“Wow!”  That’s what I kept saying.  I was sitting on an aluminum bleacher watching 3 men create a beautiful work of art from glass.  They kept working away steadily, each one carrying out movements in concert with the others.  How in the world do they know how much glass to put on which one of those rods from which of the containers of molten glass?  How long and how hard do you blow into the end of the rod with the actual piece on it while the other guy rolls it back and forth and shapes it?  And how do you know when to heat it with the hand torch and when to put it back in the glowing oven for a bit?  Don’t you guys ever get burned as you pass by each other with rods holding bulbs of glowing glass from the 2000 degree ovens?!  This process is amazing!!

There’s not a lot of conversation between the men, but they all seem to be completely comfortable and confident in their roles.  Even with all of us who have gathered on the bleachers watching their every move.  As they remove the completed piece from its rod and place it gently in the cooling chamber, we all applaud, impressed with the display of specialized skill and artistry we have just enjoyed.

One of the men steps forward and explains to us that the finished piece will cool gradually for a couple of days before being placed in the gallery for sale.  Then he asks if we have any questions.  As he responds to our questions, we learn all about ingredients and temperatures.  We also learn that he has been a professional glass blower for 13 years.  He has a degree in architecture and took two classes in glass blowing as electives.  He built his own equipment and went into business.  The man standing beside him joined the business four years ago.  The third man, who had left the room, returns just in time to correct the speaker about his tenure; he’s been there 8 years now, not 5!  He also worked as a glassblower at a different studio before coming to this one.

“If you’ve enjoyed what you experienced here, we appreciate any tips you want to leave.  We’re going to take a break, and then we’ll come back and work on a few smaller pieces.”  And off they went.

I couldn’t help but think what an incredible example of teamwork I had just witnessed.  The results of their efforts would go out for sale in a couple of days.  Their accountability was immediate as they either succeeded or failed to create the finished piece together.  (More on that in a minute.)  Their commitment was unwavering as each one carried out step after step in a beautiful flowing process with the other two.  The piece of glass was in constant motion as its shape and appearance continued to change.  I wish I could have heard the conversation the men had before beginning the piece we watched them create.  They told us that the pile of shattered blue glass over in the corner of their work area was their last effort, which exploded during the cooling process after being allowed to reach an inappropriate temperature at some point during their work.  How long does it take to get in sync the way these guys seem to be?  Does trust build quickly or is it a slow process?  I’m sure they have each worked hard to hone their skills.  And the passion for their work was evident.

I will think of those 3 great artists every time I look at my beautiful glass bowl with “Vetro 2012” etched in the bottom.

Post by Sandy Tush, Manager/Facilitator

What triggered my desire to write this story was that I just finished reading his biography, Called to Coach, Reflections on Life, Faith, and Football, which came out last year. This is the story of Bobby Bowden, the coach at Florida State University for 34 years. Listen to these statistics: 33 straight winning seasons, 14 straight seasons of 10 or more wins, and finished in the top 5 nationally. Remarkable success for any college coach in America, success on a level few have attained and few ever will.

But my story is not about how Bobby Bowden coached a football game, because I never spoke to Coach Bowden about how his team was playing or the number of games he won. I knew this great coach in a way few will ever know, not even his many players, who I hope will come to know about this story that was not in his biography. You see, I was a college recruiter living in Orlando, Florida, working for Procter & Gamble, and my job was to visit the athletic department at Florida State University to find a few players to come work for my company. From 1979 to 1981, I would visit the campus, and always visited with Coach Bowden. While he had only been on campus a few years, he was already making his mark at Florida State, with a win in the Tangerine Bowl in 1977 and two visits to the Orange Bowl during the years I visited him.

When I visited with Bobby Bowden in his office at Florida State we never talked about his team, or how he was leading his team; it was always about his players. We discussed the players that he believed would not make it into the NFL that would need to consider another career after college outside of playing professional sports. On one of my annual visits he told me how troubled he was with one of his players who refused to interview for a job after college in business, because he felt for sure he would get drafted into the NFL. Coach Bowden knew his chances were slim, and pleaded him to interview with me and other companies. His player refused to listen to his coach and ended up driving a cement truck in Tallahassee.

Bobby deeply cared about all his players, not just his 1^st string starters, but even the players who hardly ever played a down on the field. He wanted the best for all of them, including a college degree and a good job after they left Florida State. My experience told me he cared as much about the future of his players after college as when they played for him. I cannot prove this assertion, but I believe it based upon how I never had a problem scheduling a visit with Bobby when I came to campus, no matter the time of the year.

