the rudolph factor: finding the bright lights that drive innovation in your business

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The Rudolph Factor


The Rudolph Factor

Finding the Bright Lights that DriveInnovation in Your Business

Cyndi Laurin, PhDCraig Morningstar

John Wiley & Sons, Inc.


Copyright © 2009 by Cyndi Laurin, PhD, and Craig Morningstar. All rights reserved.

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.Published simultaneously in Canada.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, ortransmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 ofthe 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission ofthe Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee tothe Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978)750-8400, fax (978) 646-8600, or on the web at www.copyright.com. Requests to thePublisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, JohnWiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, (201) 748-6011, fax (201)748-6008, or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions.

Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and author have usedtheir best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warrantieswith respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book andspecifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for aparticular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representativesor written sales materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not besuitable for your situation. You should consult with a professional whereappropriate. Neither the publisher nor author shall be liable for any loss of profit orany other commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental,consequential, or other damages.

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Dedicated to Rudolphs everywhere.Let your nose glow!

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CONTENTS

Acknowledgments ix

Foreword E. David Spong xi

Foreword David M. Bowman xv

Preface xix

CHAPTER 1 The Prevailing Form of Business Cultures 1

CHAPTER 2 The Boeing Company and the Impetusfor a Cultural Revolution 25

CHAPTER 3 Why Rudolph, You Ask? 41

CHAPTER 4 Nurturing Rudolphs to Maximize TheirInnovative Contributions 59

CHAPTER 5 Establishing a Team-BasedRudolph Culture 77

CHAPTER 6 Redefining Leadership 107

CHAPTER 7 Developing a Corporate Constitution 121

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CONTENTS

CHAPTER 8 Creating an Alternative and AlignedReward Structure 143

Epilogue Go Forth—Awaken the RudolphWithin 161

Resources 167

Index 169

About the Authors 181

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We would like to acknowledge the following BoeingCompany employees (former and current) for their time,efforts, and contributions to this book. Without theirguidance and input, it would not have been possibleto accurately describe the transformation and continuedjourney of the C-17 Program. First and foremost, wethank David Bowman (former C-17 Program managerand current vice president and general manager, TankerPrograms, Integrated Defense Systems at The BoeingCompany) for entertaining our book concept and point-ing us in the right direction. We also thank Vice President/General Manager Global Mobility Systems, Jean Chamber-lin, for her support and allowing us to interview severalC-17 employees.

In the Employee Involvement area, we are most grate-ful to Edward Schaniel; Richard Nicholson, Psy.D.; CharlesA. Macias, Psy.D.; and Suzi Hammond-Miller for goingfar beyond the call of duty to assist us with arranginginterviews, sharing many hours of their personal time,and for being Rudolphs! Many thanks to Rick Sanford,Drew Oberbeck, and Craig Savage for their assistance inorganizing our visits to the C-17 facility in Long Beach,California.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

For their time and contribution in interviews, sto-ries, and quotes, we thank Mark Adams, Leandro M.Aguinaldo, Michael Caldarera, William “Scott” Carnegie,Wayne C. Coleman, P. James Drake, Dr. Katherine “Kathy”Erlick, Ron Gill, Sal Gutierrez, Jake B. Hampton Jr.,Elizabeth Haseltine, David Hernandez, Lawrence C.Holzer, Craig Johnson, Bernita Mason, Kami MoghaddamEdD, Anna M. Monaco, Daniel Munoz, Anthony Murray,Don Pitcher, Rosie Robles-Gleason, E. David Spong,Jeff Stagner, Lee Whittington, Patrick Wishall, and DonWoullard.

We also would like to thank some of our non-BoeingCompany friends and colleagues for their time in review-ing the manuscript and offering insights and contributionsfrom their own experiences in business and industry,including Steve Lewis, Doug Newton, Katie Peiffer, SteveShank, and Aad Streng. We’d also like to thank the cre-ator(s) of Skype as it has been a helpful communicationtool in our collaborative efforts.

Many thanks to Lisa Ricci for her assistance and time.Last but not least, we are most grateful for the supportand encouragement from our literary agent and friend,Stephen Hanselman, and our families. This book projecthas been a full-time job (in addition to our “normal” jobs)and would not have been possible without them.

Thank you!

C.L. and C.M.

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FOREWORD

Here are two forewords by former C-17 Program man-agers who have gone on to continue great work withinThe Boeing Company and beyond. The first is writtenby E. David Spong, who is the current chair of the Mal-colm Baldrige Foundation, and the second is written byDavid Bowman, who is the vice president and generalmanager, Tanker Programs, Integrated Defense Systemsat The Boeing Company.

As one who lived the C-17 journey from early 1991through the end of 2000, and considers it the highlightof my career in aerospace, I am delighted to provide mycommentary on this retelling of the story and the lessonsthat Cyndi and Craig have so expertly extracted from it!

I am always surprised and intrigued by the differencesin the C-17 story as told by various observers. Each per-son views it through a different knothole or lens andthus can and does make different observations, which,while not contradictory, can appear to tell a differentstory. For example, one senior member of the Opera-tions (manufacturing) team credited the C-17 success tothe implementation of lean. I attribute it to the use ofthe Baldrige Criteria in driving continuous improvement,

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and there have been several other variations. The authorsattribute it to the “Four Pillars of Organization Greatness”and, of course, the “Rudolphs”!

