Month: September 2016

leadership dot #1572: sugar

Posted on by Leave a comment

One of the surprises to come out for me of the National Underground Railway Freedom Center was the link between sugar and the slave trade. “Sugar cane and its byproducts, processed sugar and rums, changed the history of the world,” one sign proclaimed. (I always thought of slaves picking cotton, but that did not become a viable crop until after the invention of the cotton gin in 1794.)

Sugar had once been a luxury item, but as additional products were made with sugar, the demand grew and an abundance of labor was required to harvest the crop. Slaves on Caribbean, British, Spanish and Dutch islands were all deployed in the quest to produce more cane. Because the harvesting conditions were so oppressive, deaths occurred and more and more slaves were required to keep the plantation production going.

I think about sugar and its link to slavery, and now sugar’s link to obesity and all the other health ailments that result. There are movements today to reduce the size of beverages with fructose, put healthier items in school vending machines, have “lite” versions of about every food imaginable and to limit sugar consumption as much as possible. 

“I would say that all human pleasure derives from sugar,” said the director of the Monell Chemical Senses Center.* “The sugar pathway goes directly to parts of the brain that are involved in emotion and pleasure.” This highly addictive quality caused — and still causes — that insatiable demand that people pursued at unimaginably high costs; first superseding the lives of others and now placing their own lives at risk from overindulgence in the taste sensation.

Take a moment to pause and think about sugar. It’s a metaphor for implications — and an extreme example of how all good things have a downside. In the aggregate, there is nothing sweet about sugar.

— beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com

*Source: Gary Beauchamp as quoted in “You May Also Like” by Tom Vanderbilt, Knopf, 2016, p. 19

Sugar originally was sold in a small cone with a hole for twine.
It was strung up on the ceiling and the twine wrapped in
tin to keep the ants from crawling into the sugar.


leadership dots #1571: underground

Posted on by Leave a comment

I wonder how different the underground railway would be today with the availability of social media and so many forms of communication. But back in the day, when the slaves were trying to escape to Cincinnati and the North for their freedom, escapees and helpers had to rely on more clandestine methods of communication.

This part of our nation’s history was on display at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati. The Freedom Center featured examples of how people communicated to assist slaves in going from one point to another. They started fires at certain points along the riverbank when someone arrived. A lantern on a pole was another symbol that the house was safe, as was a row of white bricks in the chimney or a flag in the hand of a statue in the yard. A quilt in a certain window was a sign, and others traveled with a piece of thread to indicate who could be trusted. 

Members of the Railroad also communicated about potential runaways through coded letters. In this example, “the goods” refers to the slaves, and “two small boxes and two large ones” meant two children and two adults. 

I worry that the new Colson Whitehead Underground Railroad book highlighted by Oprah will lead legions of people to believe that the escape route was a literal railway instead of the network that it was. The true Railroad was a tribute to the ingenuity and bravery of a great many people who valued freedom and liberty above their own safety. 

Aren’t you lucky that most all of your communication can be straightforward instead of encoded. Pause for a moment today and be grateful for the gift you have of open communication. In this season of election vitriol, the silver lining is that we live in a country where we can freely express opposing views and we don’t need to go underground to do so.

— beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com

leadership dot #1570: fun raising

Posted on by Leave a comment
At the Newport (KY) Aquarium, the WAVE Foundation took a unique approach to fund raising. Instead of selling the usual items for a premium or asking for a straight donation, the Foundation worked with the Aquarium to allow real penguins to create original art.
The display had a video of penguin feet being dipped in paint before the birds were allowed to roam freely on blank canvases. The large canvases were then cut into smaller sizes, framed and sold to raise money for the foundation. The prints even came with a “certificate of authenticity” and story of how the artwork came to be created.
While art museums may not clamor for the prints for their pure artistic value, they did make a colorful conversational piece. And if you were a lover of the aquarium or penguins in particular, these would be a lot of fun to have.
Think of how you can adapt the idea of Penguin Artwork. What resources do you have that you can capitalize on? Is there something within your organization that you can use to create a product that only you can offer? Can you add some levity to your donation-seeking pitch?
FUN-raising is much more than fund-raising, and likely more successful too.
— beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com
 
 

leadership dot #1569: winner’s circle

Posted on by Leave a comment

I only spent a few moments with the horses I saw in Kentucky, but could tell how easily it would be to fall in love with one of those gorgeous animals. 

On our tour, we learned of several owners who had created “horse cemeteries” with tombstones and markers for their beloved equines. The more famous horses even have life-size statues and memorial parks at their grave sites. 

But the tribute that touched my heart the most was that of Karen Taylor, owner of the undefeated Triple Crown Winner Seattle Slew. Every year, Ms. Taylor sent flowers to Seattle Slew’s gravesite on each day of a triple crown race — the same flowers the winner would receive — roses on Derby Day, white carnations for the Belmont and black eyed susans on the day the Preakness was run. 