As I finished reading Coach Bowden’s book Called to Coach, I realized how religious a man he was, and while we never talked about his faith in Christ, I now see how his faith impacted in the way he cared about his players. Bobby Bowden was a true Servant Leader to his players because he really cared about them, on and off the football field. So if you ask me how this humble man was so successful in coaching, I would say he truly was “Called to Coach”  and put his players before himself.  The impact that Coach Bowden made on me as a young manager at P&G will stick with me forever.

Post by Tom Verdery, Executive in Residence

So, both made multiple trips up and down the street with me holding on and intermittently letting go. Both had a great time. Both have a long way to go.

It made me think about a leader's role in developing people. Leaders need to:

•  Cast a vision of what they believe someone is capable of. 
•  Be willing to respond, one way or another, to what someone thinks they are capable of. 
•  Create the opportunity for someone to grow. 
•  Strike the right balance of safety and risk, success and failure, to maximize learning.
•  Be present to observe, coach, correct, and encourage.
•  Increasingly provide more autonomy and freedom as the person demonstrates proficiency.
•  Let go and let them ride.

For all of us parents, some of our most special memories are when our kids achieve some developmental milestone - such as learning to ride a bike. Don Soderquist has said that he used so spend up to 50% of his time on people - and that in looking back on his career, he takes greatest satisfaction in hearing how something he did impacted someone else's life and development. As leaders, developing those in our charge is one of the greatest opportunities and responsibilities we have. So get those wrenches out, get the training wheels off, and take someone for a ride.

By Chuck Hyde, CEO

]]>http://www.soderquist.org/blog/2011/10/20/sife-don-soderquist-lasagna.htmlThe Soderquist Center2011-10-20T19:43:51Z2011-10-20T19:43:51ZThe evening of October 12 was a great night. Here at The Soderquist Center, in Siloam Springs, Arkansas, we hosted a dinner event to bring together the John Brown University Students In Free Enterprise (SIFE) club and their network of supporters, the Business Advisory Board (BAB). We had nearly 75 people, students and professionals, re-connecting or, in many cases, meeting for the first time.

We also had Don Soderquist present. He spent much of his time interacting with those in attendance. It's quite a sight to watch him in a crowd--he meets people for the first time as though he were catching up with a life-long friend.

Needless to say, when he spoke to the whole group, his audience was captivated. At one point, I looked around and saw people holding their sides, slapping their knees, and dabbing their eyes on account of the laughter. What a great night!

Of Don's comments, my favorite was the contrasting nature between the stories he shared of his two hardest life decisions. They were both related to career decisions--both were decisions to stay put. The contrast was in the stress and strain. The first decision adversely affected time with his family as the job he decided to stay in meant continuing with a long, exhausting commute each day. The second decision he made years later seemed to adversely affect his career in the best interest of his family. It was the decision to stay in Chicago with Ben Franklin Stores while Mr. Sam Walton was offering the title of President at Walmart in Bentonville. But both decisions were made through much deliberation between Don and his wife and the family. I think Mr. Don would say that both were great decisions. The point is, his stories challenged the common notion of balance. Balance, for him, didn't mean a concern over day-to-day or week-to-week time allocation. It was seasonal rhythms and cadences demanding sacrifices in competing areas at different times.

To top it off, we ate together. Afterward, students repeatedly affirmed the value of the gathering--and not because of the lasagna. They were afforded time with professionals who cared about what students did with their time in college, were interested in developing mentoring relationships with them, and gave their time and energy to demonstrate those commitments.

Thank you to everyone who came! If you would like to learn more about JBU SIFE, visit us on Facebook or jog over to this page.

-Clayton Anderson | Sam Walton Fellow, JBU SIFE

]]>http://www.soderquist.org/blog/2011/10/13/notes-from-the-world-business-forum.htmlThe Soderquist Center2011-10-13T14:29:07Z2011-10-13T14:29:07Z

We live in a fast-paced world. Some businesses thrive in this culture and some are just trying to keep up. There's no rulebook. So we look to great leaders with something new to say.

Learn about 4 mega themes from the 2011 World Business Forum. Watch this recap by Bryson Moore, Director of Emerging Leaders and Communications at The Soderquist Center, and hear some ideas for how to apply these themes in your business and in your life.