Since 1998, when the C-17 Program received theMalcolm Baldrige Award, I have studied each of the sub-sequent organizations that have received the award andobserved that what sets them apart is they all have greatcultures. Initially, I thought that this was just an interest-ing by-product of their performance excellence efforts.However, now I believe and know it is a key and nec-essary element in being a world-class organization. Intheir research, Cyndi and Craig have brought the ideaof culture into greater focus with the identification of the“Rudolph Factor.” As one of the leaders on the C-17 Pro-gram, we did not set out to create a culture to enableRudolphs to contribute and flourish. We recognized thatit was happening conceptually, and had we been moreaware of the cause and effect, maybe we could havedone more.

The authors of The Rudolph Factor provide a freshperspective on the factors that contribute to creating andsustaining a high-performing organization. They directlylink these factors to the success of the C-17 Program,which they attribute to:

� Progressive leadership

� A team based-culture which leads to innovation

� A steadfast organizational constitution

� An alternative and aligned reward structure

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Countless books that provide insight and advice onthe subject of leadership are primarily for the senior lead-ers of organizations (not denying that leadership cannotor does not exist at other levels within organizations, butat least not addressing it per se). Cyndi and Craig viewleadership with a thoroughly different lens from otherresearchers by separating it from job titles and positionalleadership to those who demonstrate the commitment tothe success of the people around them.

Many books and articles are also available that detailapproaches and techniques to being more innovative,which in many cases seems like trying to solve theold problem of scheduling a breakthrough versus cre-ating, staffing, and funding the equivalent of Bell Labs(where the transistor was invented). The former is prob-ably impossible, and the latter—by today’s measures—isprohibitively expensive. Cyndi and Craig’s thesis is verydifferent in that they believe and provide evidence tosupport (based on the C-17 journey) that innovators, orRudolphs, exist within all organizations when a culturethat empowers and enables contribution is created. Theauthors detail how to achieve this in a way that is easy touse and understand.

The steadfast “Constitution” (which is based on val-ues, rather than rules) is cited as one of the “FourPillars of Organizational Greatness,” which I completelyagree with. As the authors point out, it only workswell when used in conjunction with the redefinition ofleadership.

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Last but not least is the awareness that the reward andrecognition program must be aligned with the four modesemployees operate within—operational/tactical, facilita-tive/managerial, creative/innovative (where the Rudolphslive!), and strategic/visionary—rather than with the man-agement structure.

I encourage you to read, enjoy, study, and learn fromthis book, and go forth to identify and empower yourRudolphs to lead you and your organization to world-class results.

E. David SpongFormer Vice President and

Program Manager C-17, and Chair of theMalcolm Baldrige Foundation

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As an executive on the C-17 Program in the 1990s, I wasvery much a witness and participant in the turnaroundstory and enormous breakthrough journey that transpiredthen and has lived on for over two decades. After a relo-cation assignment for a few years in Missouri, I had thehonor of returning to the C-17 Program to lead it from2002 through 2007 and then to lead the Global Mobil-ity Systems Division, of which C-17 is a part. I do notbelieve it is an exaggeration to say that just about every-thing I have learned about true leadership has come fromthe past two decades of watching, listening, thinking, andworking with world-class people, world-class teams, in aworld-class culture.

After receiving the Malcolm Baldrige National QualityAward in 1998, it was no surprise that this organizationneeded to continue to embrace the Baldrige principlesand continue to grow year in and year out (that, in andof itself, is a key recipe for excellence). In 2002, our teamreceived the California Award for Performance Excellenceand the Governor’s first Productivity Award. On accept-ing the award, I presented our story to many people atthe annual conference, and it was there that I first metCyndi Laurin. We had a very nice chat (her energy and

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excitement is very contagious), and she introduced theidea of one day writing a book using our story as a foun-dation. Needless to say, I was humbled and honored toparticipate in such a project. And here it is!

Over the years and through all the thick and thinof the C-17 experiences with great leaders like DonKozlowski and David Spong as well as great USAFcustomer leaders, I have come to define a very personaldefinition for leadership that I use as my compass eachand every day. That is, that leadership, in its most rudi-mentary form, is all about, and only about, connectingpeople to their future. Indeed, this is a servanthood defi-nition for leadership, and each word in the definition canbe defined further. The C-17 Program story is all aboutleadership. It took courageous leadership to even attemptthe dramatic breakthrough cultural change that occurred,and it took great leadership to assure that disciplinedincremental change occurred year in and year out for thepast several years.

But the real story is that through strong leader-ship and a disciplined focus on people and teams(employee involvement and employee engagement), thetrue Rudolphs emerge as is discussed exceptionally wellin this book. Rudolphs are not always those obviousentrepreneurs we read about. Rudolphs are you and me.When we are given the right leadership, tools, processes,and enormous latitude (empowerment) to find out howtalented we truly are and how much more we can con-tribute than any of us ever thought possible, we can rise

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to make the impossible possible. We become true changeagents!

I hope you enjoy this great book, and I thankRudolphs Cyndi Laurin and Craig Morningstar for theircreative and earnest efforts to share their innovative con-cepts for us to learn and to apply. The Rudolph factoras explained in this book is indeed replicable anywhere.One last thing I can assure you from experience—thejourney is more fun than you can possibly imagine. Whyelse do it?

