Dealing with Enemies; Sensitive Topic; Meeting Rules; Barcelona Visit

"…keeping you great" 

HEADLINES:

Transform Enemies into Allies — what started as a power struggle between a disgruntled
founder and the new CEO at a well-known company has been resolved (for now) –
and the lessons learned are applicable to any similarly tense situation. Take 3
minutes to read
this Fortune article on how Best Buy CEO Hubert Joly won over a
warring founder Richard Schulze. His 3 techniques are applicable if you have any
souring relationship critical to the business (read the article for the precise
details):

• 
  Show humility
  (I love what Joly did to show this)
• 
  Tap your
  relationships to defuse the tension i.e. find a friend in common to help
• 
  A little bit
  of give and take

A similar situation erupted between Apple and China last week – and a simple
apology turned the situation around to where the Chinese media and leaders
lambasting Apple are now singing its praises. Fortune
did a short piece on Tim Cook's apology – worth taking 1 minute to read.

If That Doesn't Work – Pray! — Kevin Daum, serial entrepreneur, and author (he's
keynoted our Summits), has one of my favorite columns on Inc.com. His latest
column focuses on harnessing the power of prayer in business no matter what your
religious beliefs. Four quick hints:

• 
  Be Thankful
• 
  Be Humble
  
• 
  Be Hopeful
• 
  Be Open

It's as much about ritual and routine and "focusing your soul" as Kevin notes. Take
2 minutes to read through Kevin's heartfelt thoughts and his own 10 minute
ritual derived from his Jewish faith.

Arriving On-Time
— I wouldn't have believed it if I didn't see it – an offsite meeting of senior
leaders from around Europe (mainly France) arriving and returning from breaks
and lunch precisely on-time! How is this possible in a culture known for being
habitually late? Jack Harrington, head of a billion dollar JV between Thales and
Raytheon (and perpetual fan of the Rockefeller Habits which he's continued to
implement in all his assignments at Raytheon) has three rules he's consistently
reinforced in all meetings:

• Be
  On Time
  — 5€ per minute if you are late at the start of a session or returning from a
  break
• Be
  Respectful
  — 5€ per
  rude or condescending remark i.e. "that was a stupid idea"
• Be
  Attentive
  — No cell phones, BlackBerrys, e-mail, etc. — 5€ if phone rings or seen
  using BlackBerry or e-mail

And
all money collected goes to a charity of choice by the team of 60 plus leaders.
Enforcing these simple rules reminded me of Pat Lencioni's admonition that
holding people accountable starts with the little stuff. And if you let
discipline slip here, it will slip everywhere. And none of the senior leaders
seemed to resent the rules; instead, they seem to have a genuine care and
respect for Jack.

Coming To Barcelona This
Summit?
— one of the families using our 5-bedrooom flat had a change of plans. July 16
– 30 available.