Together with other captives, Stockdale was part of a group of about a dozen prisoners that came to be known as the "Alcatraz Gang". These prisoners were kept separated from each other and held in solitary confinement. In his book, Collins recaps his conversation with Stockdale regarding how he coped during his period in the Vietnamese POW camp. Did he, in fact, have a deliberate strategy?
"I never lost faith in the end of the story, I never doubted not only that I would get out, but also that I would prevail in the end and turn the experience into the defining event of my life, which, in retrospect, I would not trade."
When Collins then followed by asking who among the other prisoners didn't make it out, Stockdale replied:
"Oh, that’s easy, the optimists. Oh, they were the ones who said, 'We're going to be out by Christmas.' And Christmas would come, and Christmas would go. Then they'd say, 'We're going to be out by Easter.' And Easter would come, and Easter would go. And then Thanksgiving, and then it would be Christmas again. And they died of a broken heart."
Stockdale then added:
"This is a very important lesson. You must never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end—which you can never afford to lose—with the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be.”
Stockdale, clearly a HI Leader (the characteristics of which will be addressed in the following pages) represents a situation that is a paradox of duality; not an “either/or”, but a “both/and” situation, which Collins goes on to describe it as the Stockdale Paradox. Thinking that embraces exactly where you are right now, the situation you confront right now, the opportunities and challenges you face right now offer a chance to move forward with intention and focus…right now. Sure, you can dig your heals in, wait until the winds calm and the waves relax a bit. Or, you can take the time to pause, consider, acknowledge, define and move forward with intention, focus and unwavering faith that you will reach your goal. This does exempt you from the pain and challenges that come with mastering a skill or attaining a bigger goal than you have ever faced before. The following are examples that speak without additional narrative:
Moses
Nelson Mandela
Susan B. Anthony
Mother Teresa
Lee Iacocca
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Jackie Robinson
Jack Welch
Golda Meir
Ghandi
HI THOUGHT #2: If you think there are actions you can implement right now (given the brutal facts of your current situation) that will yield some positive results unlike any you have experienced in the past, you are right. If, however, you think that there are no actions that you can implement right now (given the brutal facts of your current situation) that will change things for the better or move you from your undesirable position, you are also correct.
You might be ready to ask, “This all sounds great in concept, but does it work in the real world and real-time business application?” Before using a real-time illustration from my experiences, it is important to position the keystone that holds up the foundation of High Impact Solutions and the HI Way: HI Leadership.
The following chart lists the Five Characteristics of HI Leadership. More in-depth discussion will come later in the chapter, Stage 3: HI Way #1. High Impact Leadership. The following are the core characteristics of HI Leadership:
THE FIVE CHARACTERISTICS OF HI LEADERS
1. HI Leaders have PRESENCE. HI Leaders do not simply go to meetings or attend to situations they encounter; they are fully present, engaged and genuinely interested in each moment that is presented to them.
2. HI Leaders have VISION. HI Leaders have the ability to innovate, stretch the boundaries and have the courage to experiment, knowing that success often involves celebrating failure and tolerating success.
3. HI Leaders have CAPACITY. HI Leaders have or make the capacity when, where and how it is needed to respond to HI Opportunities.
4. HI Leaders have RESOURCE. HI Leaders know how to invest and leverage their organization’s time, talent and treasure for the greatest ROI (Return on Investment) and ROM (Return on Mission).
5. HI Leaders can pull the TRIGGER. HI Leaders can put the right ideas into action at the right time and right now.
CASE STUDY #1: Starstruck Entertainment /Reba McEntire
During the mid 1990’s, I had the privilege of working with Reba McEntire and her company, Starstruck Entertainment. I had been consulting to the Country Music industry for five years and had previously worked with Tim McGraw and Kenny Rogers, both HI Brands in their own right; I came to realize that Reba and her organization operate at an even higher level.
Through the 80’s Reba made some pivotal HI decisions involving Narvel Blackstock. During this period Blackstock transitioned from band member, to tour manager and finally into the role of overall artist management; Narvel and Reba eventually married. The combination of Reba’s distinctive artistry as a genuine entertainer, plus Narvel’s preemptive vision, style and courage has led to one of the most successful collaborative models for any genre of entertainment. By the mid 90’s Reba had earned “Super Star” recognition, enjoying outstanding success in music sales, touring, film and through her humanitarian efforts. One of many compelling moves, came when Reba and Narvel decided to stretch beyond the “way it is done,” moving all of Reba’s tour production, booking, publicity, graphic design and promotion in-house. The reaction to their move from some industry “pundits” ranged from mavericks, unorthodox, impractical to smart, gutsy, visionary and strategic. Reba and Narvel realized that 1) no one understood the full scope of the Reba brand better than she and Narvel, 2) their own team could give full time to growing all of Reba’s business categories versus part-time focus from the record label, booking agent, etc. and 3) it would lead to more consistency through controlling all aspects of Reba’s career. Their resulting successes speak for themselves; Reba is recognized as a distinctive, highly stylish, multi-platinum-record selling, high-powered tour, sought-after actress, media favorite and genuine super-star entertainer.