David M. BowmanVice President and General Manager,

Tanker Programs Integrated Defense Systems,The Boeing Company

Note: The views expressed in this Foreword are my own personal

views and not those of The Boeing Company.

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PREFACE

The Boeing Company has a long tradition of financial suc-cess by providing exceptional products and services toits many customers. However, it has also suffered—alongwith many of its competitors and suppliers—from thecyclic nature of the commercial aircraft business withwild swings in the demand for new aircraft. In the late1990s, the dramatic increase in aircraft orders was neg-atively impacting its ability to deliver quality aircraft ontime. In addition, the integration of Rockwell, and later,McDonnell Douglas with the heritage portions of Boeingwas causing headaches, to say the very least. Airbus wasproving to be a tough competitor, leading Boeing bothin market share, new orders, and on-time deliveries. TheBoeing Company seemed unable to define or offer a newcommercial aircraft that met industry needs.

The company was also plagued by adversarial rela-tionships, poor performance, and a loss of focus that wasexacerbated by post-9/11 market pressures. Suddenly,at the lowest point, while experiencing cultural decay,market pressures, and the serious financial consequencesthey wrought, Boeing found its bearings and maneuvered

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a remarkable turnaround in record-breaking time thatplaced its rivals on the competitive ropes.

At the core of this impressive reversal of fortune aresome crucial lessons Boeing learned a decade ago aboutinnovation with its widely lauded cargo aircraft called theC-17 Globemaster. We believe these are lessons that Boe-ing is building on today enterprise-wide in several otherBoeing facilities. While the technical elements and capa-bilities of the C-17 aircraft surpassed all expectations, theorganization was not performing well. In an effort to stayalive, the customer (the U.S. Air Force), along with C-17management and the employees partnered to fix the Pro-gram that unleashed a massive, cultural revolution.

In the simplest of terms, a new way of looking atleadership and progressive practices involving employeesare the cornerstones on the path to Boeing’s successes.The C-17 transformation story has become the proverbial“pebble in the pond” and has influenced change at otherBoeing sites and within other companies, such as ParkerHannifin and American Airlines.

In 2007, The Boeing Company and the U.S. Air Forcegranted us unique, sole-authorized access for the purposeof writing this book. Our intention is to use The Boe-ing Company’s successful transformation as a platformfor teaching organizations how to elicit and benefit fromcreative, revolutionary innovations from within—fromtheir current employees. Several aspects make this storyunique. First and foremost, The Rudolph Factor princi-ples are transferable to and replicable by any type or size

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of organization in any industry. At its core, the C-17 storyreflects a revolution of the Program’s business culture thatwas riddled with adverse and antagonistic relationshipsand facing potential cancellation, but that went on to alignnearly 10,000 employees to a common purpose and wassubsequently awarded our nation’s prestigious MalcolmBaldrige National Quality Award, which is presented bythe president of the United States. President Clinton, whopresented the Award to the C-17 Program in 1999, referredto it as a “National Treasure.”

While the rate of this significant transformation wasquite impressive (approximately six years), the think-ing underlying the methods is even more compelling. Ashift in thinking took place that drove new actions andbehaviors and produced (and continue to produce) phe-nomenal results. The Boeing C-17 Program’s success isbased on progressive leadership; the development of ahighly participatory team-based culture; a steadfast orga-nizational constitution; and an alternative, aligned rewardstructure. Above all, this nontraditional creative and inno-vative thinking occurred in what could be considered oneof the most highly regulated and historically bureaucraticenvironments. We believe the tenets underlying the Boe-ing C-17 Program have been successfully transplanted andare currently in the process of being implemented intoseveral other Divisions and Programs within The BoeingCompany.

In the first section (Chapter 1), we explore gen-eral problems companies face with regard to eliciting

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innovative thinking from employees and how this lackof involvement and contribution goes hand in hand withdisparate, disconnected, and/or dysfunctional corporatecultures. Combined, these nontangible issues diminishpossibilities for an organization to be a world-class leader,and more importantly, to have any notable competitiveadvantage.

The second section (Chapters 2 through 4) exploreslessons learned and demonstrates how the leaders of Boe-ing’s C-17 Program recognized Employee Involvementand the development of a culture of creative contribu-tion as the two most important factors in revolutionizingtheir business culture—as gleaned from their experiencesin identifying, nurturing, and building their own RudolphFactor (a term referring to a small percentage of everycompany’s highly creative and unconventional thinkers).Boeing C-17’s success can be correlated to examplesfrom other companies that have orchestrated innova-tive thinking and experienced transformative results aswell. The primary lessons are grouped into three stages—each of which builds on the progressive and innova-tive thinking behind the C-17’s success. The first stagereveals the methods of identifying Rudolphs (Chapter 3,“Why Rudolph, You Ask?”). The second stage exploreshow companies who have become adept at identifyingtheir Rudolphs must then learn the lessons of “NurturingRudolphs to Maximize Their Innovative Contributions”(Chapter 4).

