Today we will finish looking at traits five through seven of the seven traits of a CEO Superhero.
5. EMPLOYEE MOTIVATOR
A CEO Superhero knows how to manage talented people effectively and generate high levels of performance from them. Communication is a key to keeping employees informed. Attractive and unique benefits are provided to employees thus enabling the company to maintain the best employees.
John Chambers of Cisco Systems has a Blog to communicate with employees to encourage employee ideas.
Jerry Yang of Yahoo Inc., hosts monthly Chat’n Chow lunches and answers employee questions online.
Jack Welch, former GE CEO said, “Hire the best and then support them through thick and thin, through failure and success.” The people he hired were people who understood how to think outside the box, people who were creative, energetic and had a vision, and who are willing to turn visions into reality.
Toyota spends a lot of time and effort to support their employees. Employees are considered their most important asset.
Wachovia, one of the nation’s largest diversified financial services companies, is recognized as one of the top 10 best companies for working mothers by Working Mother magazine. Wachovia not only offers essential benefits like flextime and telecommuting—they raised the bar by offering programs and policies for childcare, leave for new parents, opportunities for women to advance, work/life benefits such as elder care and other employee programs.
It would be hard to surpass the benefits that the 12,000 employees receive at the Four Seasons hotels. Isadore Sharp, founder and CEO of the chain says, “How you treat your employees is how you expect them to treat the customers.” In fact at the new hotel that opened up in Hawaii they received 25,000 applications for 600 positions BEFORE it opened in 2006!
They contribute 3% of an employee’s salary to their 40l(K) and another 3-5% to profit sharing. All employees regardless of rank break bread together, free, in the hotel cafeteria. The food is good, and they have staff showers and locker rooms. Everyone is treated like they are someone special. The company provides managers from within and they can offer an employee the world with hotels all over the world. The staff is happy, well cared for, and safe. They feel like they are family and they treat their customers the same way.
6. CUSTOMER LOYALTY BUILDER
A. G. Lafley of P&G puts the consumer at the center of everything they do. They want to delight the consumer first when they buy the product and second, when they use it. The P&G brands are around the world touching their consumer lives. P&G wants to know the consumer’s unmet needs and desires. Innovation must be consumer-led. Appreciate who your customers are, how they live, and know their needs and aspirations. Then you can figure how to deliver a product that can improve their lives.
For example, in the early 2000s, the Mexican market for Downey fabric softener was low and stagnant. P&G decided to come up with something specific to help the needs of the low-income consumer. They discovered that they took great pride in clean clothes for their children when sending them to school. Clean clothes was the sign of a good mother.
P&G discovered that Mexican women spend more time on laundry than on the rest of their household chores. More than 90% use fabric softener. They washed their clothes by hand spending much time washing, rinsing, add softener, and wash, wash, wash. They identified the problem of making laundry easier and less water-intensive.
P&G launched the Downey Single Rinse in 2004 that reduced washing to three steps: wash, add softener, wash. One mother thanked P&G and asked them to make more products like this. Not only is this bringing customer loyalty to the company, it is innovation at its best.
Samsung has been ranked No. 1 in a national survey in Customer Loyalty for the seventh consecutive year. Samsung’s cell phones have met or exceeded customer expectations and continues to create loyal customers. This recognition shows that customers remain loyal to brands that resonate value to them. Samsung’s cell phones connect emotionally with their customers.
Michael Dell of Dell Computers says, “Know your customers fanatically close. Know your customer’s pulse—beat by beat.” The company has set up web pages for thousands of its best customers. These customized, secure websites allow customers to check on order status, arrange delivery dates, and troubleshoot problems through Dell's help desk. Many Dell customers, that tend to be large companies, use these web pages to keep track of their system-wide computer purchases for better asset management. Dell believes that the first step in being customer focused is to actually LISTEN to the customer!
7. RELENTLESS
There is no doubt about it top CEOs have an unrelenting drive to succeed. They are relentless. Every one of the CEOs introduced in this presentation is a Relentless CEO. They are persistent and driven by their beliefs that anything is possible. They allow employees to innovate, provide solutions to customers’ problems, and give the best customer service possible. Relentless CEOs maintain a competitive edge. They consistently pay attention to the critical importance of cash. They know how to motivate people throughout the company.
These seven traits are the sign of a CEO SUPERHERO! Does your company have a SUPERHERO?
Learn, Experience, Enjoy Global Success !
Jinsoo Terry
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