{"id":25662,"date":"2014-08-22T00:00:01","date_gmt":"2014-08-22T07:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.etechgs.com\/?p=1003"},"modified":"2014-08-22T00:00:01","modified_gmt":"2014-08-22T07:00:01","slug":"talk-the-walk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/demo.etslabs.ai\/etech26\/talk-the-walk\/","title":{"rendered":"Do We “Talk the Walk?” – Third in the Global Strategies Series"},"content":{"rendered":"

As I have written this series on Global Strategies for 2014 and beyond, I\u2019ve been challenged to think long and hard about the most pressing strategies for us as an organization going forward.\u00a0 We toss around a lot of subjects from technology to growth and everything in between, but as my colleagues and I discuss these issues, it never fails to get back to the ONE thing that remains constant: PEOPLE!<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019m thankful to be part of an organization that puts people first.\u00a0 Our entire operation centers around servicing our customers and we have a deep understanding that our employees need to be cared for or they will not perform well.\u00a0 In my last blog entry in this series, I focused on the importance of building a positive work environment which would, in turn, strengthen our customer service.<\/p>\n

As I contemplated how to expand on this for this blog entry, I came across a fantastic article in the Harvard Business Review.\u00a0 This article shares the story of a company in Detroit that has seen phenomenal growth because of a specific language they teach their employees to speak. This \u201clanguage\u201d not only strengthens the work environment, but has put this company at the top when it comes to customer service.\u00a0\u00a0 This article resonated with me so deeply, I felt it was worth reposting. I promise you, you\u2019re in for a treat!\u00a0 Enjoy!<\/p>\n

The Best Leaders \u201cTalk the Walk\u201d<\/h3>\n

By Bill Taylor<\/strong><\/p>\n

One of the most ubiquitous aphorisms in business is that the best leaders understand the need to \u201cwalk the talk\u201d \u2014 that is, their behavior and day-to-day actions have to match the aspirations they have for their colleagues and organization. But the more time I spend with game-changing innovators and high-performing companies, the more I appreciate the need for leaders to \u201ctalk the walk\u201d \u2014 that is, to be able to explain, in language that is unique to their field and compelling to their colleagues and customers, why what they do matters and how they expect to win. The only sustainable form of business leadership is thought leadership. And leaders that think differently about their business invariably talk about it differently as well.<\/em><\/p>\n

I saw the power of language come to life earlier this summer when I made an eye-opening visit to a day-long orientation held every six weeks or so for new employees of Quicken Loans, the online mortgage lender based in Detroit and owned by high-profile billionaire Dan Gilbert. Quicken Loans is known for lots of things, from torrid growth<\/a> (the company closed a record $80 billion worth of home loans last year, up from $70 billion in 2012), to much-praised customer service<\/a> (it is a perennial JD Power customer-satisfaction winner), to its intense and outgoing corporate culture. But behind it all, at the heart of the company\u2019s approach to strategy, service, and culture, is a language system that defines life inside the organization and reminds everyone what really drives success.<\/em><\/p>\n

Founder Dan Gilbert and CEO Bill Emerson call this language the company\u2019s \u201cIsms\u201d<\/a> \u2014 which is why the rollicking, fast-paced, eight-hour orientation session is called \u201cIsms in Action.\u201d Gilbert and Emerson, who present separately and together over the entire eight hours \u2014 an executive teaching marathon unlike anything I have seen before \u2014 march employees through the company\u2019s 18 Isms, with a combination of slide shows, stand-up humor, war stories from the trenches, and unabashed appeals to the heart. A few of the Isms get covered in 10 or 15 minutes, some take an hour. But the end result is a full-day immersion in a whole new language \u2014 a \u201cvocabulary of competition\u201d that sets the company apart in the marketplace and holds people together in the workplace.<\/em><\/p>\n

On the day I attended, more than a thousand participants crowded into a ballroom in the Marriott Renaissance Center on the banks of the Detroit River. Gilbert and Emerson urged their new colleagues to embrace the idea that, \u201cThe inches we need are everywhere around us\u201d \u2014 in other words, there are countless small opportunities for people to tweak a product, or improve a process, that lead to big wins in the marketplace. They insisted, no excuses allowed, that everyone agree with the Ism, \u201cResponding with a sense of urgency is the ante to play.\u201d Gilbert personally emphasized again and again, sometimes with jokes, sometimes with withering disdain, the absolute requirement that Quicken employees return every phone call and every email on the same business day they were received. \u201cWe are zealots about this,\u201d he thundered, \u201cwe are on the lunatic fringe. And if you\u2019re \u2018too busy\u2019 to do it, I\u2019ll do it for you\u201d \u2014 at which point he gave out his direct-dial extension and promised to return phone calls for any overwhelmed colleagues.<\/em><\/p>\n

On and on it went \u2014 funny stories, sure, sage pieces of advice, a quick history of the company. But mainly an urgent iteration ands reiteration of the company\u2019s Isms:<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cNumbers and money follow, they do not lead.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cInnovation is rewarded, execution is worshipped.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSimplicity is genius.\u201d<\/p>\n

In business leadership, as in all forms of leadership, words matter. Indeed, several of the attendees with whom I spoke weren\u2019t new employees at all. They\u2019d come back for a refresher, a reminder, an opportunity to spend a day reacquainting themselves with the language that defines life at Quicken Loans, a chance to spend a day watching the founder and the CEO \u201ctalk the walk.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

So ask yourself, as you try to lead an organization, or a business unit, or a department: Have you developed a vocabulary of competition that helps everyone understand what makes your company or team special and what it takes for them to be at their best? Can you explain, in a language all your own, what separates you from the pack and why you expect to win? Even as you make sure to walk the talk, do you know how to talk the walk?<\/p>\n

This blog was reposted by Dilip Barot, Founder and Chief Strategy Officer of Etech Global Services, and founder of Creative Choice Group, headquartered in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.\u00a0 Etech employs 2,500 team members across the US, India and Jamaica.\u00a0 If you would like to learn more about Etech, contact info@etechgs.com for more information.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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