadership. In fact, in any given situation, the same leader may incorporate many different styles. In Boston, my style was more distant and assertive than it has been in most situations here. The culture was different and it required a different style of communication. When I first took this role in Memphis, people would ask me what I thought of it here, and I would say, “I like it here, everyone hugs you.” In the business environment here, I am the first to hug, talk about my children, and yet still remain fully capable of making tough decisions and holding a front-line position. The culture of the South requires a more accessible leader. What would be frowned upon in one environment is embraced in another. This is a dynamic of this culture that I absolutely love. It allows me to be accepted in the many roles I play: mother, wife and business leader. 

I hope that my adaptation curve has allowed others to see that finding the language of your audience is one the most important responsibilities of leadership. It makes no difference how profound your insights, if your audience cannot understand the language of your style. That is “The Law of Buy In.”  

Let me conclude here with an important law of my own here: 

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Once again, this is where the importance of your investment in your team, your plan, your barometers, and your skill, show up. Sometimes the most important war you wage is on the battlefield of your mind.  

When I hire new employees, we utilize a multi-step process. By the time they get to me, others have evaluated their skills and pertinent knowledge. I am looking for chemistry, for synergy with the team and the challenges at hand. The first question I ask is: “What are the three things that defeat you?” Almost everyone knows the answer to this question, but few have ever been asked. Their answers tell me a lot about their ability to weather the storms inherent in any challenging environment. Since I am usually hiring for firms in transition, I lay out the risks as I see them, and those that may arise. No one comes into the organization without understanding the game at hand. This approach removes fear and doubt, as only those who are up for the challenge will remain.  

So much of what we have spoken about tonight culminates when it isn’t working. There is a time when your best efforts are not bringing forth the results you are so dedicated to achieving. It is a time when the brilliance of your idea loses its shine and the tides have shifted against you. Somewhere there is a fine line that divides the guts to hold on and the good sense not to. It is a time that many entrepreneurs face, when an idea is failing. There are many tools, from financial barometers to marketing navigators, that will tell you when you have transitioned into this side of the game, but nothing will tell you more clearly than your instinct. Investing in the development of your leadership skills ensures survival in the long haul. Not just the survival of an entity or idea, but the sustaining of the spirit that forms an entrepreneur.  

By investing daily in your leadership skills, your team, your course, your sphere of influence and your process of decision making, you are developing the platform for evaluating your success. You are ensuring the enhancement of your ability to discern the right pathways and to execute good judgment under duress. So often times those who seek to begin a business are not prepared for ending one. Those who launch an idea are not prepared to evaluate its ability to work. Failure is viewed as the unthinkable, and therefore ignored as an option. Failure is the father of experience. It is often the foundation upon which significant success is built. 

Every evolving business needs two insurance plans: an external mentor and an exit strategy. A good external mentor will not allow you to be lulled into a false sense of security. Their objectivity will point out the obstacles you will naturally want to ignore. There is a tremendous dichotomy that exists between the indomitable spirit required to make a plan work and the insight to admit that it doesn’t.

Write your exit strategy when you write your business plan, before you become so enamored with your concept that you cannot rationally discern its progress. Read your exit strategy regularly enough to know if you have moved into dangerous zones. Know early if you are moving off-course and plan accordingly. Know the limits of your ability to take risks and discipline yourself to act accordingly. There is nothing wrong with the orderly dissolution of either a company or an idea. There is a lot wrong with a disorderly one.  

Prize the investment you make in your leadership skills above the ones you make in your enterprise. Circumstances own one; you own the other.    

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In concluding I would like to leave you with a few points to ponder. As an entrepreneur, your greatest calling is leadership. You will be called upon daily to provide insight and direction to those that depend highly on your ability to execute good judgment in situations where you will have limited information. The process of an evolving business places extreme demands on your knowledge, instincts, insights and abilities. It will hold you to truths that will challenge your ego, if you are dedicated to growth. It is imperative that, as a leader charged with such monumental responsibilities, you build your resources of advisors. Leaders do not work in a vacuum; they surround themselves with those that bring added strength to the table. They develop teams, both in employees and outside resources, which will enhance their capabilities. And good leaders develop others. Build your team well, know the resources that will be instrumental to your success and use them wisely.  

 In the powerful words of Theodore Roosevelt, we learn much about the heart of a leader:  

“It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievements; and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”

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