A small miracle occurred last week. I walked off a golf course satisfied – nay, pleased – with my round.
My putter, in particular, deserved a special mention.
If you play golf, you’ll have heard the saying: it used to be the accepted wisdom on the US Tour: ‘Drive for show, putt for dough’ – although I’m not sure that ‘dough’ accurately described my winnings…
Many of those crucial putts on the Tour were sunk with Ping Putters, a company founded 64 years ago in Redwood City, California, by Karsten Solheim.
An engineer with General Electric, Solheim started out making putters in his garage. In 1961 he moved to Phoenix – presumably buying a house with a big garage – but didn’t resign from the ‘day job’ until 1967.
Karsten died in 2000, leaving the company – by now making a lot more than putters – in the hands of his son, John A Solheim. Today the company is run by John A and his son, John K.
Why the long preamble? Because I came across a story last week that really struck a chord with me – and reminded me of a time in my life that, although I didn’t realise it then, was essential preparation for The Alternative Board.
The key point in the story I read was simple: both JA and JK are prepared to ‘get their hands dirty.’
They may be negotiating contracts with the PGA. They may be sponsoring the Solheim Cup. They may be on first-name terms with millionaire golfers… But, according to one employee, ‘If we’re behind on orders and need help keeping up, you’ll see him (John A) out there on the production line.’
The same is true for John K, who ‘has no qualms about long hours’ and is trained ‘for five or six roles on the line.’
“Everyone rotates,” he says. “I was using the cut saw early this morning, and now I’m screwing in the back weight. I’ve done lofts and lies, I’ve done the ferrule grinding.”
The bottom line is simple. “The clubs won’t build themselves, so somebody has to do it.”
Ferrule? Even if you play golf, you may not be 100% sure what the term means.
I would, though, be fairly certain that everyone knows what a Kit Kat is – but just in case…
Seventeen years ago, I was running the field sales team at Nestlé – around 300 people. And at least once a month, I went out and worked with one of the sales reps – which could be anywhere in the country. I made sure I was there for 8:30, helped them carry the boxes of Kit Kats and made the round of the newsagents and corner shops with them.
I cannot tell you the positive impact that had – especially the fact that I was there first thing in the morning. The MD would never have done the same thing – and he didn’t last long. His successor did – and was one of the most impressive MDs I ever worked for, encouraging and building a real team ethic and ‘can do’ culture.
Clearly, I’m now far too old to carry a box of Kit Kats across a wet cash and carry car park on a cold, dark January morning. But nothing makes me happier than ‘getting my hands dirty’ with my monthly TAB Board meeting. In many ways, it’s my most important – and most enjoyable – day of the month.
I’ve constantly written on this blog that a leader’s job is to lead. To have a vision, communicate that vision and get people to buy into it.
But how does he do that? He can’t do it if people don’t trust him. He can’t do it if people think he doesn’t work hard. He can’t do it if people think he doesn’t understand the nuts and bolts of the business.
‘Getting your hands dirty’ ticks all those boxes and more.
Being there at 8:30 in the morning built trust. Did the reps talk to each other? Of course, they did – and you can be sure that if I’d turned up an hour late, everyone would have known about it.
I was prepared to work hard. Four boxes of 24 Kit Kats are surprisingly heavy – especially when your fingers are frozen. And visiting the corner shops and the newsagents with the reps kept me constantly in touch with the very basics of our business. I heard first-hand what we were doing right, what we were getting wrong – and what we could do to improve.
So make sure you do it. Get out of the office and, once a month, do the basics of the business. It’ll build trust, boost morale – and keep you connected to what makes your business really tick.