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The third and final section of the book (Chapters 5through the Epilogue) demonstrates how “Establishing aRudolph Culture” (Chapter 5) without addressing threeother vital areas of the organization will not result inorganizational greatness. We share ideas of how to inte-grate a highly innovative Rudolph Culture with three otheressential elements of organizational dynamics, whichcombined make up what we refer to as The Four Pillarsof Organizational Greatness. The Four Pillars include thefollowing:

1. Establishing a Rudolph Culture

2. Redefining leadership as “connecting people totheir future”

3. Developing a Corporate Constitution—an unwaver-ing institutional memory and infrastructure that doesnot change no matter who is leading or what exter-nal circumstances are presented

4. Creating an Aligned Reward Structure—consonantwith different types of employees (worker, manager,Rudolph, or executive) and in alignment with theother three pillars

The beauty of The Rudolph Factor is that it often doesnot require a company to use or spend additional moneyor resources because Rudolphs are already there—theyonly languish in not being identified, nurtured, or hav-ing a healthy system from which they can effectively

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contribute. This book is intended to be used as a tool toassist people within organizations to get on the same pageand to facilitate enterprise-wide cultural transformations.The design and content are structured as an ongoing ref-erence guide for employees, managers, executives, andof course, Rudolphs! The process of transforming theculture, redefining leadership, creating a “Corporate Con-stitution,” and aligning the reward structure becomes acompany’s sustainable competitive advantage and a pow-erful mechanism for leveraging The Rudolph Factor.

Enjoy!

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C H A P T E R 1

THE PREVAILINGFORM OFBUSINESSCULTURES

A company without competitive advantage is as good asextinct; and in today’s global economy, the fundamentalelements of competitive advantage have changed. Whilethe uniqueness of a product’s features (function, design,quality, and/or price) was once considered the pri-mary criteria for an organization’s competitive advantage,today’s criteria are comprised of nontangible features thatare more people-based rather than product- or process-based. This is not to say the products or processes arenot important. We are simply referring to the notionthat a people-centric focus has a profound and positiveeffect on the products and processes people manage.

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THE RUDOLPH FACTOR

Currently, companies tend to be product-only or process-only focused (people tend to be left out of the equationaltogether). The ability to leverage an organization’sRudolph Factor begins with this fundamental shift inthinking, which then provides management with a newapproach to catalyzing the creativity in its own ranks asdeveloped from the winning ideas and tools proven inthe crucible of one of the world’s largest companies—TheBoeing Company.

In our work with businesses large and small, we haverecognized that roughly 10 percent of any organization’speople are true agents of innovation—people who canshine the light exactly where a company needs to go toachieve higher levels of innovation. This critical 10 per-cent of an organization is its Rudolph Factor—borrowinga metaphor from the famous reindeer of the popularchildren’s Christmas story, Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Rein-deer. As the story goes, Rudolph’s bright, illuminated noseled Santa’s sleigh through the fog to accomplish its mis-sion of delivering toys all over the world by Christmasmorning. Similarly, modern day Rudolphs in the busi-ness world tend to go unnoticed until their unique andunconventional thinking is needed. Companies like Boe-ing that have learned to identify, nurture, and leveragetheir Rudolph Factor are today’s leaders of innovationand change, and hence, dominate their respective fieldswith this unique and sustainable competitive advantage.It is sustainable over time and through external circum-stances because people-centric organizations are far more

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The Prevailing Form of Business Cultures

difficult (if not impossible) to replicate versus product-only or process-only focused organizations.

Another element of today’s global competitive envi-ronment requires management to balance time andresources in addressing efficiency and innovation. Mostbusiness innovations are generally related to greater inter-nal efficiencies and improvements within the variousorganizational functions. From a management perspec-tive, efficiencies are typically perceived as internal issues,while innovations are considered external or growth ini-tiatives. The most serious limiting factor that managersface in achieving performance excellence is the lack ofemployee engagement and creative contribution as itrelates to problem solving, performance management,process improvement, as well as growth and expansionefforts. Furthermore, significant percentages of the work-force are ambivalent, if not discontent, with the visionand culture of their respective organizations. This can beseen by the prevalent lack of contribution and involve-ment by employees. More tangibly, it can be measured inabsenteeism, lateness, safety issues, a decrease in produc-tivity, an increase in waste or scrap, an increase in defects,rework, or poor service among many other process- andperformance-based issues.

There are a myriad of problems with regard to elic-iting creative and innovative thinking from employeesand managers. In considering employee contributions,some managers may not recognize a winning idea whenpresented with it because it may not always be terribly

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THE RUDOLPH FACTOR

clear what innovative thinking looks like. To compoundthe problem, the command-and-control style of manage-ment continue to be prevalent in many organizations.This prolific style of management has been around sincethe dawn of the industrial age and causes many employ-ees to mentally check out because the message sent isthat employees’ ideas, thinking, and intellectual contribu-tions are not valued nor appreciated. It is the “we payyou to work, not to think” syndrome. Even though therehave been hundreds of articles and books written abouthow ineffective command-and-control management isin a business environment, it continues to be popularamong many of today’s organizations. For people andorganizations interested in being world-class engines ofinnovation, management style (overt as well as covert)is an extremely important element to examine. Seniorleadership and management must look at the means bywhich they elicit performance from their employees—is itfacilitative and supportive or threatening and controlling?Generally speaking, the structure by which employees arerewarded or penalized sheds ample light on the style ofmanagement practiced.

To address issues related to innovation, many organi-zations direct a significant amount of time and resourcesto fix the symptoms of employee ambivalence, rather thanfocusing on the underlying motivators and the organiza-tional structure driving the lack of engagement and cre-ative contribution. Some companies have gone so far asto require their employees to take intensive psychological

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assessments to identify who might be true agents ofchange—those employees we refer to as Rudolphs.

