An Introduction Full book arriving Fall 2016 Jones Loflin
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CONTENTS 1 Breaking New Ground 1 2 A Green Thumb Epiphany 4 3 The Need To Be Intentional 4 Stop Starving Them 5 Here Come The Weeds 6 The Next Stage Of Growth 7 The 3 Ps 8 Working In A Different Section 9 Removing The Obstacles To Growth 10 Harvest Is About More Than The Numbers
We keep bringing in mechanics - when what we need are gardeners If you use a living-systems lens, you get leaders who approach change as if they were growing something, not just changing something. -Peter Senge
1 BREAKING NEW GROUND John exited off the interstate and turned left at the intersection. After crossing the overpass and driving for about three miles it was as if he had stepped back in time twenty years. The two lane road with minimal traffic gave him a moment to relax and enjoy the view around him. The rolling hills offered a picture of contrast; the oak, hickory and maple trees appeared so lifeless next to the bright green needles of the pine trees. Stopping the car for a moment on the side of the road to stretch, he took in a deep breath of the chilly fresh air as he stood up and thought, This trip home is just what I needed. The past few years had seemed much like the interstate he just exited -- moving at a frenzied pace with little time to enjoy the view. At Trendex, John had been the go to guy to troubleshoot problems and find solutions. His hard work and attention to detail had made him a success. And while his stellar technical skills had served him well, he was significantly less sure of how things would go with the road he had recently chosen. 1
JONES LOFLIN Because of his desire to take his career to the next level and reduce his time on the road, John had asked to be considered for a position as team leader. He knew it was a long shot, but a recent restructuring at Trendex had created several vacancies. Just last week John got the news that he had been chosen and would start his new position in a few days. The group for which he was now responsible had been plagued by poor leadership. The company had overlooked their poor performance in the past, but with the slowing economy, there were no guarantees. John knew if he didn t get the team moving in the right direction fast he might be out of a job. John s reflection about this season of change in his life brought him back to thoughts of his family. He sighed and thought, Ashley is already in elementary school and Emma is turning three next month. John knew that there were just some things he didn t want to miss as a dad. I ve got to make this new direction work out, he murmured to himself. And then there was Amy, his amazing wife. Time with her was always too short. Her success as a teacher was wellknown, but her long hours and their joint responsibilities as parents only further limited their ability to grow in their relationship. One of Amy s favorite quotes was Never let your memories be greater than your dreams, but it seemed as if they spent a lot more time reflecting on how good things used to be, before life got so crazy. As John continued quickly down the two lane road, he chuckled as he thought, Kelly is going to be so surprised. Kelly and John grew up like typical siblings, even 2
ALWAYS GROWING: AN INTRODUCTION though they were nine years apart in age. They fought one minute and were inseparable the next. He laughed out loud as he thought about all the pranks, practical jokes, and serious moments they had experienced together. He and Kelly had remained close through his high school years, but began to drift apart after their mom lost her battle to cancer and their dad took a job in another state. It wasn t that he didn t want to see Kelly more often; it just seemed as if life kept getting in the way. Visits to one home or the other occurred about once a year, but all that was about to change. One of John s accounts from his previous position was so important to Trendex that they wanted him to continue managing it for a year or so. His trips to their office would bring him within about 45 minutes of Kelly s home. While John was looking forward to seeing Kelly more often, he had a more pressing reason to talk with her. He turned right at the Kelly s Place sign and was reminded of one of her true passions as he saw the rows and rows of apple trees. 3
2 A GREEN THUMB EPIPHANY From the time she was four years old, Kelly truly loved to see things grow. Their grandfather was an avid gardener and apple grower, and Kelly definitely inherited his genes. She was always finding seeds and sticking them in the dirt or, as she later reminded John, Soil. It s called soil. Dirt is what you get on your pants. She nurtured her green thumb throughout her high school years, establishing her own roadside vegetable stand. After high school she continued to expand her operation while attending the local community college. Following graduation she purchased some land with the help of their dad and combined it with acreage from their grandfather s farm to establish an apple orchard and commercial fruit and vegetable operation. Her business was now one of the largest in the region. Kelly was extremely intelligent, understood horticultural practices better than people twice her age, and had an incredible work ethic. What accelerated the growth of her business more than anything, however, was her uncanny 4