This previous illustration, alone, offers characteristics of a highly effective leader and brand success; but the rest of the story even more effectively portrays the highest example of leading and living the HI Way. In 1995, after building upon the foundation of Reba’s success, Startstruck applied their model to the management of other Country Music acts. That’s when Narvel read Al Reis’ breakthrough book, Focus: The Future of Your Company Depends on It,[1] which subsequently led to their engaging Ries to consult with Starstruck. That process ultimately uncovered a profound realization: the outcome of expanding to manage other artists had simultaneously reduced the focus and momentum for Reba; their proven mega brand. Acknowledging this, Starstruck confronted its own version of “the glass half empty or half full” dichotomy. Narvel’s focused response illustrates a strong example of HI Leadership characteristics:
1. His PRESENCE: He took the time to process and evaluate the full scope of the company’s environment and situation, both favorable and unfavorable, on behalf of reassessing their single-most powerful goal;
2. His VISION: Even with varying levels of success from their additional artist roster, he had the vision and foresight to realize that none of them had the long term potential that could be realized from focusing and leveraging Reba’s momentum, exclusively;
3. His CAPACITY: Deciding to focus exclusively on Reba, he committed to a formula of devoting Starstruck’s full attention to controlling the trajectory for all of Reba’s business categories, while effectively partnering with outside experts who could add to/complement their defined path. This would require, by definition, releasing the other artists on Starstruck’s roster;
4. His RESOURCE: He invested time (planning, production, etc.), talent (the right internal and external people in the right positions) and treasure (their own finances, plus strategic partners’ resources, i.e. record label, licensing, etc.) to position Reba for explosive future success;
5. His ability to pull the TRIGGER: With the goal, strategy and resources clearly defined, he released all the artists on the roster and moved forward with focus, intention and determination.
My role with Starstruck was to help Narvel and Reba to guide their team through the process of redefining, crafting and releasing Reba’s go-forward Brand Position and Story. The desired outcome was to help define and mobilize new strategies, tactics and actions surrounding Reba’s career direction. Through Narvel’s leadership, I helped the team build and guide a comprehensive process of research, interaction, evaluation, implementing, dialoguing, refining, implementing, dialoguing, refining….
This illustration is not meant to personally claim any of the successes that Reba has experienced as a result my time with Starstruck. And, I do believe that Narvel’s HI Leadership combined with Starstruck’s HI Team taking the time, engaging the steps and living out the defined actions led to a series of high impact results, including:
· Reba became the first-ever national spokesperson for First Book, a literacy organization based on Washington, D.C., providing books for disadvantaged children to keep as their own;
· Reba was invited to perform during the halftime of a Thanksgiving Day Dallas Cowboy football game supporting the Salvation Army Red Kettle campaign. She was the first artist to perform for this ongoing campaign. As an added HI Strategy, Starstruck recorded an original song, “What If”, placing a copy of the single in every seat in Texas Stadium as a gift, as well as filming a companion video that aired during movie trailers in Carmike Theaters across the country between Thanksgiving and Christmas of that same year to bolster awareness;
· Reba was featured with other global “women of renown” in a major spread for fashion designer, Anne Klein showcasing her new high-fashion collection;
· Reba played the lead role in the New York Broadway hit show, Annie Get Your Gun;
· Reba starred in the self-titled hit television series, Reba, which ran for six successful seasons and is now in heavy syndication;
· Reba launched her first-ever collection of women’s clothing in partnership with Dillard’s; today, this direction has expanded to include footwear, accessories and home furnishings;
· Reba continues to enjoy success as a top selling recording artist and touring sensation.
Conclusion:
The past’s “tried and true” ways and doing things are not likely to get the results you want while operating in the future. And the future is today. HI Leaders feel, know and respond to doing business and life the HI Way. You can, too.
[1] Publisher: Harper Paperbacks (September 27, 2005)
**NOTE TO READER: I will post Stage 1: Living the HI Way "Key Takeaways and HI Team Interactions" on Thursday.
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