Other times, managers create extravagant employeesuggestion programs to wrangle inventive and innovativeideas—only to stifle the process when it comes to imple-mentation. It does not take long for employees to stopcontributing altogether when their ideas do not fit withinthe organization’s collective paradigm. Managers desireinnovative and inventive thinking and many times donot know how to manage the associated risk that comeswith innovation. Instead, they try to control it when theyshould be fostering it. There is a big difference betweenmanaging and controlling risk, and many managers areuncomfortable with innovation because the perceived riskmight put them in an unfavorable light if the innovationfails. This is not by intention—managers do not set outto sabotage innovative thinking. Managers tend to oper-ate within the parameters of the structure and system thathave been created for them. So, rather than going outon a limb, managers attempt to control and limit inno-vative contributions from workers, thus killing creativityand employee engagement altogether.

AN ALTERNATIVE IS AVAILABLE

By creating an environment where innovative and inven-tive thinking can flourish, today’s progressive managersare producing new ways for employees to become more

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THE RUDOLPH FACTOR

involved. Historically, Employee Involvement (EI) hasbeen included as part of “Corporate Outreach Strategies.”When researching various EI programs, we found thatmany EI programs were primarily focused on charitablegiving programs, employee volunteerism, and workplacegiving. These types of EI programs are not what trans-formed The Boeing Company’s C-17 Program. While thereis distinct value in charitable giving and volunteerism, thelevel of EI we are referring to is more accurately definedas employee engagement. The Boeing Company and ahandful of other very large companies, like Royal PhilipsElectronics (Philips), Toyota, and the Ricoh Group areaware of and recognize the value in engaging people ona grand scale.

Leading the Employee Involvement (EI) initiative wasone of the most challenging assignments of my career,and it turned out to be the most rewarding experienceof organizational and personal transformation that Icould ever imagine. What seemed like a project becamea labor of love with results that exceeded my wildestexpectations and continue to leave a legacy beyondtoday for all the leaders and employees who are partof the journey.

McDonnell Douglas Corporation veteran leader,Don Kozlowski, came to Long Beach in the early 1990sto lead the turnaround of the C-17 program. He part-nered with our USAF customer and exceptional leader,General Ron Kadish, and both began collaborating

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with the United Auto Workers (UAW). McDonnell Dou-glas (now Boeing) was transforming the organizationand focusing on partnership, quality, and processmanagement. Kozlowski asked me to lead the initia-tive to engage the workforce through EI. EmployeeInvolvement would be the vehicle and culture to drivedecision making from the lowest levels to improveproductivity, innovation, and employee and customersatisfaction. It would be a true partnership between allstakeholders.

My most amazing observation has been seeing peo-ple working together to improve the business when theappropriate environment is established. The Rudolphsnaturally step forward, and I believe that everyone hasa little bit of Rudolph in them. “The Magic is in thePeople” is a phrase that caught on when the teamsbegan showcasing exceptional results. With this, thespirit permeates throughout the organization and cre-ates a unique pride of ownership. My advice for leadersis to empower your people and get out of the way! Youwon’t be sorry.

I am very honored to have been part of the C-17transformation. I credit its success to the workforcemembers, who are the real heroes, who made it happenand continue to reach new heights each year.

Ed Schaniel

Former Director of Employee Involvement (Retired),

The Boeing Company

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THE RUDOLPH FACTOR

Aligning employee engagement with the corporatevision and strategies is a significant contributor to a pro-gressive company’s business success in any industry. Foremployee engagement to be a powerful, driving force forinnovation, responsibility (and control) must be turnedover to employees (along with a supportive structureand systems identified here). This concept of handingover responsibility to employees flies in the face of theprevalent command-and-control style of management. Ifreading this is making you a bit nervous, remember torecognize that handing over responsibility and controlinvolves more than simply passing the baton to the work-ers. As you will learn, it requires a shift in awareness,thinking, and actions from senior leadership as well asa newly defined role for high- and mid-level managers.It also requires a close organizational examination—andgenerally, a modification—of the culture and rewardstructure. In some cases, as with Boeing’s C-17 Program,it required an entire business cultural revolution.

The value of shifting responsibility and control toemployees is far greater than maintaining the current wayorganizations have been doing things. Shifting responsi-bility to workers does not imply freedom of action, whereanyone can do whatever they please. It refers to having avoice and an avenue to implement ideas, which naturallycompels employees to voluntarily take on innovative andcreative thinking above and beyond their current respon-sibilities. Progressive managers have altered their roleto that of advocate for employee engagement and have

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absolutely relinquished the means of control they onceused (or their perception/illusion of control) to allowmore ideas to percolate from the ground up. In the caseof Boeing, leadership created entirely new positions tosupport the area of employee engagement at a corporate-enterprise level as evidenced in the language of manycurrent job descriptions, which include training in EI asone of the hiring criteria.

An article by Nancy Lockwood in the March 2007issue of HRMagazine reports that engaged employees “doa better job, are prepared to go the extra mile, deliveroutstanding performance, and see opportunities to leadothers.”∗ Findings also include that employees with thehighest level of commitment perform 20 percent betterand are 87 percent less likely to leave their organiza-tions, all of which points to a clear link between employeeengagement and bottom-line business performance. TheBoeing C-17 Program’s internal EI Practitioners providedus with several graphs and data indicating a positive,direct correlation between employee satisfaction indicesand employee engagement initiatives.

