That’s Impossible!
Remember the old Bugs Bunny cartoons? There would be a sudden snowfall and Bugs would strap a pair of tennis rackets to his feet and voila: instant snowshoes. These amazing tennis snowshoes would let Bugs run effortlessly along the top of the snow. It’s one of those things that looks incredibly easy, until you actually try it. Then it turns out that while snowshoes do help, it’s not quite so smooth and effortless as Bugs Bunny might have you believe. In fact, what Bugs did was impossible, at least outside the world of cartoon logic.
Attending a jujitsu clinic a few years ago, I had the opportunity to take a class from a 75 jujitsu master, a seventh degree black belt. He effortlessly threw people fifty years younger and easily a hundred pounds heavier than he was. It was quite the impressive demonstration. When the rest of us tried to imitate his technique, we had somewhat less success than he did. It wasn’t long before we were dripping with sweat and gasping for breath.
“This is impossible!” exclaimed one person angrily. “It’s all a trick!”
Now, to be fair, when you’re late twenties and in top physical condition, it’s pretty upsetting to watch a skinny 75 year old effortlessly doing what you cannot do. It’s even more upsetting when he effortlessly does it to you. But was it impossible? It really does take a special kind of person to argue that something is impossible, especially after experiencing that something up close and personal.
Tom Watson, the founder of IBM, was famous for the loyalty he engendered in his employees. When an IBM salesman was badly injured in a car accident that killed his wife and young son, Watson was waiting in the man’s hospital room when he woke up. Watson wanted to make sure the man knew that everything that IBM could do for him, IBM was doing for him. When a train full of IBMers on their way to the World Fair went off the rails, Watson drove out to the middle of nowhere New York to organize the rescue efforts.
Dramatic as these incidents were, they had their real power because they emphasized something that was already there. Tom Watson built loyalty by building relationships. He traveled around the company, visiting people, talking with them, getting to know them. No matter what job you did, Watson was willing to speak with you. As the company grew bigger, he hired managers who could do the same thing. People at IBM knew one another; because they knew one another, they trusted one another; because they trusted one another, they were loyal to one another and to the company. In its heyday, IBM was known for its customer focus and the customer loyalty it built. That customer loyalty came from employee loyalty: dedicated, loyal employees care about the business and that creates dedicated, loyal customers.
I’ve been told by many CEOs that Watson’s approach is impossible today. It just won’t work. They don’t have enough time or they have more important things to do. People are different, times are different, the world is different. The explanations are sometimes long, sometimes short, always persuasive, and always wrong.
Building loyalty isn’t difficult, once you know what you’re doing, but it requires consistent, sustained effort. Watson demonstrated loyalty every chance he had, and he made sure that he had lots of chances. It’s taking the time to do it that derails so many would-be CEOs: they want instantaneous results or instant loyalty. Watson built loyalty so that it was there when he needed it. At Silver Key Systems, their CEO took Watson’s lessons seriously. He took the time to get to know his employees. He built connections and kept them going. Most importantly, he was always sincere when he asked someone about their bicycle race or congratulated an employee whose daughter had just landed a part in the school play. When Silver Key hit a bad economic period, employees stuck with the company and pulled it through. Today, it is a thriving business. You might even have recognized the CEO and the real name of the company by now.
Running along the top of the snow like Bug Bunny in snowshoes is impossible. However, with a little effort and practice, you can certainly learn to move pretty well in snowshoes. You can definitely move a lot faster and through much deeper snow than you can without them.
Learning to throw someone twice your size does take more effort and a good instructor, but that too is eminently possible. The guy who decided it was impossible didn’t learn it. The rest of us got the basic idea and are getting better at it the more we practice. You can’t even start, though, until you believe that it can be done.
Learning to inspire loyalty in your employees is neither as impossible as running on snow, nor as difficult as learning to throw a person. It is an eminently teachable skill. It does, however, require that you believe that it can be done and that it is worth doing.
Some people find the idea of snowshoeing lots of fun and are willing to make the effort to do it even they can’t pull a Bugs Bunny. Some people find the idea of being able to throw someone twice their size cool and exciting. Suffering the bumps and bruises of practice is worth it to them.
What is employee loyalty worth to you?
