10 Leadership Lessons From My Dad

Note: This article was originally written in October 2018, around when my dad joined the 100th episode of Renegade Marketers Unite. We re-aired the episode last week as a special tribute episode to his memory and the lessons he shared on life, leadership, and curiosity.

One of the cooler things about having your own podcast is that you get to choose your guests. To celebrate?Episode 100, ?I wanted to interview someone inspirational, someone who enriches the lives of those around him, someone with a unique perspective that the show’s diverse audience would enjoy. As it turns out, that someone is my 92-year-old dad?Carl.

Working well into his 80s, my dad is a marvel, not just for his longevity but also his generosity of spirit. While the highlights of our conversation below are assembled as leadership tips with my headlines and his quotes—feel free to think of these as a playbook for just about anyone who wants to succeed both in business and in?life.

1. Hold yourself accountable

In the early 1950’s, I worked under a man named Bob Chase, Head of Manufacturing at Beckman Instruments. I was running production control, which meant that I had to keep three weeks of every part on the shelf.

Bob said to me, "Now, Carl, when you told me that shipment is going out on Tuesday; if it’s not gone, I want to hear on Sunday or Monday. None of this stuff on Tuesday because I’m making the commitment to the client." That boss kept me accountable, which meant a lot down the road when I was managing my own?team.

2. Don’t go it alone

Team is really the key thing these days. Do you have a team where one plus one plus one equals ten? Or a team where one plus one equals negative two? The latter is when people are not working together. I’ve been through some of those teams. To avoid that, a strong leader needs to have the right attitude and focus on building the best team to get them to work together?successfully.

3. Talk less, listen more

I would always try to have continual contact with each of my team members. Listening is crucial and it’s almost a lost art. Genuinely listening can help you solve most problems together. Ultimately, you want to be on their team as much as they are on?yours.

When you’re in an interview, if you are doing 90% of the talking, you’re going to lose. But, if you can get the other person talking about what they are passionate about, and you’ve done some homework, and you show interest in their particular situation, then that really goes a long way with building sustainable?relationships.

4. Dismiss the errors

The first thing is truly being a great member of each team you’re a part of and going that extra mile. Reaching out to the other team members in ways that work for them can generate this sort of synergism. Saying, “I am for you. You’re for me,” and rewarding good moves. If someone makes an error, forget that and go on to the next bit. You don’t want to dwell on that error at all.

I think all of those basics of treating team members with respect can easily translate into working on a business team. You have to be able to adjust and lead a team through the many ‘no’s’ to eventually get to that one?‘yes’.

5. Winning is rarely accidental

So many people do not realize when they look at a big company making profits that there were 10 other companies that just didn’t succeed in order for that one to be really successful. It’s a tough situation, but a lot of them just fall by the wayside. And that’s what happens in sports many times as well.

Companies can crumble because of a lack of vision, a lack of leadership, or a lack of common goals. That’s not the kind of thing that you find on a winning team, like my L.A.?Dodgers.

6. Never stop networking

I really try to keep up with my network via lunches and breakfasts. Easily 85% of the people that I reach out to still want to stay connected, but it takes that extra bit of effort to make it happen. It’s one call, and most of them are expecting it now because we’ve had that for years.

I always ask, “How can I help you?” It’s all about connecting folks with other people and bringing them together. It gives me a lot of satisfaction and is hopefully helpful for both parties. You build a reputation for yourself. To me, the five-letter word ‘trust’ is still the key thing in?business.

7. Pick clients carefully

Earning trust is not something that you can do by saying things. You earn it. As such, when you’re starting with a new client, if it feels wrong, usually it can only go further south, so don’t take them on. I’m finding more and more people, especially in marketing, react that way. If you want to earn trust, you want to earn the trust of the right people.

In my last 15 to 20 years when I had my own business, I would take on a couple of very special clients who trusted me and were working with me because of the reputation that I had earned over years in Orange County, California.

I would introduce them to people that I knew who might be their client, and because I had known these people for a long time, they’d come in. It was all based on reputation and trust. And if you introduce someone to the wrong person, that’s not going to help you. After all, it’s much easier to lose trust than to obtain?it.

8. Remember names

As I call to make my dates and appointments, I usually know everyone who I talk to in that process. I’ve probably talked with the person who puts the call through. They care about helping me if I remember his or her name. Remembering the details makes the difference. And if certain people do the same things for you, then you should invest time in those?relationships.

9. Revel in adversity

Into each life, some rain must fall. What really makes the person, in my mind, is having gone through some very serious problems and come out successfully. To me, somebody who says they’ve never had a failure does not make sense. They clearly haven’t been exposed to a lot.

The people that I admire the most have overcome some really tough times and come back out of it stronger. From a marketing standpoint, this is like sticking with it even after you’ve had quite a few ‘no’s.’ Even if it seems tough, you come right back, and go on to the next person until you get the?‘yes.’

10. Stay curious

Every single day is a learning day. Even at my age, the more you learn, the more you realize you don’t know. That is a sad situation if you don’t make the most of it and see it as an opportunity to grow.

It’s like if you read every book in a library, you open up the door and there’s just a whole other set to read. I’ve also been in a wonderful men’s book club for 16 years. What it really does is broadens what you read by other people’s choices. It gets me out of my comfort zone, which is?essential.