“Fantastic work culture” with Phil La Duke Author of Mind Your Own Business!

As a part of my series about how leaders can create a “fantastic work culture”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Phil La Duke is a Global Business Consultant who specializes in culture change. La Duke is also the author of over 300 articles on business topics and two popular books: I Know My Shoes Are Untied. Mind Your Own Business! An Iconoclast’s View of Safety and Lone Gunman: Rewriting The Handbook on Workplace Violence Prevention

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?

I was displaced autoworker who (while still a college student) through desperation and audacity had landed a job as head of training for a $ billion Construction management and I was sinking. A long-term employee who was less qualified than me wanted my job and it looked all but certain that I was going to lose my job to accommodate her ultimatum that either she got the job or she would leave the company. I went back to my cube and the phone rang. I answered and on the other end of the line was the head of my college program. He was giving me the full-court press about a job that he was trying to fill. He told me that they would teach me everything and I told him that “that’s what they told me here and they didn’t” He said, “look, you’re a UAW member and they are having trouble with the Union. The Union guys are saying that the consultants are just a bunch of snot-nosed kids who’ve never worked a day in their lives; they can’t say that about you because you’re one of them.” I was hired to be part of a large team enlisted to change the plant culture to one that was more business minded and collaborative. When I joined you could clearly identify a person’s position by his or her outfit. Engineers wore white shirts and clip on ties (you do NOT want to be wearing a tied tie if it gets caught in machinery. Supervisors wore dress pants and a short sleeved dress shirt, maintenance wore blue jump suits and the rank and file wore jeans and tee-shirts. When we left two years later everyone dressed the same, an outward manifestation of all the societal barriers between the groups being torn away. It was incredibly rewarding and I was hooked.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?

When I started my company, my business partner and I decided we would only have one sales rule (beyond the legal and ethical): We would not take on jerks as customers. We took things so far that we constructed a website that had an application for becoming our customer. If we thought someone would cheat us, bully us, or treat us the way most of our customers had most of our careers we wouldn’t take them on as customers. One day, a frantic applicant from a major movie studio and entertainment conglomerate called and asked if there was any way to streamline the process as they wanted me to come and speak at the studio’s safety leadership meeting. My business partner told him yes we could help and it began a long and fruitful relationship.

Are you working on any exciting projects now? How do you think that will help people? The single most important project on which I am working is beginning the promotion of my book, Lone Gunman: Rewriting the Handbook on Workplace Violence. I really hate how opportunistic and self-promoting that sounds, but I was urged to write the book about six months ago, because a) workplace violence is often an outgrowth of domestic violence, and b) the so-called experts are telling people to react to a workplace shooter the same way one would a mass shooting; which is CRAZY. A mass shooter just wants to kill as many people as he can were a workplace shooter has a specific target or targets in mind. This project has the potential not only to change how corporate cultures prevent, prepare for, and react to workplace violence — it’s a HUGE issue and as we see in the news this problem is getting more common (with 2 major attacks in less than 6 weeks) and people are be given bad advice that could get them killed.

Ok, let’s jump to the main part of our interview. According to this study cited in Forbes, more than half of the US workforce is unhappy. Why do you think that number is so high?

Just in my working life as an adult, I have seen the elimination of the number of paid holidays, vacation days and sick pay lumped together as “paid time off”, the introduction of, and subsequent increases in, employee contributions to medical, dental, eye-care, and other insurance. Add to that so-called “share the pain” policies where employees are forced to take pay cuts and unpaid furlough days, and reduction in headcount in the name of “do more with less” and you are left with deeply dissatisfied workers. Plus the invention of smart devices have blurred the lines between home and work to such an extent that the work week for all practical purposes has mushroomed from 40 hours to 60 hours or more (essentially a 50% pay cut) leaving workers fatigued, and fatigue is much more serious and dangerous position than merely unhappy.

Based on your experience or research, how do you think an unhappy workforce will impact a) company productivity b) company profitability c) and employee health and wellbeing?

