bull in a china shop powerful passionate
driven but often destructive that was
most of my professional career I’ve
spent time as a three-time CEO of run
organizations drive for mission and now
have transitioned and I’m working with
other CEOs other bulls I want you to
think about this persona of bull and
then quickly shift to the herds that
you’re in we each are in collection of
bulls our family our church our
classmates our organization in which we
work and there are these herds when we
think of herd we have this the
protection of the herd the safety the
belonging I also want you to think about
this concept if we have powerful
passionate Bulls inside the heard what
the herd can become so when we think of
this herd mentality we have to first
realize that the herd is made up of both
and that for me bull is a gender-neutral
turn I got most of my bull persona for
my mom who was a college professor who
always was driving us to perform the
passionate work hard and this concept of
bull for me is this inner power and
strength that we all can bring but as I
work with CEOs business leaders
organizations you find inside of herds
there are three types of both the first
are Bulls that are in the ring angry
bitter disgruntled bloodied hurt they
hurt others they are engaged and
passionate but in a negative destructive
way as you think about your own herds
your family your organization work
groups do you have these Bulls in your
herd
what do they do to the herd we also have
these Bulls that are led by the ring
helpless hapless waiting for direction
sitting on the sidelines it’s the
proverbial herd mentality we all just
kind of follow we have this concept of a
ring in the nose that we have to clamp
something into and guide them to water
to food to work to passion we also have
Bulls that I talked about that are
ringing the bell this concept of ringing
of the Bell is one that is full of
passion power celebrating life looking
for opportunities to celebrate and bring
passion to the herd so if we think about
this collection in our in our herds and
think about each of our herds as a
rowboat Gallup poll does this every year
they’ve done it for 20 years since 1997
they look at the state of the American
workforce and they put them all in this
little rowboat here are our bowls we
have these bowls at the front of the
rowboat that are ringing the bell
passionate driven excited for 20 years
that number has barely eclipsed 30% of
the American workforce only one in three
workers in America is excited about
going to work today 50% the middle five
of all of these Bulls in the rowboat
going through the motions looking at
their watch when do we get off work
today we’re out here on a bright sunny
day wiro we have to guide them drive
them to be passionate and then these
last two angry bitter disgruntled both
steam coming out of their noses here
pictured driving holes in our rowboat
hitting each other with or the other
Bulls with oars rolling backwards we
have all of these Bulls in our herds
in our rowboat when we think about our
organization is this rowboat and say how
do we move forward how do we harness the
power of all the Bulls in our
organization we pause for a minute and
say the key driver that moves our
organization forward is this compelling
vision that we’re all here together that
this herd can be more than the
collection of our individual selves and
persona and that this clear vision
compels us like a magnet to be drawn
into the herd to belong to the herd to
take part of what’s going on in this
organization if it’s a magnet that
compels I’ll also urge you to think
about can this vision reap out so I went
to the u.s. Naval Academy the vision of
the u.s. Naval Academy is to prepare
midshipman mentally morally and
physically to be naval officers for a
group of eighteen and nineteen year old
men and women that’s very compelling
equally for a group of eighteen and
nineteen year old women that’s
rappelling so the vision of your
organization sets this magnet draws the
right people and pushes the wrong people
away great example that is Southwest
Airlines to connect people with what’s
most important in their lives that’s the
reason they exist they say to connect
people with what’s most important in
their lives they go on to say we will be
the most loved most flown most
profitable airline in the world you are
either compelled to be part of that
where you repelled and would rather go
work for another airline what also helps
us harness the power of our heard is
this concept of values inside our
families inside our church organizations
inside our workplace inside our work
teams we have this written or unwritten
set of values too often in organizations
their table stakes
that we will be trusting will be honest
we’ll work hard words on a wall that
have no meaning or
they’re so aspirational that we can
never get there these core values
instead need to be things like were
willing to sweep floors it’s a statement
inside the organization that everyone
understands that connotes or drives
everyone to say there’s nothing beneath
any of us we’re all willing to work hard
and we can talk about it before people
come into our organization we can
measure them against it and we can ask
them to leave when they can’t act in
accordance with that behavior so it
should describe in meaningful ways the
values that exist inside your Erb things
like we all kill our own spiders we
don’t bring someone into our office to
kill the spider or take care of this
problem we take care of it ourselves so
these values should describe how we act
and behave inside the herd and hold us
all to a standard of behavior the third
area in which we look at and say how do
i harness the power of our herd we set
meaningful high expectations the place
that that’s most evident is sports teams
there are a collection of sports teams
every year the Royals a couple years ago
that start the season with an
expectation of winning the World Series
the Super Bowl the national championship
there is also a set of organizations
that say we hope we break 500 where are