Of course, the flowers were to comfort her more than the horse, but isn’t that the case with all memorials? The point is that she made her recognition specific, both in date and type of flowers.

Think about Karen Taylor the next time you need to pay tribute to someone. Intensely personalized symbols will put you in the winner’s circle every time.

— beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com

leadership dot #1568: black paint

Posted on by Leave a comment
If you picture the iconic fences that outline horse farms, they would be white. There are still miles and miles of white fences along the Kentucky roads, but now there are a growing number of black fences as well.

The darker wood does not provide nearly as beautiful of landscape, and it is also harder for the horses to see (and, more importantly, avoid!). 

But what it does provide is longevity, as in two to three years of additional wear, less noticeable disrepair when it is near painting time, and thus, monetary savings. So more owners are switching to the black fences for their farms and paddocks.

Someone made an intentional choice to prioritize economy over appearance, and that made it much easier for others to follow. Think about the trade offs that you make in your organization. Have you thought about the implications your cost reductions will have down the road? Are you intentionally choosing to place one value over another, or do you only look at the bottom line? Perhaps there is another way to gain savings without giving up something you value?

One owner’s desire to save some money will change the landscape of Kentucky forever. Think twice before you paint that first fence black.

— beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com

leadership dot #1567: curves

Posted on by Leave a comment
While our horse farm tour guide was unable to enlighten me about the impetus for Kentucky’s horse dominance, he was able to shed light on why all of the farms featured curved fences.

It is striking that none of the paddocks have right angles on their fence lines. I knew there had to be a reason why. And there is: the older horses like to exert their dominance on the younger horses that are in their grazing area. If there were square corners, the larger horse would trap the younger one there and could injure it, so rounded corners help the younger horse be able to run free. Think of it as the equine method of bully-prevention!

Horses also like to run along the fence line, and the curves direct them to keep going, rather than coming to a halt at the corner or running into the fence.

 

I think the curved fences are a great metaphor for what organizations can do when they intentionally control their environment. By setting up helpful parameters, organizations can shape the culture and prevent problems from happening. 

Think about the curves you can add in your environment. Can you provide clear guidelines or expectations that keep new employees from being trapped by unknown norms? Do you provide interaction spaces so employees can have informal time together instead only having meeting spaces where senior employees tend to dominate? Perhaps you could add a mentoring program to help more junior employees learn how to navigate the boundaries?

It may take more effort to build a curved fence, but as the horse owners have learned, it saves many issues from occurring in the future. Think of how you can remove some of the known barriers that could trap your newest members.

— beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com

leadership dot #1566: beyond bluegrass

Posted on by Leave a comment

It wouldn’t be a trip to Kentucky without seeing horses, so I spent one morning on a tour of Keenland Race Track, several farms and even a breeding facility to see where the real money is made with Thoroughbreds!

The question I kept asking was: “Why Kentucky?” meaning why did Kentucky become the place where horse racing is so prevalent?

And the answers I got were all wrong.

“Because we have the horse farms here.” “Because the main organization for Thoroughbred certification is here.” “Because there are many great equine facilities and hospitals here.” “Because the Kentucky Derby is here.”

No, no, no.

Those are all outgrowth of the fact that Kentucky is the center of the horse universe, but not why it became so.

So instead of badgering all the natives, our tour guide and deeply-ingrained Kentuckians, I asked Google. And found an answer that made sense. Two answers really. One, Kentucky is blessed with lots of bluegrass and limestone, and the minerals that flow through the limestone seep into that beautiful grass and help the horses gain strength in their bones.

But the second reason is due to ingenuity and intentionality more than Mother Nature. After the Civil War Kentucky’s economy was in ruins, and the leaders wanted to lure money back into the state. They did so by cultivating a Southern image and appealing to horse owners (who had money) to come to Kentucky farms, where gambling was still legal and land was plentiful. “Novelists and newspapermen started depicting a land of white-suited ‘Kentucky colonels’ and columned verandas — a place where the living was easy for wealthy white people and black folks knew their place,” writes Maryjean Wall in her How Kentucky Became Southern book.

And it worked. So then one thing led to another and now equines are a $3 billion* industry in the state.

If Kentucky can intentionally brand itself as the Thoroughbred Capital of the World, what can you do for your organization? It helps to start by determining why you want something before jumping in to figure out how.

— beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com

*2012 Kentucky Equine Survey  




leadership dot #1565: assembly

Posted on by Leave a comment

If you’re ever in the Georgetown, Kentucky area, I recommend that you take a tour of the Toyota plant. It’s a hard place to miss: an 8.1 million square feet factory that employs 8,000 “team members” and makes nearly 2,000 Avalons, Camrys or Lexuses every day. It is the largest Toyota plant in the world.