Unhappiness of workers is contagious, and in some cases becomes inoculated into the corporate culture. Unhappy workers directly correlate to greater absenteeism, higher turnover rates, lower productivity, increased illness and slower recover times, increased worker injuries (both on and off the job) and illnesses, and even workplace violence. All of these sap impact the company’s bottom line and cost far more money than an investment in people’s job satisfaction, engagement, well-being.

Can you share 5 things that managers and executives should be doing to improve their company work culture? Can you give a personal story or example for each?

1. Be accessible. I used to work at a not-for-profit healthcare system and the CEO and in fact, the entire executive team would routinely eat in the company cafeteria. What’s more, they sat with the people. A lot of CEO’s would be terrified that people would use this access to gripe about work issues or curry favor, but mostly there was just polite conversation and maybe even a laugh or two. The people felt a kinship with these executives and were less likely to see unpopular decisions as necessary steps that needed to be taken.
2. Live your values. Nobody wants to be recruited into a company only to find out that the values they were told in the interview were just a fantasy. When you live your values you are happier and your happiness and job satisfaction is contagious. Values may be written on the walls but they are communicated and taught by the examples set in the halls. Your values must be aligned with those of the company or you or the company have to change. Living your values means demanding that everyone perform in accordance with the corporate values — no exceptions. One CEO I know was faced with the odious task of laying off a substantial portion of the workplace, about 10% (years of adding staff in boom time and keeping them through lean times) and created a bloated workforce with probably a good 15% above what was required to do the work. The company was bleeding money and he had to step up to it. One of the values was Courage, and he showed it. It’s not an easy thing to have 750 people’s fate in your hands but he pushed through, but another one of our Values was focused on employee well-being. When this CEO found out that one of the employees who was losing his job had a wife who was diagnosed with cancer the CEO (I later learned at his own expense) paid for the man’s COBRA so his wife could have the medical care she needed. That’s what living your values looks like.
3. Take an active interest in what EVERYONE does. The chairman of a company at which I was employed was a household name and was amiable and beloved. When politicians would visit Michigan Democrat and Republican alike would stay in his guest house. When he would visit the office it was electric. People would react as if a celebrity was in the building. It was always an all-day affair. He had 7,500 employees and knew not only everyone’s name, but (as implausible as it seems) generally knew their spouse’s name, and what the person was passionate about. If you saw him out to dinner with a dignitary he would stop by your table and introduce you to the world leader as his associate. He took an interest in what everyone did, and that made it easy for him to remember the trivia about the person. He genuinely cared what you did, because you doing your job well meant that he was successful. Every conversation I had with him he made me feel as if I personally was the reason for his success. When he died suddenly and unexpectedly it was as if a favorite uncle or dear friend had died. Men and women wept openly at their desks. His pall bearers were from every walk of life, from a long-time work with your hands technician, to project managers, to executives. I have never seen before and I doubt I will ever see again another one like him, but a CEO doesn’t have to be THAT extraordinary to be a success; him or her just has to genuinely care about what people do. It’s not enough to walk through the company asking, “what are you working on today?” You have to be genuinely interested in everyone’s role and engage them with enthusiasm. Find out what they like about the job and also what they don’t like. CEO’s who do this aren’t so quick to freeze raises, or cut benefits. When you know the role a person plays within the company you value them and they know it.
4. Respect your people. I remember having a conversation with a CEO about respect. He said, “It’s easy to respect my people because we only hire the best.” Another junior executive dismissed the idea that respect needs to be earned with derision. “I start off respecting you because you probably wouldn’t have a job if you didn’t deserve my respect. You have my respect until you do something that makes me lose respect for you.” I like that outlook. Everybody, but certainly CEO’s need to start off respecting people. And if people repeatedly draw your contempt you need to address that. If you don’t have respect for the people you lead, they will know it and you will lose their respect. Who wants to go to work for a company where you are neither valued nor respected? People who are respected are more engaged and happy employees strongly correlate to innovation, productivity, attendance, and profitability.
5. Celebrate successes. I worked with one company where “Celebration of Success” was one of the phases of the project management process. It was seen as no less important than design freeze. When someone does something remarkable recognize the accomplishment but also recognize that the accomplishment was probably made possible by multiple people working long hours and making personal sacrifice, a company win deserves a company celebration. If all you focus on is failure than failure becomes the de facto goal.

