Advice From My Mentor - Make Me Look Good

When I think about the advice I have received from my various mentors one of the earliest was from a first line supervisor at Kraft Foods back in 1972. This is one of those words of advice that I still follow today. His name was Dick and he would tell me every chance he got:

“Your main job at this company is to make me look good.”

I used to laugh at him and continue doing my job, not paying much attention to him. Over time I begin to realize what a golden nugget these words of advice were. I have tried to apply them to every company I have worked for and every position I have held in those companies. No matter how you apply this advice, your job will be made easier and your chances of success improved.

I apply this rule in both directions of the hierarchical chain of command by equally trying to make my boss look good to his boss and making the employees who work for me look good. By applying the rule in both directions I am the one who ultimately looks good.

There are many benefits to be earned by making your boss look good. The most obvious is if your boss looks good to his superiors then he is more likely to get promoted out of your way and you can take his job. Another benefit of this approach is that your boss’s boss may notice your hard work and realize you are carrying the operation and again promote you in recognition of your effort. I have successfully used both of these tactics to gain a promotion on several occasions.

When applying the rule in the other direction to those who report to you and making your direct reports look good there is nothing but positives to be gained. One of the first positive results are that you develop a sense of trust and respect among your employees. Having the trust and respect of your employees is an extremely important aspect of achieving success. I have seen good managers fail by not earning the respect and support of their employees. They can make your life miserable and sabotage all your efforts if they do not feel you support them.

There are many ways to make your employees look good and they are easy to apply. One of the best is to offer training in all aspects of the job and helping prepare them for the next position or level by sharing your knowledge and expertise. Encourage them to share their ideas and motivate them to learn all they can about the operations. Most importantly give your employees the recognition they have earned for their efforts and share it with their fellow workers and to your superiors. Not only do you win the support of the employee being recognized but of all the other members of the team.

Once you make your employees look good your superiors will notice and therefore you look good in their eyes. You will develop a reputation among your superiors as a good trainer and leader. Your employees will work hard to ensure you meet your goals when they know you are supporting them. One of my greatest achievements that I look back on, is the employees that I have helped encourage, train and develop for promotion.

In both of the situations described I have helped create a positive leadership environment for the entire team. By making your boss look good, you look good which makes for a win-win situation. By making your employees look good, they will work to make you look good and once again you have created a win-win situation. This is a sign of true leadership; when all parties can achieve their goals and meet the companies goals together.

Even as I write this advice I am following the words of my mentor because my goal as a leader is to “make you look good.”

Advice From My Mentor – Problems vs. Opportunities

As I continue to reflect on the advice and sayings of various people who have mentored to me over the years I can’t help but notice how their words have helped shape and mold my leadership skills and life in general into what it is today. Tony, the Plant Manager of the Kraft Foods plant I worked at, was one of my earlier mentors I find myself quoting often. One of his favorite sayings was:

“There is no such thing as a problem, only an unsolved opportunity.”

When I would come to him with a problem I can still clearing remember him saying, “Now Larry, you know there is no such thing as a problem only an unsolved opportunity.” Then he would say “What we need to do is work on this opportunity.”

I can remember getting so frustrated with him that one day, in a management meeting, I fired back at him; “No Sir, This is a DAMN problem” He looked at me and said we would deal with it later and continued with the meeting. After the meeting was over he called me to his office and we dealt with it.

Tony was the kind of mentor that you really learned to appreciate. Every moment to him was a teaching moment and his calm demeanor would put you at ease and in a frame of mind to learn. Once again he proceeded to explain to me what he meant by problems vs. opportunities.

A problem is something or someone who presents a difficulty or obstacle for you to overcome. It has a negative connotation and tends to direct your actions to a negative response. Most often this also leads to less than desirable results.

An opportunity offers you a chance to achieve or excel in accomplishing a task. By defining the “problem” as an opportunity you change it from a negative to a positive and you begin to approach the solutions from this positive point of view. Usually this will result in a positive and successful outcome.

So how do you change a problem to an opportunity? As always the first step is to define the issue. You need to break it down to it’s fundamental parts and clearly state each one. This is an important step because you do not want to focus all your efforts solving the symptoms while failing to identify and address the root cause of the issue.

Once you have defined the issues you need to identify the opportunities that are associated with them. By changing your focus from problem solving to opportunity capitalization you change the goal from a negative to a positive solution. Granted, this is not always an easy exercise. This is one of the times when you may need the help of a peer, supervisor, or a mentor. I have often found another person’s viewpoint and/or questions will help me come up with the best course of action.

Once you have developed a plan of action then implement it, emphasizing the positive aspects and outcomes. This can turn what was a “problem” into an opportunity to excel and achieve your goals. If the issue is employee related then you both have the opportunity to grow and achieve by turning a potential win-lose situation into a win-win victory.