your herds you think about organizations
there are plenty that say we have this
high expectation and high standard
there’s others that are going through
the motion and there’s others that are
dysfunctional if you think about these
values and expectations in your
organization they drive behavior and it
can become circular chicken-and-egg
which came first great example of that
is a school called Chicago Urban Prep
all-black school in the south side of
Chicago all male they where you
forms and they start every day reciting
this Creed starts with we believe third
line is we are college bound last line
is we believe scattered in there we make
no excuses we are brother’s keeper it
starts with an expectation before you
join the school that you are college
bound you recite it and say it every day
and the school holds you accountable for
that expectation seven years in a row a
hundred percent college acceptance for
an all-male south side of Chicago high
school what expectations you have inside
your organizations and your herds and
the last area is engagement Gallup poll
every fear talks about engagement is the
problem inside our organizations inside
our workplace that we don’t meet our
people our Bulls in a meaningful way in
my travels what you see that works and
drives engagement as organizations that
meet regularly all hands that drive with
clarity reinforcement and real meaning
here’s our vision here’s our values
here’s the expectation here’s how we did
this month this quarter this year
against our vision our values and our
expectations they engage in meaningful
ways they find ways to move beyond the
business and eat together so when I look
at thriving organizations they eat
together u.s. Naval Academy every day
three meals a day four thousand in
shipments sit down and eat together all
organizations thrive when you see that
engagement beyond the workday and then
lastly as organizations as leaders as
everyone in the organization we need to
find ways to meet one-on-one to nurture
and grow and men
or our bulls in meaningful ways so we
have this herd you all are in multiple
herds I’m in my family and in a
workplace I’m working with clients
whatever this collection or interaction
that you have with other bulls is driven
by these four things how compelling a
vision what draws people into this herd
and keeps them coming what values that
we establish and do we act and behave
this way regularly do we set high
expectations and do we engage in
meaningful ways also remember that we’re
all both we have a choice every day how
we cometh the world we can come at the
world in the way that says I’m angry
bitter and disgruntled I’m in the ring
you can come at the world as I’m going
through the motions helpless hapless
status quo or I can come at the world
saying it’s worth celebrating today I
can do something passionate and powerful
I can move my organization forward it’s
a choice so I ask you all to think about
the choice and ring the bell
today and the next day thank you
[Applause]
you
driven but often destructive that was
most of my professional career I’ve
spent time as a three-time CEO of run
organizations drive for mission and now
have transitioned and I’m working with
other CEOs other bulls I want you to
think about this persona of bull and
then quickly shift to the herds that
you’re in we each are in collection of
bulls our family our church our
classmates our organization in which we
work and there are these herds when we
think of herd we have this the
protection of the herd the safety the
belonging I also want you to think about
this concept if we have powerful
passionate Bulls inside the heard what
the herd can become so when we think of
this herd mentality we have to first
realize that the herd is made up of both
and that for me bull is a gender-neutral
turn I got most of my bull persona for
my mom who was a college professor who
always was driving us to perform the
passionate work hard and this concept of
bull for me is this inner power and
strength that we all can bring but as I
work with CEOs business leaders
organizations you find inside of herds
there are three types of both the first
are Bulls that are in the ring angry
bitter disgruntled bloodied hurt they
hurt others they are engaged and
passionate but in a negative destructive
way as you think about your own herds
your family your organization work
groups do you have these Bulls in your
herd
what do they do to the herd we also have
these Bulls that are led by the ring
helpless hapless waiting for direction
sitting on the sidelines it’s the
proverbial herd mentality we all just
kind of follow we have this concept of a
ring in the nose that we have to clamp
something into and guide them to water
to food to work to passion we also have
Bulls that I talked about that are
ringing the bell this concept of ringing
of the Bell is one that is full of
passion power celebrating life looking
for opportunities to celebrate and bring
passion to the herd so if we think about
this collection in our in our herds and
think about each of our herds as a
rowboat Gallup poll does this every year
they’ve done it for 20 years since 1997
they look at the state of the American
workforce and they put them all in this
little rowboat here are our bowls we
have these bowls at the front of the
rowboat that are ringing the bell
passionate driven excited for 20 years
that number has barely eclipsed 30% of
the American workforce only one in three
workers in America is excited about
going to work today 50% the middle five
of all of these Bulls in the rowboat
going through the motions looking at
their watch when do we get off work
today we’re out here on a bright sunny
day wiro we have to guide them drive
them to be passionate and then these
last two angry bitter disgruntled both
steam coming out of their noses here
pictured driving holes in our rowboat
hitting each other with or the other
Bulls with oars rolling backwards we
have all of these Bulls in our herds
in our rowboat when we think about our
organization is this rowboat and say how