A PSYCHOLOGY OF CHANGE MODEL—AVTAR

Before you can appreciate the type of transformativeresults experienced by Boeing’s C-17 Program, it will be

∗ Nancy Lockwood, “Leveraging Employee for Competitive Advan-

tage,” HRMagazine 52, no. 3 (March 2007), 1–11.

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THE RUDOLPH FACTOR

most helpful to understand the context and framework ofhow that program developed its Rudolph Factor. It is alsoimportant to note that while experimentation was respon-sible for much of what transpired, we have clearly identi-fied the thinking behind the C-17 Program’s tenets of suc-cess so that your organization can gain a sustainable com-petitive advantage through leveraging your own RudolphFactor via intentional design, rather than through trialand error. The most significant characteristic of BoeingC-17 Program’s successful transformation and incrediblefinancial results is directly related to the level of employeeengagement that was built using creative and innovativethinking and contributions led by their Rudolphs.

We define employee engagement as those workerswho deeply care about the future of their organization,who voluntarily choose to invest extra effort, who respect(and live) their organization’s values, and who see a lineof sight between their personal future and the organiza-tion’s mission and vision. Over the past three years, stud-ies have indicated that engaged employees are more cus-tomer focused, effective team players, stay longer, havefewer safety issues, and have a profound effect on finan-cial business performance. The 2008 Employee Engage-ment Report by BlessingWhite revealed “fewer than onein three employees are fully engaged in their jobs [in theUnited States], and 19 percent are actually disengaged.”∗

∗ BlessingWhite. The 2008 Employee Engagement Report. Princeton,

NJ: BlessingWhite, Inc. www.blessingwhite.com/eee report.asp.

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Recognize that a substantial amount of untapped potentialfor improvement exists right now within your own orga-nization! Operating at one-third of total power is like run-ning on less than three cylinders when you have a pow-erful V8 engine. While operating at 33 percent mightget you slow, forward movement on flat ground, con-sider how the same engine performs when going uphill.Mediocre. Running an organization at 33 percent is notacceptable in today’s highly competitive, global markets.

One of the elements that makes the Boeing C-17 storyunique is not necessarily the initiatives and strategies theyimplemented. These are easy to find and available toany organization. Rather, it is the awareness and valueplaced on people that led to a highly engaged, team-based Rudolph Culture. We created a model to assistmanagers in their responsibility of facilitating the psychol-ogy of change with employees. As we all know, changeis the only constant in organizational life. We refer toour psychology of change model as AVTAR, which is anacronym identifying the five stages required to enableparticipative change. Change, or transformation, will notoccur unless each stage is realized in a linear form. Fora manager to inspire employees to embrace change, theymust provide and facilitate the following:

1. Awareness: The manager is responsible for gener-ating awareness of the proposed change.

2. Value in awareness: The manager is also respon-sible for providing employees with supportive

11


THE RUDOLPH FACTOR

information that will inspire them to find value inthe proposed change. What is unique about ourmodel is that you cannot go on to the next stepuntil employees truly find value in the change. Inother words, there is a shared responsibility in thisstep, and if employees do not see the value forthemselves, you will be imposing change (which isthe antithesis of creating a Rudolph Culture).

3. Thinking: While the manager still has some respon-sibility in supporting the thinking of employees inthis stage, this is the stage where employees begin tobear the burden of responsibility for the proposedchange. If you are the manager, and you do notbegin to see a transfer of responsibility taking placewith a noticeable shift in thinking by employees,you must go back to stage two. Often, managersmust let go of their own agendas and put them-selves in the shoes of their employees. This is doneby asking employees thought-provoking questions,exploring their frame of reference, and working toenhance it with additional information and insight.This is not a time to put band-aids on problems,nor is it a time to give lip service to employees andtrick them into buying into the proposed change.If managers do not buy into the value and think-ing of the proposed change, then employees willnot buy it either. As you can see, stage two iscritical. You will begin to see everything change

12



in stage three as employees start asking questionsreflecting their new awareness. If managers do notknow the answers to the questions raised, they willhave to find them. Many answers will be discov-ered together. Employees must feel 100 percentconfident that the proposed change is in their bestinterest and in the best interest of the organizationor you will not get the level of engagement foundwithin Boeing C-17 and other successful organiza-tions.

4. Actions: In this stage, responsibility has mostlyshifted to employees. The beauty of this processis that thinking drives actions, so the shift in think-ing that takes place literally sets the stage for newactions and behaviors. Again, if you are not see-ing actions and behaviors supporting the desiredchange, you must go back to stage two. It is simplya clear indication that employees do not see valuein the proposed change and that the right mix ofinformation has not yet been shared or presented.

5. Results: The results are everybody’s responsibility.For the proposed change to be embraced and real-ized within an organization, the results will be anatural outcome of the shift in thinking and newactions and behaviors. If the manager is continuingto force results with reward and punishment, onceagain, step two was not clearly manifested in theAVTAR process.

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THE RUDOLPH FACTOR

As you can see, the most significant stage, and themost difficult to complete, is stage two (finding value inyour awareness). Boeing’s C-17 Program, Toyota, RicohGroup, and Royal Philips Electronics all share the samesecret of continued success. Their awareness (A) of peo-ple being their competitive advantage and the value (V)placed in that awareness inspired and shifted the exec-utive leadership and management’s thinking (T). Everyaction (A) and decision made is based on this shift inthinking, driving highly impressive results (R). At Boeing’sC-17 Program, these results continue over a decade later.