Observations from my visit:

> While there are parts of the car that are made using gigantic robots, far more work is done manually than I would have guessed. Except for the main chassis, people assemble everything by hand, and then it is all inspected manually as well. To avoid monotony or repetitive stress injuries, crews rotate every two hours to tasks that involve different muscle movements.

> The human element allows for instantaneous quality checks. There is a rope that can be pulled to stop the assembly line if any defect is discovered, but rather than sounding an alarm or a tone that is inherently negative, pulling the cord results in “a tune” that resembles a chime that could be from a children’s toy. We heard the tune several times during our tour.

> Employee comments are taken seriously. One example is a seat that allows the operator to rotate while doing a job, rather than continually standing then sitting. This was suggested by an employee who suggested they needed something like the seat in his bass fishing boat, and that is exactly what it now looks like!
> Toyota seems to measure everything. There were charts and graphs and printouts posted on large bulletin boards by each process station, overhead, near the assembly line and just about everywhere there was a blank space. 
> The plant is in the process of doubling in size, meaning the need for 8000 more workers from an area that is not densely populated. I think this is partly what motivates Toyota to be a responsive employer, offering 24-hour child care, a pharmacy, on-site doctor’s office, nature trails, a fitness center and on-site college classes.

> And in addition to the intangibles, there is a tremendous amount of visible Kentucky pride. Even though our group filled four trams, and tours are offered three or four times each day, people treated us as if we were the only ones who had ever shown interest in their plant. Many people waved as the tram toured their area in the factory and seemed genuinely pleased to have us there. The Kentucky logo was visible everywhere — it was very clear that you were at Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky, Inc. (TMMK) and not just anywhere.

If Toyota can build pride in an 8000 member workforce and quality in an assembly line that moves almost continuously, what can you learn from them to enhance your organization? Hint: start by identifying, with excruciating specificity, the outcomes that matter and communicate those widely!

— beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com

The first Camry built in Kentucky, 1988






leadership dot #1564: the queen

Posted on by Leave a comment

Last week my sister and I went on vacation, so this week lucky readers will learn from all the observations and lessons that only travel can bring! 

Our trip revolved around Frankfort, KY. I’ll bet not many people can say that, but it meant state capital #50 for my sister so it was an important trek. We have been to many off-the-beaten path cities on this capital quest, and once again we were pleasantly surprised — maybe not by Frankfort itself, but certainly by the capitol building plus Lexington and Cincinnati that were part of the trip.

We dubbed Cincinnati the “city of intentionality.” Or maybe it should be the city of excellent downtown planning. The Reds stadium in alignment with the Bengals stadium to share infrastructure. Shared development between Cincinnati and Newport, KY just across the pedestrian bridge/river to create an even larger and more active entertainment district. A carousel that has specially-carved animals that children drew and all have some Cincinnati tie (eg: Bengals, grasshoppers, herons seen along the river, etc.)

Their riverfront park features public porch swings to take in the view; picnic tables on rollers so they can be configured in different seating arrangements but remain on-site; and even bike channels to make transporting bicycles down stairs easier.

We happened to be there on Labor Day — along with 500,000 of our closest friends — to see the most spectacular fireworks display I have ever seen: one that capitalized on the full length of the two proximate bridges as well as a barge to shoot pyrotechnics off from three locations simultaneously. 

So much is usually the same from city to city. You encounter the same franchises, stores, highways and restaurants. Even one fireworks show or park looks very similar to others you have seen. But not here. 

How can you take a lesson from Cincinnati and add the little touches that make your location distinctive? How can you listen to users to learn (and then deliver) what they really want, but may not have seen elsewhere? Can you incorporate local elements into your designs and decor?

Cincinnati bills itself as the Queen City. Learn from the Queen of Intentionality on how to make your place your own.

— beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com




leadership dot #1563: sharing memories

Posted on by Leave a comment

It is hard to believe that it has been 15 years since the terrorist attacks in New York, Pennsylvania and Washington, DC. 

According to the World Bank, over 60 million Americans were not even born when the attacks occurred. Nearly 20% of our population has no memory of where they were when the planes hit the World Trade Centers or the devastation they felt after watching new reports on television for hour after hour.

Our local radio station is commemorating the 15th anniversary by playing audio clips from the 911 calls. Even all these years later, sitting in the comfort of my home or car as I listen, the tapes are haunting. I hope that they stir emotions for some of the younger people who hear them.

The radio is playing the clips to honor all those who “died, survived or responded” on 9-11. You can honor them as well by sharing your memories with those who do not have their own. Commemorate Patriot’s Day today by passing along your stories of how it felt to be an American on September 11, 2001.

Never forget.

— beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com