Smart Steps

It's not an easy task, but we've never been about doing the easy task. So what keeps our people coming to work every day? It's not the kitchens, the speedboats, or the high salaries. It's our environment. Employees get energized around a goal -- and that energy is contagious. Today, as we move into our second decade and continue on a steep growth path, we are hyperaware of maintaining our culture and of finding the best ways to reconcile speed and innovation with long-term vision.

Joe Liemandt is founder, president, and CEO of Trilogy, which offers e-business products, software, and solutions to companies. Liemandt previously appeared in FC 21, January 1999 ("Insanity Inc.").

Lorraine Monroe

Founder and executive director
The School Leadership Academy
New York, New York

Over the past five years, I have been unpleasantly surprised at the number of people who come forward to lead but who lack the skills. The job of a good leader is to articulate a vision that others are inspired to follow. The definition of good leadership always comes back to what the leader says we stand for and how that leader makes everybody in an organization understand how to make that vision active. A lot of people write mission statements, but their words don't come off the page. Leadership is about making a vision happen -- what I call "vision acts." If you say you're about something, then what activities in your company indicate the reality behind those words?

The challenge of the coming economy is to teach people to be leaders. You teach them that a really great boss is not afraid to hire smart people. You want people who are smart about things that you're not smart about. You don't want "yes people" -- and you certainly don't want people who don't understand your mission.

Then you teach them how to be specific. Ask them, What are you going to put your eyeballs on first? What kind of timeline do you have for reaching your dream? Does your staff understand how that dream will become real? Sometimes a dream is so broad, so wonderful, that it's overwhelming. To be a leader, be a teacher.

In 1991, Lorraine Monroe opened the Frederick Douglass Academy, an experimental public high school in Harlem. In 1997, she founded the School Leadership Academy, a nonprofit organization that fosters creative educational leadership. Monroe previously appeared in FC 28, October 1999 ("The Monroe Doctrine").

Pam Alexander

CEO
Alexander Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide
San Francisco, California

Ideas will only get you so far these days. Count on personal relationships to carry you farther. The new economy is not just about the exchange of information, it's about the exchange of relationships. Relationship management is nothing new, but with the advent of the Internet as a communications infrastructure, it's more important than ever -- particularly at a time when there's more noise than ever. To break through that noise, to get your message out, count on personal networks. Relationships are the most powerful form of media.

With the information glut, it's tougher to know what's for real -- and who's for real. It comes down to trust. If you cultivate relationships with thought leaders in your industry, you can reach their network of relationships. And in today's environment, that can be the most reliable way to reach an influential audience.

To build trust, invest in your relationships constantly. Don't sweat the ROI; help people, whether or not they can return the favor. Connect them to appropriate opportunities whenever you can. If you know about something that might interest someone in your network, shoot that person an email. And always give thoughtful feedback, not just a rant or a rubber stamp of approval. The extra attention is a compliment. By nurturing your personal relationships to help people excel, you build exponential impact in the marketplace. Ultimately, their success is your success.

Pam Alexander (palexander@alexanderogilvy.com) is the CEO of Alexander Ogilvy, a public-relations firm focused on the global information-technology market. In 1987, she founded Alexander Communications, which was acquired by Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide 11 years later. Alexander has been widely recognized as a thought leader in reinventing how to get your message out. Alexander previously appeared in FC 14, April 1998 ("The Power of Public Relations").