]]>http://www.soderquist.org/blog/2011/10/6/what-don-soderquist-and-john-lennon-have-in-common.htmlThe Soderquist Center2011-10-06T16:54:43Z2011-10-06T16:54:43ZOne of the things I’ve never done on a trip to New York City is go to Central Park… until this week.   When I arrived, I rented a bike so I could see the whole park as efficiently as I could.  I was amazed by both the size and the beauty.  What a place for New Yorkers to relax, exercise, and play!  The guy at the bike rental place told me where to get off my bike for stops.  One of those places was Strawberry Fields.  The park wasn’t overly crowded since it was Tuesday afternoon, but the one crowd I encountered was the John Lennon memorial at Strawberry Fields.

John Lennon Memorial - Strawberry Fields - Central Park

Everyone was taking their turns getting their picture made with the tiled image and the rose.  Of course, the inscription, “Imagine” is from Lennon’s signature song of the same title.  No other place in the park had this kind of draw; even Cleopatra’s Needle, dating back to 1450 B.C. was completely empty!

Don Soderquist tells the story of a trip to Norway he took years ago.  He had trouble sleeping one night.  On the advice of his wife, Jo, he had begun recording his thoughts whenever he woke up in the middle of the night with things on his mind.  That night, his thoughts were deeply reflective regarding his leadership.  We now use the text, entitled “I Wonder”, as part of our Soderquist Leadership Summit. (Sorry, if you want to hear it, you’ll have to come to SLS.)

Cleopatra's Needle at Central Park

The crowd at Strawberry Fields brought this story back to me. The song “Imagine” encourages us to think about what the world would be like if we simply treated each other differently.  And decades later, a small section of decorative tile is a mini-mecca for people of all walks and cultures. It made me wonder (pun intended), what would happen if more leaders followed Don’s lead, and the challenge of “I Wonder”, reflecting and acting in ways that had profound impact on those around us?  What kind of leader would any of us have to be to cause people to go out of their way to pay tribute – or to simply see a marker of the way we led?

The easy answer is to dismiss the thought, acknowledging that most of us will never master our crafts the way John Lennon or Don Soderquist did.  But, sorry, that would just be weak.  The Beatles were the world’s #1 band and Walmart is the world’s #1 company, but that shouldn’t stop any of us from imagining and wondering what we can do to impact the part of the world around us.

By Chuck Hyde - CEO

]]>http://www.soderquist.org/blog/2011/9/30/encouragement-real-results.htmlThe Soderquist Center2011-09-30T18:50:25Z2011-09-30T18:50:25Z

Through Young Life and other organizations, I have had the opportunity to work with a variety of different leaders. Some of the leaders I worked with were effective and fun to work with, and some were…well…not so effective. In reflecting on the different experiences, it is clear that the leaders who led well all exhibited one characteristic – they were encouraging.

I recently came across an article from the Journal of Sports Sciences that explains why this might be the case. The researchers at Bloomsburg University in Pennsylvania studied whether encouraging words actually increased the performance of non-athletes running on a treadmill. The study was done on college students who did not consider themselves “athletes.” They broke 28 students into 4 groups. All groups ran on a treadmill at the same time of day two weeks in a row. The researchers measured the VO2max (a quantitative measure of physical fitness), the time they could run before quitting, the level of blood lactate (another measure of physical fitness), as well as a couple of other quantities. This first week provided a baseline.

The second week, all of the participants came back and did the exact same run on the treadmill. However, there was one key difference – they received encouragement. One group received no encouragement, one received 5 seconds of encouraging words every 20 seconds, one group every 60 seconds, and one group every 180 seconds. As you can imagine, the groups that received encouragement were able to run for a longer amount of time before giving up. However, it went beyond this. At statistically significant levels, participants who received encouragement had a higher VO2max and a higher level of blood lactate.

Encouragement produced a physiological difference. Encouragement didn’t just appear to help, it did help. What is interesting as well was that the positive effect of encouragement almost disappeared when it was only given every 180 seconds. Encouragement needs to be a frequent occurrence. Am I saying that you need to stand over your employees and just shout out encouragement all day? No. A work situation is naturally different than an athletic situation. However, the principle is the same: encouragement works.

A foundational principle of Dale Carnegie in How to Win Friends and Influence People (written in the 1930’s) is, “Be hearty in your approbation and lavish in your praise.” Genuine encouragement has been working for years, and will continue to work today. Encourage an employee or coworker today!

By Drew Thomason, First Year Soderquist Fellow

Andreacci, Joseph, Linda LeMura, Steven Cohen, Ethan Urbansky, Sara Chelland, and Serge Von Duvillard. "The effects of frequency of encouragement on performance during maximal exercise testing." Journal of Sprts Sciences. 2002.20 (2002): 345-52. Print.

Photo credit: Dreamstime.com

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