For the AVTAR tool to be effective, we have somefundamental principles driving our model. First and fore-most, we do not believe that employees naturally resistchange. If employees know why a proposed change isnecessary and what it entails (and it brings improvedconditions to their lives), they will support it 100 per-cent. They will become advocates of the change, and theresults will speak for themselves. Furthermore, we believechange can and does occur on its own, but there is noguarantee the results will be tied to desired expectations.Managers need tools to effectively facilitate change, andwhile there are many tools that address change in theareas of action and results, there are very few that addressit in the areas we are suggesting—at the hearts of seniorleaders, managers, and your employees.

Awareness and value in awareness can be found atthe deepest levels of personal and organizational change.Without value discovered through new awareness,

14



nothing really changes—people may understand changeat an intellectual level but not feel it enough to compelfurther thoughts or actions that could create sustainablebusiness results. For example, we are all aware that smok-ing cigarettes is bad for our health; but it is only whenpeople who smoke find value in their awareness thatsmoking is bad for their health that the idea of quitting (ornot starting) is a possibility. After the value in your aware-ness is realized, you cannot help but think differently. Itis like a light switch has been turned on or the proverbial“ah-ha” moment. Life is never the same after an epiphany.

As noted previously, much of the responsibility in theAVTAR process is with the manager, and from the value(V) to the thinking stage (T), a shared responsibility isformed. At this point, the responsibility for a proposedchange—while still shared—shifts more to the employeesthan managers. When used effectively, the manager doesnot have to continue to prompt the employees on whatto do because the employees now see it for themselves.This point of the process is generally recognizable whenthe employees begin asking for more information. Again,the results (R) are a natural outcome of appropriate andeffective thinking and actions. The story that follows isa great example of what it looks like to go from raisingawareness to finding value in new awareness.

It was one of those dreaded meetings. You look upat the chart and see red, and you know the news is

(continued )

15


THE RUDOLPH FACTOR

(continued )not good. Red means failure. This meeting was aboutemployee involvement (EI)—this wonderful, engagingconcept that empowers employees to tap into their fullpotential. Yet the chart was screaming red. Employeeinvolvement is an organizational goal, yet it truly app-eared to be more of a burden to some teams. Filling outforms, hosting meetings, creating team-based businessimprovements, preparing for empowerments, agendas,meeting minutes, action items, and blah blah blah. . . .

People felt they were too busy getting real workdone. They did not have time for EI. As a result, teamswere performing red to the goal, and EI was in jeopardyof falling by the wayside. I sat in the meeting com-pletely baffled. I thought to myself, “The people mustnot know the true power of EI.” A quote from LilyTomlin immediately entered my thoughts, “Somebodyshould do something about that.” Then I realized I amsomebody. So . . . I raised my hand and volunteered tocreate an improvement process. The teams were scat-tered in various locations, and we had two months toaccomplish what usually takes a year to do. With a penin one hand and a chocolate bar in the other, I beganscribbling down my thoughts.

I sat down with my manager. He liked my ideasand strategy, and we created the EI road show. Youknow . . . the kind of road show like musicians do whenthey want everyone to hear their music. They write a

16



bunch of songs, then hit the road and start singing.That’s what we did (minus the singing). I created andassembled EI binders for each group including tabsfor team charter, empowerment plans, and Team-BasedBusiness Improvement (TBBIs). The binders took whatseemed to be this overwhelming EI task and put it intoperspective by sorting it into smaller tasks. The roadshow also included conducting a kickoff meeting witheach group to get them started on their EI journey andto influence their thinking so they could clearly realizethe benefits of EI.

Now let me tell ya. . . . I thought this was going tobe so much fun, but what I initially encountered wascomparable to performers getting tomatoes thrown atthem from the audience. These people did not want tohear what I was saying. They did not share my viewsabout empowerment. They literally battled me duringthe entire one and a half hour presentation. As I dodgedthe multiple comments flying in at me from all angles,another quote came to mind, “When life hands youlemons, make lemonade.” The more they protested, themore I knew I had to stay. That was one of the mostmemorable one and a half hours I have ever investedin the lives of other people.

I witnessed firsthand the transformation of people’sthinking—the true power of influence. As I explainedhow EI was their tool to having their voices heard, a few

(continued )

17


THE RUDOLPH FACTOR

(continued )people began to lean forward and listen. I explainedhow EI provided the platform for them to get visibilityfor their ideas, their projects . . . a few more leanedforward and listened. In the final moments of themeeting, the tone shifted from “why we don’t wantEI” to “so . . . how would we do this?” or “how wouldwe do that?” I knew they were starting to get it. EI isthe employee’s tool to help each other and help them-selves. To this day, that same team holds the record forperforming up to the EI goal. They outperform all myother teams. They actively apply EI to create solutions,achieve goals, and to influence others. They even vol-unteer to do extra EI exercises. Now that is EI at its best!

The EI road show delivered results. All teams closedthe year not just meeting the EI Vision Support Plan(VSP) goal but exceeding the goal! We recognized theneed for our teammates to realize the value and bene-fits of EI. The attempted change was in perceptions. EIis not a burden but the answer to overcoming burdens.When EI is in effect and being practiced, it actuallycreates a positive work environment, which in turnencourages employees to be more productive. Overall,we wanted to build confidence, boost morale, developleadership skills, and enhance the bottom line by edu-cating our teammates with EI principles.