ALWAYS GROWING: AN INTRODUCTION ability to work with people. She just knew how to bring out the best in others. As he parked the rental car at the retail center, he noticed some small garden plots with signs that read Test plots. That s Kelly for you, he thought. Never satisfied with the way things are, always looking to do something better. He stepped out of the car and went inside the store. The chime sounded as he entered the door, so he knew it would only be a minute until someone came out to greet him. As he wandered the store looking at the various items for sale, his eye was drawn to the Gardeners of Tomorrow wall. On it were numerous pictures of children and adults showing off fruits and vegetables they had grown. As he moved closer, he began reading a letter written to Kelly from someone who had started their own vegetable operation because of her guidance. He chuckled to himself, That s one way to put yourself out of business. His musing was interrupted by the sound of footsteps. One of Kelly s employees approached him and said, Good afternoon. I m Rana. How may I help you? John put on a serious face and said, Is the owner here? Rana answered, Why, yes, she is. Good, John said. I want to speak to her. I bought some apples here a month ago and they rotted within a week. Rana seemed shocked, but held her composure. I m so sorry, Sir, she replied. Let me get Kelly so you can share your concern with her. John could hardly keep from 5
JONES LOFLIN breaking out in laughter as he thought about Kelly and her response when she found out who he was. He didn t have to wait long. A few seconds later Kelly came scurrying through the door, drying her hands with a towel as she went to the counter to talk with Rana. John moved out of eyesight for just a moment so she wouldn t be able to see him. As Kelly finished speaking to Rana, she walked up the aisle. John stepped out from behind a tall display of seed packets and Kelly s tanned face erupted into a huge smile. YOU! she screamed. You just never quit, do you? They embraced and Kelly quickly motioned for Rana to join them. Rana, this is my brother, John -- the world s worst practical joker. Rana extended her hand and smiled. We ve heard some of the stories about the two of you, she said. I m sure they get better with time, John replied. Now if you will excuse me, I need to go take care of our next crisis, Rana chuckled. It was nice meeting you. John smiled in response and she returned to the counter. Turning their attention to each other, Kelly said, What a wonderful surprise, John! But what in the world are you doing here? I hope nothing s wrong. Oh no, John replied. In fact, I have good news seems as if you ll be seeing more of me in the near future. Kelly smirked and said, I thought you said you had GOOD news. Smiling warmly she then said, I can t wait to hear about it. Can you give me about five minutes to give some instructions to some of my team members and then we can meet in the office? Sure. Kelly walked quickly out the back door and 6
ALWAYS GROWING: AN INTRODUCTION John went to her office in the adjacent building. Entering Kelly s office, John paused at her bulletin board. Pictures of employees and their families covered much of the space. There were wedding announcements, baby pictures and other life-related invitations. Near the center of the board was a faded piece of paper with the words, You are always a gardener. What grows and how it grows is up to you. It was one of her favorite sayings. Good looking bunch, huh? Kelly asked as she came through the door. Certainly is, Sis. You ve done well. Thanks, John, she replied. Now tell me what s brought you back to our little corner of the world. They sat down at a small conference table and John shared more information about his new job as a team leader. Well, that sounds like fantastic news, John. I know Amy and the kids will be happy to see more of you. Yes, John replied. That s the upside. The downside is that for the first time in my career much of my work will be about leading and managing others. I m not sure I m cut out to tell other people what to do. Kelly leaned forward and said, If that s your idea of leadership, I can assure you that your time in that position will be short. John tried to clarify his comment as he replied, That came out wrong. What I mean is that I m so accustomed to lining up my own work and getting it done without relying on much help from others. All the focus was on me. As a team leader I m going to be responsible for making sure everyone is working on the right things. THAT stresses me 7
JONES LOFLIN out in a way I can t begin to explain. And that s why I came to see you. Me? Kelly replied, a little surprised. Why me? Well, don t let this go to your head, Sis, but you just have a knack for working with people. Look at what you get done here with just a handful of people. And then there s the way your business has expanded over the years. It s like you have this this green thumb in both growing things AND growing people. John s voice lowered as he said with a serious look, I wish I had more of that in me because my new position is going to require it. Shifting closer to John, Kelly took a deep breath and then smiled. Snap out of it, little brother. I have no time for pity parties, especially from you. I am touched by your kind words about my success. I can assure you that not everything I have touched has turned green. I know, John replied with a hint of anxiety. But you re way ahead of me when it comes to leadership, and I m looking for a few ideas that might help me. Oh!, Kelly responded with a hint of sarcasm. You need your big sister to bail you out again! How about we just say I need you to help me grow a little, John replied with a smile. Kelly continued: Okay. I have an idea. How about each time you stop by we spend some time working on something around here. I have found that some of my best ideas and insights come when I m out in the fields or in the greenhouse instead of sitting at a table. If you come across something of value to you in your new position, fantastic. If not, well, at least we ve shared a few laughs and hopefully we can work a pound or two off of you. John 8