This was Tony’s goal in making his problem vs. opportunity statements when you came to him with a “problem”. His plan was to make you dig for the opportunities in every issue and work toward solving them. He was always there with thought provoking questions and directions to help you work through any issue.

This is how I have tried to approach issues throughout my career in management. Usually I have been very successful at turning negatives into positives with the results being recognized as achievements and accomplished goals. As a manager I have tried to apply these same principles when I am working with my team attempting to overcome an obstacle. By teaching them to view “problems” as opportunities they can achieve their goals with a lot less stress and a lot more success.

By focusing on the positive you can easily see how “There is no such thing as a problem, only an unsolved opportunity.”

Advice From My Mentor – Bad Employees

Throughout my career I have had lots of people give me words of advice on how to enhance my career and how to be a better manager. Some of it has gone in one ear and out the other but a lot of the advice has been beneficial and helped my career and management development. Here is one of those great words of wisdom that has stuck with me over the years.

“There is no such thing as a bad employee, only bad supervisors!”

In the 1970’s I was working for Kraft Foods and starting my career in management as a first line supervisor. The plant manager for that facility, Tony, was one of my mentors that I still find myself quoting all the time. This was one of his favorite Tonyism’s, my term for his sayings, that he would tell the supervisors every time they brought up an employee issue.

I remember getting so mad when he said this to me because I had come to him looking for a solution, not to hear how bad of a supervisor I was. Fortunately he was very understanding and would sit and talk me through the issue. I soon came to realize this was his whole point in making the statement, to get me to think and work through the issue.

Over the years I began to understand the deep meaning of the statement and began applying it to my management skill set. There are two broad lessons that can be learned from this statement.

The first is that new employees do not come to work on their first day with the preconceived notion that “I am here to goof-off and cause trouble.” They come to work with high hopes and optimism of doing a fair days work for a fair days wage. They are taught, on the job, how to be a bad employee. No, this is not part of their orientation or part of the supervisor’s training program, but it is there. They learn it from the attitude of other employees and the general work ethic of the facility.

How does this apply to management? When management allows a negative environment to foster in a work place then they are responsible for the outcome, thus it is not due to bad employees but to bad supervision. Address issues and do not let them grow and take root in your organization and you will find you have fewer “bad employees.”

The second lesson to be learned, from this Tonyism, is associated with the first and that is to take action. If an employee starts to have performance issues it is up to the supervisor to address the issue with the employee and not let it continue to grow worse. Most performance issues have a root-cause that may or may not be associated with the job. By addressing the issue early and helping the employee see the problems that are occurring; you may be able to uncover the root-cause and to turn the performance issue around with minimal intervention. One thing I have learned over the years is ignoring issues will not cause them to go away.

Our job as managers is to develop employees and help them achieve their work related goals. By working with our employees we can develop a positive and productive work relationship that will be beneficial to both the employee and the organization. Also, remember it is hard to achieve your goals without the willing and positive support of your staff; they can make or break you.

Throughout the years I have found myself using the same statements that my mentors would say to me in various business situations. Now I have an advantage in that I know they work and have benefits in all areas of business life.

Interviewing: Asking the Right Questions – When Yes and No Is Not Enough

Have you ever finished an interview and realized you don’t know any more about the person or event than you did before you started. How would you rate the interview pass or fail? Before I realized what I was missing, this happened to me all too often. Whether you are interviewing a new employee candidate, a potential client in real estate, a service provider professional or your children the type of questions you ask will determine the answers you get.


Early on in my career I learned there is a simple solution to this problem and once I found out about it I realized I did it all the time. The key to a successful interview is not to ask “yes or no” question. Simple, but listen to yourself the next time you interview someone.


If you ask only yes or no questions you will get only yes or no answers. When I am on the other side of the table I have been taught not to provide too much information and I love yes and no questions. All I have to do is answer the question and I have provided the interviewer with exactly what he asked, albeit not what he may have wanted.


Never ask a yes and no question, always ask for more information, opinions, descriptions, explanations, etc.


Let’s look at some examples:



A. Have you ever been terminated or laid off from a job?

B. Explain why you left your last 3 places of employment?



A. Do you want to sell you house?

B. Why do you want to sell you house?



A. Did you see the accident occur?

B. What did you see happen?



A. Can you cut down the tree in my yard?

B. How would you cut down this tree hanging over my house?



A. Did you kick your brother?

B. Why did you kick you brother?



Even though these are simple examples you can see where in each case the “B” question will provide you with a better picture and more information from which you can form an opinion.


Yes this is a simple solution but as I said earlier listen to the questions you ask and I believe you will be amazed at how many are yes and no questions. I still have to watch myself to avoid this trap and practice it every day. When I do it right it makes my job a lot easier and successful.

