I’m reading an amazing book on leadership, given me by my friend, Kristin Kern, whose company, Kernacopia, Ltd. did the cover design. It’s entitled, Making Your Company Human: Inspiring Others to Reach Their Potential.
Written by a hugely successful former CEO, Le Herron (with Sherry Christie), it’s truly a roadmap on why/how Go-Giver-type leaders finish first; how they cultivate an environment of loyal, excited team members and similarly motivated customers.
However, it’s more than just a book on leadership by a man who was definitely the kind of “Level Five Leader” that Jim Collins discussed in his excellent book, Good to Great. It’s also a book on sales and marketing. No, that’s not the focus, but the lessons in that area are terrific, as well.
Le Herron was, most notably, CEO (1965-1983) of the very profitable O.M. Scott & Sons (now The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company), the national manufacturer and marketer of lawn care products. Though long retired, he wrote this book as an answer to the current climate of distrust between business leaders and their employees. He opines on the reasons for that distrust in no uncertain terms, feeling they are well-deserved.
Mr. Herron was a leader who focused on a consistent message (and effectively communicating that message) to both his associates and his customers and always maintaining the company’s guiding principles.
The Dedication he made at the front of the book sums up his feelings on leadership:
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“When I was a brand-new second lieutenant in the Army Corps of Engineers during World War II, I was out with troops in the field on a training mission. It had been a hard day, and when the mess line was ready, I went over to eat. But before I could be served, an old sergeant took me aside.
“’Lieutenant,’ he said, ‘when your men have been fed, if there’s any food left, then you will eat.’ And while he was at it he added, ‘And after all your troops have been bedded down, if there’s a place for you to lie down, then you will sleep.’
“This book is dedicated to that sergeant, who in two minutes taught me a lesson about leadership that has been at the center of my beliefs ever since.”
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Over the next few posts, we’ll learn some additional lessons from the book.
I don’t know Mr. Herron personally. I don’t know if Kristin knows him. However, while I’m only halfway through the book, he’s fast becoming one of my heroes. I checked out the book on Amazon.com. Amazingly, few people even seem to know about it.
And, at nearly 90 years of age, I’m sure he’s not looking to go out and actively promote it. I’d sure like to see to see it become popular through word-of-mouth (or, word of Internet) however, and take on a life of its own.
Let’s see.
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Hi Bob
Thank you for another information-rich post. I particularly like the military anecdote. Not exactly the place you would expect to encounter those kinds of values. I’m just setting out to develop a customised leadership development programme for a client and I have been on the lookout for cutting-edge and unusual source material. Thank you for recommending “Making Your Company Human” – it sounds like an exemplar of what I have been looking out for. I have just ordered it online! Slán go foill. (Goodbye for now in Irish!)
Great lesson! I enjoyed.
Thank you Leticia; I’m glad you did. Much appreciated
Thank you, Miriam; for your feedback, and for the Irish Goodbye! 🙂
Well, its “Out of stock” on amazon! LOL
Hi Bob,
I read, with great interest, your comments regarding Le Herron’s book, Making Your Company Human.
I have known Le since I was 18 years of age and consider him a dear friend and mentor in my life. As I am currently 56, that timeframe spans most of my life. I have never met another man who is able to lead as effectively using the core values that he espouses in this book. In fact I have attempted to imitate him in my business career, most recently as the COO of an international franchise company. In fact, I provided over 800 copies of Le’s book to our franchisees at a conference in the hope that we could become a more successful, profitable company by adopting the lessons from the book.
It will not surprise you to hear that these values are timeless and strike at the heart of what makes us invest our passions in a company. As I worked at Scotts as a young man, these values and Le’s leadership made us proud to be involved in a company with this leadership style and bedrock values. Later in my career, I worked for another company where the CEO stated our values were “fear, greed and fear”. That’s right, two fears and one greed – what a difference from Le’s core beliefs. It is no surprise that the culture of the two organizations could not have been more different. At Scotts, people believed in taking informed risks, were proud of the products and services we provided and felt they were a part of something great. At the other company, we worked for a paycheck and were fearful of taking bold action.
As you may suspect, Le’s values and leadership style are rooted in a strong Christian faith. The “fruit” of this strong faith is the foundation for his world view and his leadership style.
I am delighted that you have discovered this gem of a book, and that through your audience, these values may be promoted and adopted by many current and future leaders.
Regards,
Rich Kusmer