This Month’s Vigilant Leader

Doug Mendenhall
Writer/Consultant

Background
Doug has consulted for Fortune 100 companies during his 15 years with Accenture and Cap Gemini.  He was most intrigued in those experiences by how each company was plagued by executive teams actively working against one another.  Doug wondered, if these were our most successful corporations, how successful could they be if their employees worked for each other’s successes?

Doug also served as CEO of Cerulic, Inc., a local wireless company.  Doug was able to test many of his philosophies on how to lead and motivate people.  Cerulic grew to become one of 10 companies to watch in Red Herring’s 2000 Hot New Companies Issue.

Doug currently works with corporations to succeed in delivering strategic programs.  Doug’s primary focus is training teams on “Spark,” a program he developed to help people choose their roles in the world.  “Spark” helps people regain their passion and enthusiasm for life.  His findings through “Spark” are that people’s mental connections at work grow 300 percent.

V: How does one know when one’s spark is gone? 
If you don’t have a reason to get out of bed in the morning… if you don’t find yourself passionate about what is happening in your life… if you don’t greet your loved ones with enthusiasm and excitement… then there is an opportunity to dramatically change your life!  If you would describe your life with these scenarios, then you have lost your spark.

V: Do you feel people can regain their spark?
Yes. I believe we are all born with spark, so it can be reclaimed.  If you take time to witness young children, you can see that enthusiasm and passion for life.  It is present in every child.  Somewhere from early childhood to adulthood most lose this spark altogether, or allow it to drop to a dull and distant glimmer.

V: If motivation comes from within, is it really possible to be a motivational manager or leader? 
Yes.  I believe you can motivate by inquiry to awaken each individual’s internal motivations.  One premise of “Spark” is that each of us have a role in the world, and if we can get clear on what that is, we can find significant motivation.  A good leader plays a role in helping others find that clarity for themselves, and a great leader lives that clarity through their actions.

V: How important is organizational culture in terms of its influence on people’s frame of mind?
Extremely important.  A culture at its core is either trusting or distrusting.  In today’s world, companies with a culture of distrust will have a near impossible time collaborating and working in the global market.  Regarding people’s frames of mind, if there is a culture of trust, people feel empowered to take risks.  This means they can fail and survive.  This means the organization can learn quicker.  I say, “fail early,” so that you can succeed sooner!  Many people are so paralyzed by failing that they delay exposing thoughts/ideas which in the end causes flaws to show up late in the process, and this often causes failure.  If they would have risked failure early, they would have received quick feedback and made adjustments, allowing them to succeed.

V: What do you believe is critical to leading a purposeful life? 
Simply being clear on what you want to commit to in life.  I lead people through a process in which they decide who they want to be when they’re at their best, as well as what they want their lives to be about.  For example, my purpose is to assist others to see their brilliance and act on it.  I can do this as CEO or as a basketball coach.  It doesn’t matter what I do.  And when I am at my best, I show up as a warm, loving man full of enthusiasm, a bias for action, and respect for other’s thoughts.  That is enough for me to continually work on for the rest of my life!

V: What do you believe is the key to understanding what motivates people? 
Asking questions and listening.  And when I mention listening, I think good listening brings additional questions.  It takes significant inquiry to get at what really motivates people, as they may not be entirely clear themselves.  If people can get clear on their roles in life, things that line up with that purpose become incredibly motivating.

V: In your research, what has intrigued you most in terms of what you’ve learned?
That life is really simple and people really all want the same thing.  In our world, we have created distractions and complexities that move us from that simplicity, but we can choose to get back to what works, and it really is simple.

V: What advice would you give to someone who has lost his or her spark? 
Take a step back and look at choices you are making and ask yourself if they are working or not working?  Seek some help in finding your way back to a simpler existence, like when you were very young, and you will find that your spark is easily regained!  I believe it is a simple process to regain spark if people choose to make it simple.

V: What do you believe is true about people?
I believe all people have brilliance. I think everyone is unique in their gifts, but the same in that they are all amazing.  It intrigues me that we all want to stand out, but fit in at the same time.

V: What do you believe is true about most organizations?
That they are in a hurry to succeed and afraid to fail, but I believe the quickest path to success is to fail as fast as possible, if that makes sense.  I think this mindset causes companies to move slower in releasing products and in exposing their plans and ideas. In turn, each group within the company is slower to release products and expose their plans and ideas.  They want to make sure they are right and that they have it all thought through, but they can’t be right and all thought through… that is the funny thing. So by taking that extra time, they put everything at greater risk versus exposing things early and making adjustments.  It is a much more difficult life to anticipate versus find out what happens, and there is a huge lesson regarding speed to success in that statement!