More Business Gems from the Thrift Shop

By Mark Fulton

In my last column I reported on a trophy I bagged during a shopping foray among the thrift stores of Atlanta. My prize was a book titled Pushing Up People by Art Williams, which cost me only $2 but turned out to be a treasure-trove of business wisdom.

Part One of the book extols the virtues of motivating employees with praise, recognition and respect, and empowering people who demonstrate a desire to grow and the determination to reach goals.

Part Two focuses on leadership, specifically the characteristics that one must develop in order to effectively manage people. What impresses me most about Williams’ keen perceptions on leadership is their simplicity. Pushing Up People isn’t a heavy treatise on management theory. Rather, it is a reminder of practical principles that have paved the way to prosperity for generations. Actually, they are ideas that date back to our nation’s origin. What better time than around the Fourth of July for reflecting on qualities that got all the fireworks and flag-waving started in the first place?

Here are Williams’ 14 “push-up principles” for developing leaders:

• Stand for something.
• Total commitment is the first step to greatness.
• Become a crusader.
• Develop a positive attitude.
• You get what you expect.
• Get your priorities straight.
• Know where youÕre going.
• Don’t be afraid to fail.
• You’ve got to pay the price.
• Do it first.
• Build with quality.
• Always move ahead.
• Remember the giving principle.
• Never give up.

Regrettably, the history of corporate America is replete with tales of principles giving way to profits and expediency replacing excellence. The barons of industry who made their fortunes at the turn of this century are revered for their philanthropy, but few of them are distinguished for their charitable dispositions, their respect for others or their devotion to fair play.

Likewise, there are enough modern-day stories of corporate shenanigans and executive ego trips to fill at least a few bookshelves at Barnes & Noble. The best business leaders in the next millennium will possess qualities that sometimes got left behind in America’s dash to worldwide economic dominance.

Williams’ principles for “pushing up” leaders are really notions that reflect the values and work ethic that built America. They are virtues such as integrity, determination, optimism, excellence and other attributes that carried America’s settlers to new frontiers and launched the economic dynamo we live in today. Space doesn’t allow for a detailed discussion of every one of Williams’ leadership principles. However, a few of his points do invite a closer look.

Williams’ chapter on his “stand for something” principle makes the point that the bottom line doesn’t justify everything. The subject of business ethics has gained popularity in recent years. Increasingly, business leaders are being judged on the basis of character and reputation as much as technical expertise and business savvy. “Trust and respect from your employees buy a loyalty that you can never buy with a salary,” Williams says. Since the ethical tone of an organization is set by the company’s leadership, the next generation of corporate tigers will bear the ethical stripes of their predecessors.

“No one will follow a negative, dull, disillusioned, frustrated, dadgum crybaby,” Williams says in his “develop a positive attitude” chapter. “Your business is a reflection of the way you look at life, so you have to pass negatives up and pass positives down.” Williams insists that a bad attitude in a business leader will lead to disaster faster than anything else. But the importance of possessing a positive attitude doesn’t stop with the company honchos. “You must let your people know that you expect them to work on developing a positive attitude, too,” Williams says.

With Pushing Up People, Williams addressed the relevance of spirituality and family values in the workplace before Stephen Covey and others made them digestible topics downtown. “It is possible to balance a busy work life with a rich, rewarding family life,” says Williams. “A leader must be an example of balanced living.”

With a little imagination you can flesh out Williams’ Pushing Up People principles to suit your particular work environment. When in doubt, try following Mark Twain’s advice: “Always do right. This will gratify some people — and astonish the rest.”

© Copyright 1999 Mark S. Fulton