It’s very nice to suggest ideas, but it seems like we have to “change the culture regarding work culture”. What can we do as a society to make a broader change in the US workforce’s work culture?

Well for starters we can stop looking at other jobs — jobs that we don’t have clue what is involved or the mental or physical characteristics required to do them successfully — and say that the people doing them and claim that they are paid too much. I clearly remember having to defend my wage as an autoworker to people who had never even been IN a factory. The price of a car isn’t high because of worker benefits and wages at least not when company profits are in the $ billions. The American people are woefully misinformed about how economics work and frankly are completely twisted around as to where their tax dollars are spent. Everyone is just one lottery ticket away from being a billionaire.

We also have to let go of the puritan work ethic that holds that if you aren’t miserable working than you probably are doing enough. We live in an age where we are so connected that we expect that because we can get ahold of our employees at 2 AM on a Saturday, we SHOULD. I guess it’s true that they called it common sense when sense was common.

All of this is going to rapidly change. We are entering a severe labor shortage, and if all you have keeping you at your job is the paycheck and meager benefits then you will likely jump at a better offer a couple of miles down the road. The companies with the best cultures — and that includes attractive wages and benefits — will have a substantial competitive advantage. There are a lot of people who bash Millennials as entitled. People complain that they expect their jobs to be meaningful and fulfilling. In the labor glut that was the Baby Boomer Generation job seekers had to decide, did they want a job that they liked or a job they could live on. Millennials are not really different from any young people just entering the rat race; they want what most of us wanted when we entered the work world. The only difference is that they have the power and clout to get it all and I applaud them for it. I have great faith that the young people in this country, if not this world, will craft a better tomorrow, and a radically improved societal expectation for work.

How would you describe your leadership or management style? Can you give us a few examples?

I am a mentor more than a leader, which begs the question, what’s the difference? Patton was a leader, Buddha and Jesus were mentors. Now I am not putting myself besides Buddha or Jesus, but they are great role models for today’s leaders. Leaders should always see themselves as mentors. The goal shouldn’t be just to make money at all costs, or worse yet take a company into bankruptcy and take the golden parachute. Leading a company used to be a higher calling. Leaders understood the crushing burden placed on them by having thousands of people depending on them for their most basic needs. The leader as mentor mode of thinking as I think of it puts the needs of the many before the needs of the one. The leader as mentor sees his or her role as primarily a coach and teacher, if a leader can teach those around him or her to pick up key skills and aptitudes it lightens his or her load. I am a firm believer of guided discovery. When I give out an assignment, I am very clear about my expectations. I break down an assignment into four stages: Giving the assignment, Planning the assignment, Executing the assignment, and Closing the assignment. In each stage there are critical coaching moments. We master skills by understanding the basic intent and foundational elements and then by practicing and perfecting them. I believe in clear communication of my expectations, periodic “check ins”, and feedback as appropriate. I detest being micro managed so I don’t micro manage — there are a lot of correct paths to success so I like to let the people I lead chose the one that suits them.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

There are actually many people from whom I’ve learned — both what to do and what not to do and I don’t feel right in singling out just one or even a handful. I will say that my father taught me ethics, and integrity, and a strong worth ethic. He pushed me hard but it was always because he wanted me to do my best, not for his sake but for my own. If I did my best and failed he was always far prouder than the many cases where I did the bear minimum to succeed. Not a day goes by that I don’t miss him.

How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?

I challenge complacency in the world of worker safety every single day. If I change a single mind I have changed the entire universe; it may not be much, but it is enough.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

“Make the day; don’t let the day make you”. Life is full of irritants and you have a choice either to react badly and let it ruin your mood or to react positively and move on. Optimism is more fun then wallowing in self-pity.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)

In my darkest hour, when I was questioning whether or not life was worth continuing, I always found inspiration in the fact that there was a chance that tomorrow things could get better. I would like to start a movement of hope. I’m not talking about encouraging others not to lose hope, I’m talking about the life changing hope that comes from within and that beams out as an example to others. That’s what I would want, a world where we all hope that things can get better.

Thank you for these fantastic insights. We wish you continued success!