Real Estate - Buying a Short Sell or Bank Owned Property – Be Prepared

Remember the old Boy Scout motto "Be Prepared." As in most aspects of life this is especially true when you decide to get into the short sale and/or bank owned real estate market. There are a lot of great deals out there but, you must be prepared to move quickly when you find the property you want.

In most real estate transaction the seller requires the perspective buyer to have a pre-approval letter from their financial institution and/or proof of funds to submit with their offer of contract. This is especially true with short sales and bank owned transactions. They do this to protect the seller by giving them an indication of the buyer's credit/financial worthiness prior to them taking the property off the market by putting it under contract.

A smart buyer who has done their homework prior to beginning their search is a buyer who is ready to jump on a good deal when one comes up. Not only does it allow the buyer to move quickly it also lets them know what the can and can not do upfront, thus avoiding issues later in the process. This is a win-win necessity.

In our local market there is an abundance of low priced bank owned houses becoming available everyday. This has brought out the cash investors who are looking for great deals and have the cash available to move quickly to lock up these opportunities. As an individual buyer trying to break into this market either as an investor or to purchase your personal home you have to be ready to compete with the cash investor.

During the last several weeks I have seen several buyers lose great deals on a possible new home because they were not prepared to make a quick offer on the property. By the time they got there paperwork ready the listing agent said he already had, in one case, five offers on the property and 3 were cash offers. This could have been avoided and may have resulted in a contract if the buyer had done their homework and been prepared.

It is relatively simple to seek pre-approval from a financial institution. If you have a preferred financial institution or bank that you like dealing with go to them and request it. If you don't have one then ask your real estate agent and they will be able to refer you a reputable financial institution. In either case you will have to answer questions about you income and financial status and the institution will run a credit check on you to help determine if you meet their credit standards. Typical they can have you an answer within 24 to 72 hours.

There are two important caveats to this. The first is this is only a pre- approval and not a final guaranty of credit. A more in-depth approval process will be completed once you have a contract and the mortgage lender has all the information on the property and any additional information on you they may require.

The second is that there is a difference in a "Pre-Approval letter" and a "Pre-Qualification" letter. Generally a pre-qualification letter is not worth the paper it is written on and often used as a sales gimmick. Be sure to specify to your financial institution that you want a "Pre-Approval Letter."

This is a tough market for both sellers and buyers with stiff competition on all sides. But, you can help level the playing field by doing your homework upfront and being prepared.

Just remember; "If you snooze, you lose."

Dressing For Success In Today’s Business Environment

Several years ago the latest buzz in the business world was “Dress for success.”  It stressed that part of being successful was looking successful, talking successful, acting successful and basically emulating success in all aspect of your life and actions.

This all revolves around how others perceive you and react to you. The old expression “you only have one chance to make a first impression” is very true. Whether we want to admit it or not we judge people by their appearance. A successful person looks successful and we use this impression as bases for our decisions.

Have you every looked at kids walking down the street with their pants dragging on the ground and trying to hold them up with one hand. I have often thought how ridicules they look. This is my perception of them and this is the perception that will determine how I interact with them. Right or wrong my opinion of them and there abilities is based upon this impression. In most cases this is the only impression I will every have of them so any future interaction will be limited.

Then I look at the way some “professionals” look, dress, and talk. I am amazed at the lack of professionalism in appearance when they come to the office; go out into public and worst of all when they met with clients. Whether we like it or not we are always on display and need to act accordingly.

I look at what they post about themselves on social media and other public outlets. Social media is becoming one of the top sources of initial business contacts which includes real estate, service providers at all levels and other contacts. When I think about it I have to wonder what kind of image are they trying to put across?

When you are thinking about buying or selling what may be the largest single investment of your life do you want some party animal handling your business or do you want a professional working with for you.

Something to think about.

Today in Business - Decision Makers Need to Make it Happen

In today's environment teams, groups and committees are all the rage of the modern corporate structure. It is all about empowerment and flattening out the hierarchy and with more acronyms describing how to do it than sand in an hour glass. Every year new gurus come out with their programs, which are just warmed over last year’s programs, but with a few new letters put together to make the latest and greatest acronym ever. Yet, sometimes you have to step back and remember past advice and apply it today.

When I thought of myself as a young corporate ladder climber and the team concept of management was just starting I had a manager who gave me two pieces of advice on how to implement these practices.

1. “A committee of 3 gets more done when 2 people are absent.”


2. “You don't call a committee to kill a rattlesnake, just kill it.”


In our daily business lives there are times we just need to make a decision. Not stand around and wait for others and see which way the wind is blowing today. There comes a time when we need decision maker who can step up and is not afraid to make decisive decisions. True leaders in business are becoming a rarity. I believe this is in part due to the way we are teaching our young people that everyone is equal and everyone deserves a trophy even if they lose. Leaders lead and should be recognized as such.

In the end we are the only ones responsible for our success or failure and as leaders it is time for us to step up and lead in our area of expertise.

Make it Happen Today!