{"id":327,"date":"2012-06-19T16:46:05","date_gmt":"2012-06-19T23:46:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/savingusmanufacturing.com\/blog\/?p=327"},"modified":"2012-06-19T16:47:11","modified_gmt":"2012-06-19T23:47:11","slug":"what%e2%80%99s-really-wrong-with-corporate-america","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/savingusmanufacturing.com\/blog\/economy\/what%e2%80%99s-really-wrong-with-corporate-america\/","title":{"rendered":"What\u2019s Really Wrong with Corporate America?"},"content":{"rendered":"

A common refrain is that the purpose of a business is to maximize profits.\u00a0 It\u2019s obvious that a company has to make a profit to stay in business, grow, and prosper, but I don\u2019t think this should be the main purpose of a company.\u00a0 Most entrepreneurs have some kind of \u201cvision\u201d or bigger reason for starting a company ? whether it\u2019s to produce a new product that will benefit others or to provide a service they feel they can provide better than others.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s wrong with companies today, especially publicly trade corporations, is that they have lost their \u201csoul\u201d ? their vision or bigger reason for being a company.\u00a0 They have become too focused on the \u201cbottom line\u201d of maximizing profits and forgotten the real reason the company was founded.\u00a0 Our history as a country is filled with men and women of vision who changed the world by the products or services they invented or provided ? Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, George Westinghouse, and Aaron Montgomery Ward.<\/p>\n

Today, you need to be able to provide or add value to have a place in the global supply chain of goods and services.\u00a0 If you don\u2019t provide or add value, you won\u2019t be able to stay in business in the long run.\u00a0 Providing or adding the maximum value possible is the goal behind all of the steps and tools used to become a \u201cLean Six Sigma\u201d company whether you are a manufacturer of a service provider.\u00a0\u00a0 You focus on the customer by removing wasted and non-value added steps to become \u201clean\u201d and reduce variation and improve quality to achieve the \u201cSix Sigma\u201d level.<\/p>\n

However, this renewed focus on the customer by becoming a \u201cLean Six Sigma\u201d enterprise won\u2019t restore the soul of a company.\u00a0 To do this, you need to create or revive the concept of \u201cfor the sake of others;\u201d that is, serving others by what you do or make.\u00a0 This is the main concept presented in Dr. Tony Baron\u2019s book, The Art of Servant Leadership<\/a><\/em>.\u00a0 This book shows you how to design or redesign your organization for the sake of others and is \u201ca guidebook on how a private or public company can achieve its true purpose in the world.\u201d\u00a0 The book has a lofty purpose:\u00a0 \u201cTo equip, inspire, and encourage those we influence in order to make a profound positive difference in the world.<\/p>\n

In a 1970 Times<\/em> magazine article, the economist Milton Friedman<\/a> argued that businesses’ sole purpose is to generate profit for shareholders, as long as it is doing so legally and ethically. In contrast, Dr. Baron believes that the \u201csole goal of a business is to exist for the sake of others<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

The book provides \u201ca case study of the principles and practices Art Barter used as a servant leader to reform Datron and transform lives inside and outside the company.\u201d\u00a0 Datron <\/a>World Communications, Inc. (DWC) is a privately owned company located in Vista, California. For over 40 years, Datron has provided tactical military and public safety radio equipment to a diverse worldwide customer base doing business in over 80 countries through an international sales representative network and regional support centers.<\/p>\n

Part 1, \u201cThe Need for a New Kind of Leader,\u201d discusses leadership and the common misguided use of \u201capplied power\u201d vs. \u201ctrue power\u201d in the first chapter.\u00a0 Chapter 2 examines a leader\u2019s epiphany or defining moments that transforms him\/her into a \u201cservant leader.\u201d \u00a0In Art Barter\u2019s life, his father\u2019s example, his work at Disney Company as a young man, and the teachings of Ken Blanchard and John Maxwell led to his being ready to become a \u201cservant leader.\u201d with the guidance of Dr. Baron.<\/p>\n

In chapter 3, we learn that a leader often is best revealed by adversity and what was the adversity that contributed to the transformation of Art Barter and Datron.\u00a0 Mr. Barter had started at Datron in 1997 as Chief Financial Officer, assumed the position of General Manager after Titan Corporation bought Datron in 2001, and purchased Datron in 2004 during the depths of \u00a0adversity.<\/p>\n

Chapter 4 considers the fact that most corruption and disruption in corporations results from leaders\u2019 failure to lead themselves and what are the seven essential elements of leading yourself before leading others.<\/p>\n

At the end of each chapter, there are Table Talk\u201d questions you can ask yourself and others to use the book as a guide to help you transform yourself or your company.\u00a0 For example, after chapter 1, some of the questions are:\u00a0 \u201cWhat is your organization\u2019s story?\u00a0 Who are your leadership role models?\u00a0 \u00a0How did they shape your beliefs about leadership?\u201d<\/p>\n

Part 2 provides \u201cThe Formula for Success:\u00a0 Living for the Sake of Others,\u201d beginning with how to create a servant leadership culture in a company or organization in chapter 5.\u00a0 Dr. Baron\u2019s definition of corporate culture \u201cis a way of life cultivated over time through shared experiences, values, and behaviors.\u201d\u00a0 He states that every corporation must share the following at a minimum in order to sustain a healthy environment:\u00a0 shared beliefs, shared experience, and shared expressions; that is, \u201ca verbal commitment to do what they know they can do.\u201d<\/p>\n

In chapter 6, \u201cCultivating a Servant Leadership Culture,\u201d Dr. Baron writes that the four components necessary for transformation within an organization are:<\/p>\n