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January,
2010
Happy
New Year!
I
may well be the last person to offer you this wish, but
better late than never! I hope that you all had a wonderful
holiday season, and are already stepping decisively into
2010. Glenda and I had an excellent, spread-out Christmas
- three events over about a week, so that we could have
a celebration with every member of the family - and a quiet
New Year celebration, again with family. Over the three-day
weekend, we did as little as possible, preferring instead
to spend the time in quiet ways as we looked back on the
past year, and contemplated the year to come.
2010
is going to be an exciting year for us, no matter what happens.
But with all the good news these past several months, and
more to come, I'm really looking forward to it, and
I hope you are, too. Here's wishing you all an exciting,
joyous, successful, and fulfilling New Year!
NAMM
'10 Show a Success
The
reason this newsletter comes so late in the month is the
NAMM '10 show - the Music Manufacturing Industry's (MMI)
largest trade show of the year - which was held January
14-17, in Anaheim, CA. In addition to my presentation in
the Idea Center as part of NAMM U., I represented two companies
on the show floor, one of which is a brand-new launch that
I'll introduce in a minute.
Overall
the show was a great success, and I look forward to following
up on all the introductions we made during the show. However,
it is always a grueling process to prepare for NAMM; doing
it with two new companies at once presented its own special
set of challenges and stress. I'm pleased with the show,
but I'm also pleased that it's over for another year...
or at least six months, until the Summer NAMM show in Nashville.
With
dozens of tasks to complete for each company, then the catastrophe
of having to build an entirely new web site in four days
after the first attempt was not accepted, it was not humanly
possible to send this newsletter any earlier. I hope you'll
forgive the wait.
A
New Beginning with an Old Friend
As I
mentioned above, the good news just keeps on coming. I am
very proud and excited to announce the launch of David
Nordschow Amplification, named for my close friend
of twenty-some years, and one of the most important musical
instrument amplification products designers of the last
three decades. In addition to my duties as VP, Sales &
Relationships, I am also a minority owner.
David
Nordschow is the founder and engineering genius behind Eden
Electronics, long considered among the finest of bass amplifier
and speaker cabinets. I have been an avid endorser of David's
for more than fifteen years, and worked with Eden for more
than five years as David's Special Projects Coordinator.
Now, after many months of preparation, we are launching
a new company, with a new vision.
Just
about the entire bass community knows I am "David's
Man" through and through. I've been his most ardent
champion for many years, and am honored to help him with
his new venture. For me, the best of all possible worlds
is to do something I love, in an industry I truly enjoy,
helping close friends achieve their dreams. So once again,
I'm living my own personal dream by helping others. I'm
now doing it twice at the same time!
There
are a number of wonderful reasons to be proud of the new
company but, for me, the best of all is that both have committed
to servant-leadership as the guiding philosophy. In addition,
we will follow the True Service ethic, using servant-leadership
concepts to guide our sales strategy and our interactions
with customers as well.
I see
David Nordschow Amplification as the perfect opportunity
to build a company from the very beginning with servant-leadership
as its primary foundation. My entire job is nothing more
than the implementation of this strategy in relationships
with dealers, vendors, marketing partners, endorsing artists
and institutions, and end users. In essence, I get to take
what I've learned through fifteen years of servant-leadership
research and practice, including many concepts David and
I (at least partially) implemented together in the past,
and put it all to a blank piece of paper. You can see why
I think this next year is going to be exciting!
Regular
readers may remember that I recently accepted a similar
position with The Learning Dock, LLC, publishers of Roy
Vogt's Teach Me Bass Guitar. Both companies are
not only aware of my work with the other, they're very excited
about the opportunities for cross-pollination. My plans
with D.N.A. actually predate my work with TLD. When Barbara
Crossman and I first sketched out my TLD duties, we used
my outline from D.N.A. as a template. From the very beginning,
Barbara and I explored ways in which the companies could
work together to mutual benefit.
The
two companies have already reached several cross-promotional
agreements, and plan to do even more over the next year.
Both TLD and D.N.A. realize that their products are complimentary,
that they both market to the same people, and that partnering
raises visibility for both. Later, the two companies may
share expenses for dual-purpose consumer promotional events,
thereby saving money while creating a more attractive event
in the customers' eyes.
If you're
a bass player, or someone interested in seeing how servant-leadership
develops in a brand new company, I invite you to take a
look at David Nordschow
Amplification. And should you have any questions,
feel
free to email me.