ALWAYS GROWING: AN INTRODUCTION groaned as he was reminded of his increasing waistline. In fact, she continued, I ll tell you one of most important things I have learned right up front. Well, share, John quipped. I need all the help I can get at this point. Kelly replied, One thing I have found is that whether you are growing healthy plants, a healthy team, or a healthy life is that you have to quickly identify what you can and cannot control and invest your resources where you can have the greatest return. One of the reasons I have been successful in business is because I have carefully chosen what to grow and have planned my actions around that purpose. I could try to grow a hundred different things here, but if I did, I wouldn t get good results at anything. Choosing is critical. Interesting, he said as he stood up to leave. Unfortunately, on that bit of horticultural wisdom, I need to head to the airport. Kelly stood up. Have time for one quick walk into my world? she asked. It will only take five minutes. Sure. Get your coat from the car and meet me behind the greenhouses. Grabbing his coat, John walked toward the greenhouses. He was flooded with memories as he passed his grandfather s old hay barn. He and Kelly had spent many hours working, playing or just daydreaming in there. As he turned to walk behind the greenhouses, Kelly joined him from the other direction. Where are we going? John asked. You ll see. 9
JONES LOFLIN They walked for another minute or so and arrived at a row of three deformed and utterly strange looking old apple trees. Some were tall with only two or three towering branches while others looked more like shrubbery with an untold number of limbs zigzagging their way around the tree, almost making it impossible to identify a single branch. In some spots in the row there were only stumps where trees had once stood. Not exactly your best work, I would hope, John said. No, but they are the result of my work, Kelly replied. These were some of the first trees I planted on my own. I was going to really show Grandpa and everyone else that I knew what I was doing, but it was during my high school years and I got busy and chose to spend my time on other things. Occasionally I would try to work on them, but eventually it was no use. I knew they could not and would not produce the quality apples I needed to sell. These trees had all the potential to produce some fantastic fruit, but I missed my chance because I was too busy with other things. I keep them here as a reminder of what NOT to do if you want to be successful as a leader. So, you re telling me that I need to be more intentional about the choices I make related to leading my team? John asked. That s a little elementary, don t you think? Let me finish, Kelly said. I wanted to show you that when it comes to creating a successful team, I believe that letting something grow on its own doesn t always bring the desired result. Just because you have a talented group of people around you doesn t mean things will turn out the way you want. And, as you can see here, it often creates 10
ALWAYS GROWING: AN INTRODUCTION something you really don t want, especially if you make the wrong choice. As they turned to walk back to the parking lot, Kelly s words quickly connected with his situation. Those trees, like the people he was about to lead, had the potential to create some great results if he chose to spend more time on developing them instead of just trying to get his own work done. In fact, he was beginning to see that focusing on the growth of his team was his most important work. Makes sense to me, John said as they passed the old barn again. It seems as if I might need to start taking more walks through my own personal and professional garden. Easy there, little brother, Kelly said with a chuckle. Don t get too carried away with the language just yet. There s a whole lot more to learn. Well, if there is anyone who knows anything about growing, it s you, Kelly, John said. Give my best to Chase. Yes, he will be so disappointed that he missed you, but will look forward to the next visit. Give Amy and the kids a big hug for me. Will do, John replied as he hugged Kelly goodbye. 11
Why not have Jones make your leaders more like gardeners? Always Growing Create the environment where every team member can thrive Look for ways to grow capacity in themselves and their team Lead change in a way that moves the team and organization forward Always Cultivating Communicate clearly and effectively to everyone Analyze priorities and processes to identify opportunities for improvement Establish and maintain relationships to achieve business goals Always Pruning Remove obstacles inhibiting team or team member performance Manage resources wisely Resolve concerns, disagreements, and conflict in an effective manner Always Harvesting Engage in self-assessment and positive reflection Provide rewards for innovation/engagement/improvement Encourage others to innovate For more information on keynotes and training programs based on the book, Always Growing, contact us: 800-853-4676 336-859-9862 (International) info@jonesloflin.com www.jonesloflin.com/alwaysgrowing 12
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Jones Loflin equips individuals with real tools to conquer today s leadership and life challenges. His 21 years of delivering innovative yet practical solutions include working with clients like Choice Hotels, Federal Express, McDonald s, Tractor Supply and Baptist Health. His previous books include: Juggling Elephants Getting the Blue Ribbon Getting to It 13