24 OCTOBER 2017 • FOGHORN BUSINESSMATTERS I ’m amazed that I am starting my fifth decade in leadership in a few months. Long ago, when I was nervously entering the business world after the military, a college buddy told me that I’d love business as everything you need to know you could explain to a ten-year-old in under five minutes: be nice to people, buy low and sell high, be responsible, and other kinder- garten gems. But he didn’t tell me that there were 10,000 things to do, and that figuring out what to do and when is the big challenge. Let’s examine how to keep your eyes on the horizon for what truly matters amidst daily chaos. A leader’s top priority is setting the culture in an organization. Many in our industry profess that safety is their first priority, and I’ve learned from painful mistakes how important safety is. But getting the culture right is hard work, composed of hundreds of daily actions and responses, and safety is an outcome of that integrated focus. The mega-task for the new CEO of Uber is to define and lead the culture of an immensely valuable enterprise, one whose culture has gone horribly awry. A service system can help streamline the process and filter daily activities. Every day, ask yourself: (1) how am I reinforcing the culture? (2) am I the kind of role model the organization deserves? The U.S. Marines, a team that is literally personified by its culture, taught me that a series of small, con- sistent actions trumps erratic flashy grand gestures. So getting culture right is your primary task. Build your reputation. By getting your culture right, your team will ap- preciate you and your leadership for being reliable through good times and bad. Your customers, community, and future employees will take note, too. I’ve enjoyed working collaboratively with my competitors, as making the Eyes on the Horizon By Bob Shaw industry stronger benefits us all, plus they’ve been there to lend me a hand when I have been in a jam. For your company, the same principles apply to building that brand. Remember those adjectives you want used to describe yourself and company, and then make decisions based on that clarity. You’ll be streamlined and clearer in your actions. Focus on the customer. My former business partner, Jim Miller, was fabulously successful in four very different businesses. Currently his race car company, Pratt Miller, is on the threshold of $100M in annual revenue in what is a money-losing vanity hobby for almost everyone else in the paddock. In virtually every serious conversation with him over two dozen years, Jim has focused his attention on the needs of the customer. Management guru Peter Drucker says, “the purpose of business is to create a customer.” So many teams lose sight of the customer and become inwardly focused, and then stall out in revenue growth. Excel in the race for talent. Motivated, quality people are always in short supply. I’ve written about my sacred tenet of building your future farm team of leaders, and not relying on external hires. Transition seasonal stars to year round positions, cycle people through new departments and challenges, and be rigorous in holding high standards. Interns are a fabulous long-term source of loyal, ambidextrous talent. If you must hire externally, treat it as serious business. Read Topgrading by Bradford Smart to see how comprehensive that process must be. Marketing is changing. A genera- tion ago, the perpetually beleaguered comic strip mid-level manager Dilbert said it best, marketing was nothing but liquor and guessing. Today a marketer almost needs to be a stats minor, com- WheelHouse is proud to support Boston Harbor Cruises tracking the maintenance, safety requirements, and documentation for their fleet. www.wheelhousetech.com 978-562-5211 MAINTENANCE MANAGEMENT PROGRAM > Cloud Based - Access from any Device with any browser > Maintenance - Spares - Documentation > Intuitive User Interface > SMS Integration > Turnkey Setup