Servant-Leadership
Planning From the Ground Up
With
both The Learning Dock, LLC, and David Nordschow Amplification,
servant-leadership plays an important role in how we manage
the company. While TLD had been operating for more than
a year when I came on board, they were just beginning to
assemble their team, and were already using several servant-leadership
principles when I arrived. With D.N.A., servant-leadership
was a main focus from the first time we jotted notes on
the back of a napkin.
So how
are we incorporating servant-leadership into each company?
The short answer is the same for both: we're doing it one
small step at a time. We look at each phase of operation,
sometimes each individual or company relationship and ask
some basic questions:
-
What exactly do we want to achieve with this relationship?
- What
does the other party want to achieve?
- How
can we address the needs of both parties in a mutually
beneficial way?
- What
are the strengths and weaknesses of each party, and of
the proposed relationship?
- How
will each of the above affect our ability to reach our
goal?
- How
can we accentuate the strengths and shore up the weaknesses?
- What
are the other party's goals? Where do they want to be
in five years? Ten? Twenty?
- How
can we help the the other party to achieve its goals while
at the same time be of greater value to the company?
- What
can we do to ensure the longest, most productive relationship
possible?
Depending
on the situation, there will be other questions, especially
when it comes to spelling out on paper the parameters of
the official relationship. However, the above list serves
as a good starting point when getting to know others with
a view towards working with them.
No matter
how large the company, ultimately you'll be working with
people. The key to successful, long-term working relationships
is to seek mutually supportive relationships, and build
them on the goal of mutual benefit and growth. The sooner
begun, the sooner you will reap the benefits. By incorporating
servant-leadership principles from the very beginning, both
companies give themselves an excellent chance at long-term
success.
In the
coming months, I'll write more about how we are incorporating
servant-leadership into both companies. If you have questions
about a particular facet of the process, feel
free to send me an email.
Resource:
People You Know
The
old phrase, It's not what you know, but who you
know, has both positive and negative aspects. Let's
talk about one good aspect: you can often get significant
help, excellent advice or a connection to a resource from
people you already know.
Don't
ask about their own field alone; you'd be surprised who
might know someone that can help you solve your problem.
Years ago, my dentist (and friend) recommended an excellent
guitarist!
Quick
Tip: Be the Guy
How
many times have you heard a friend say, "I know a guy
[or women (gal)] who can..." or something similar?
This is micro-networking at it's finest. The best way for
you to make this work for you is to not only know a lot
of guys, but to be the guy that people tells
others about. Read
More...
You've
Got Questions
Q:
I don't understand how a corporation, which exists solely
to generate profit for its shareholders, can be expected
to serve its employees at the expense of the bottom line.
Aren't the two ideas directly opposed?
A:
No, the two ideas are not in conflict because servant-leadership
actually improves the bottom line over the long term. It
only seems to be the opposite if one looks at potential
short-term profit for the shareholders at all costs - including
the long-term success and health of the company.
Surprisingly
enough, many companies have done great damage to themselves
by making changes that, while serving the short-term interests
of the shareholders (in the form of dividends and higher
stock prices), have a significant negative effect on the
overall health and survivability of the company. In addition,
any company not following humanistic management practices
in general, and servant-leadership specifically, can over
time improve their bottom line for many reasons.
Servant-leadership
is founded on long-term thinking, or stewardship, that concerns
itself with the long-term health of the company, not just
this quarter's P&L. Serving employees, in the form of
proper support in their duties, fair pay with a path for
advancement and raises, a strong benefits package, traning/educational
assistance, policies that enhance employees' personal lives,
and many other methods and concepts, actually improve the
company's long-term health in many ways: Work quality and
quantity is improved, thereby making the company more profitable.
Relationships with vendors, dealers, and end consumers are
enhanced, creating lifelong partners and lifelong customers
and promoters of your business.
There
are also significant, measurable savings in human
resources - recruiting, hiring, training and more. Finally,
building a brand identity based on humanistic management
practices, servant-leadership (at work and in the community)
and corporate stewardship, leads to significantly increased
acceptance by consumers, leading in turn to increased sales
and stronger relationships. When the consumer community
you serve, be it global are local, sees clearly that you
have their best interests at heart as well as your
own, they will do their best to respond.
One
final thought: Think of it this way: Killing the goose may
bring a handsome profit when the goose is sold. But think
of all those lost eggs! Servant-leadership protects your
eggs for many long years.
Thought
for the Day
Do
things for others and you'll find your self-consciousness
evaporating.
~
Dale Carnegie
End
of Servant-Leadership Solutions V2010, #1, a publication
of:
Lane Baldwin Servant-Leadership Solutions
My business is improving yours.™
Copyright
by Lane Baldwin Servant-Leadership Solutions, 2010. Reprinting
or republication of Servant-Leadership Solutions is prohibited
without prior approval.
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