Below is a link to a CEO profile that I found interesting. Jack Dangermond, founder and President of GIS technology company Esri talks about what he learned growing up and working in the family nursery business. Here is a quote from the article that demonstrates a lesson and mindset that I learned in the butcher shop as well:
When I see an unresolved issue, I jump in. When I’m walking around our campus, if there’s some trash there, I pick it up. There’s no elitism here and no detail’s too small. In the landscape crew, it was management by leadership. It wasn’t management by, “O.K., you guys do this; I’m going to sit back and watch you.” That style makes me irritated.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/10/business/esris-chief-on-tending-his-plants-and-his-company.html
He goes on to say that the same landscaping crews he managed as a teenager in the family business still work for him today landscaping for Esri, and he occasionally joins them to work on new projects.
Great leaders are willing to work alongside their teams to get the job done, and this kind of leadership engenders strong loyalty from the team.
Are you leading by example?