do we move forward how do we harness the
power of all the Bulls in our
organization we pause for a minute and
say the key driver that moves our
organization forward is this compelling
vision that we’re all here together that
this herd can be more than the
collection of our individual selves and
persona and that this clear vision
compels us like a magnet to be drawn
into the herd to belong to the herd to
take part of what’s going on in this
organization if it’s a magnet that
compels I’ll also urge you to think
about can this vision reap out so I went
to the u.s. Naval Academy the vision of
the u.s. Naval Academy is to prepare
midshipman mentally morally and
physically to be naval officers for a
group of eighteen and nineteen year old
men and women that’s very compelling
equally for a group of eighteen and
nineteen year old women that’s
rappelling so the vision of your
organization sets this magnet draws the
right people and pushes the wrong people
away great example that is Southwest
Airlines to connect people with what’s
most important in their lives that’s the
reason they exist they say to connect
people with what’s most important in
their lives they go on to say we will be
the most loved most flown most
profitable airline in the world you are
either compelled to be part of that
where you repelled and would rather go
work for another airline what also helps
us harness the power of our heard is
this concept of values inside our
families inside our church organizations
inside our workplace inside our work
teams we have this written or unwritten
set of values too often in organizations
their table stakes
that we will be trusting will be honest
we’ll work hard words on a wall that
have no meaning or
they’re so aspirational that we can
never get there these core values
instead need to be things like were
willing to sweep floors it’s a statement
inside the organization that everyone
understands that connotes or drives
everyone to say there’s nothing beneath
any of us we’re all willing to work hard
and we can talk about it before people
come into our organization we can
measure them against it and we can ask
them to leave when they can’t act in
accordance with that behavior so it
should describe in meaningful ways the
values that exist inside your Erb things
like we all kill our own spiders we
don’t bring someone into our office to
kill the spider or take care of this
problem we take care of it ourselves so
these values should describe how we act
and behave inside the herd and hold us
all to a standard of behavior the third
area in which we look at and say how do
i harness the power of our herd we set
meaningful high expectations the place
that that’s most evident is sports teams
there are a collection of sports teams
every year the Royals a couple years ago
that start the season with an
expectation of winning the World Series
the Super Bowl the national championship
there is also a set of organizations
that say we hope we break 500 where are
your herds you think about organizations
there are plenty that say we have this
high expectation and high standard
there’s others that are going through
the motion and there’s others that are
dysfunctional if you think about these
values and expectations in your
organization they drive behavior and it
can become circular chicken-and-egg
which came first great example of that
is a school called Chicago Urban Prep
all-black school in the south side of
Chicago all male they where you
forms and they start every day reciting
this Creed starts with we believe third
line is we are college bound last line
is we believe scattered in there we make
no excuses we are brother’s keeper it
starts with an expectation before you
join the school that you are college
bound you recite it and say it every day
and the school holds you accountable for
that expectation seven years in a row a
hundred percent college acceptance for
an all-male south side of Chicago high
school what expectations you have inside
your organizations and your herds and
the last area is engagement Gallup poll
every fear talks about engagement is the
problem inside our organizations inside
our workplace that we don’t meet our
people our Bulls in a meaningful way in
my travels what you see that works and
drives engagement as organizations that
meet regularly all hands that drive with
clarity reinforcement and real meaning
here’s our vision here’s our values
here’s the expectation here’s how we did
this month this quarter this year
against our vision our values and our
expectations they engage in meaningful
ways they find ways to move beyond the
business and eat together so when I look
at thriving organizations they eat
together u.s. Naval Academy every day
three meals a day four thousand in
shipments sit down and eat together all
organizations thrive when you see that
engagement beyond the workday and then
lastly as organizations as leaders as
everyone in the organization we need to
find ways to meet one-on-one to nurture
and grow and men
or our bulls in meaningful ways so we
have this herd you all are in multiple
herds I’m in my family and in a
workplace I’m working with clients
whatever this collection or interaction
that you have with other bulls is driven
by these four things how compelling a
vision what draws people into this herd
and keeps them coming what values that
we establish and do we act and behave
this way regularly do we set high
expectations and do we engage in
meaningful ways also remember that we’re
all both we have a choice every day how
we cometh the world we can come at the
world in the way that says I’m angry
bitter and disgruntled I’m in the ring
you can come at the world as I’m going
through the motions helpless hapless
status quo or I can come at the world
saying it’s worth celebrating today I
can do something passionate and powerful
I can move my organization forward it’s
a choice so I ask you all to think about
the choice and ring the bell
today and the next day thank you
[Applause]
you
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