Anna M. Monaco

Employee Involvement Team Lead Focal—Supplier Management,

The Boeing Company

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As previously mentioned, there are a handful ofother companies deeply entrenched in employee engage-ment, and this can be seen in the language used inthe company’s vision, mission, and value statements. Forexample, one guiding principle at Toyota is to “Fostera corporate culture that enhances individual creativityand teamwork value, while honoring mutual trust andrespect between labor and management.” As it relates toemployee engagement, this particular underlying philos-ophy is one of the secrets to the financial success of thecompany and is captured through each individual’s cre-ativity, contributions, and effective teamwork. As a result,Toyota encourages and fosters personal growth for itsemployees; and its employees are deeply committed toToyota’s successful future. It is a natural win-win for long-term business success and for employees. What could bebetter?

Another example is from the Ricoh Group. Theirmanagement philosophy is to “constantly create newvalue for the world at the interface of people andinformation.” The underlying principles that set the foun-dation for management’s actions and decision makingare:

� Think like an entrepreneur—be a Rudolph (entre-preneurs create their own business around theirideas, while Rudolphs prefer to be employed bysomeone else).

� Put yourself in the other person’s place.

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THE RUDOLPH FACTOR

� Find personal value in your work—to be activelyengaged.

Underlying philosophies and principles in the formof vision, mission, and value statements can be foundon most company web sites. The proof, however, isin the pudding—through actions, business results, andemployee satisfaction levels. To achieve organizationalgreatness with a Rudolph culture, business results cannotcome at the cost of employee satisfaction.

Our last example is Royal Philips Electronics whose“Vision 2010” works to further position the companyas a people-centric and market-driven organization withstrategies and structures reflecting the needs of theircustomers, while also increasing value to the sharehold-ers. Management at Philips fully recognizes the valueof engagement and has generated an enterprise-wideengagement strategy to ensure its alignment with con-tributions from shareholders, customers, and employees.As with the other companies mentioned, these philoso-phies and guiding principles noted are not devoidof assessment. Each company has a well-established,comprehensive set of metrics and a continuous improve-ment system supporting their underlying, people-focusedtenets.

Boeing’s C-17 Program leaders discovered that theirimpetus for change—and basic survival—would dependon getting their employees involved and contributing at

20



a soul level. As you will read in the next chapter, beforetheir transformation, the concepts around EI would havebeen nothing short of a miracle. The level of employeefrustration, hostility, and cultural dysfunction could nothave been any worse. Yet, through the fog, senior lead-ership’s fundamental thinking was that EI would driveinnovation and sustain the Program’s cultural transfor-mation. To this end, senior leaders and managementresigned their former practice of stopping one initiativeor effort and starting a new one and moved to an alter-native way of thinking that built individual efforts into acollective journey.

Each of the companies previously noted recognizethat to have employees who are fully engaged in theirwork and committed to the success of the organization,cultural transformation must be viewed as a journey—notas an event with a distinct beginning and end. With Boe-ing’s C-17 Program, the driving philosophy continues tobe that everything begins and ends with the customer.This thinking is essential to the continued success ofthe Program and is spreading across The Boeing Com-pany and to many of its suppliers and customers. Ineverything from the development of the vision, values,and goals; to conducting internal assessments, managingleadership systems, creating EI teams that are supportedwith productivity improvement tools; and to integrating asystems-improvement process—the customer is always apart of the equation.

21


THE RUDOLPH FACTOR

Customers are your most important reason for what youdo. Everything is based on your customer’s require-ments, customer commitments, and the customer’sstrategic imperatives. Relationships are as important asthe technical aspects in business. We have found thatby constantly working on the social behaviors, ouroutput of product and/or service is greatly enhanced.As changes occur, one of the biggest challenges in ateam-based culture is becoming flexible in our think-ing, our actions, and habits and in how we approachour work. To help our teams in this area, we conductedtraining classes on topics such as holding effectivemeetings, communication basics, handling team con-flict, customer/supplier relations, and we taught teamshow to use the basic problem-solving tools. There wereapproximately 30 training themes we applied in thistraining effort. The training covered both the socio aswell as technical aspects to our business.

We also helped teams identify their strengths usingthe SWOT analysis model (Strengths, Weaknesses,Opportunities, and Threats). This strategic tool can beused at all levels of the organization in designing thestrategic plan. The last thing I will mention is also help-ing the teams identify their vision and mission statementand their team’s charter as it relates to their work scope.When the entire team has a grasp of what’s in it forme (WIIFM), and they respect and trust one another,business results start becoming a reality. The key is to

22



continue to press forward and make adjustments alongthe way as required, and to make everything you do awin-win situation.

Charles A. Macias, Psy.D.

Employee Involvement Practitioner, The Boeing Company

Chapter 1 Review

� Tools and initiatives come and go, but people arewhat make the tools work.

� A command-and-control style of management killscreativity and innovation.

� Employee involvement and engagement must bealigned to the vision and business strategies.

� Responsibility and control must shift to the emp-loyees.

� AVTAR is an effective model to facilitate the psychol-ogy of personal and organizational change and is acritical tool to building a Rudolph Culture.

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C H A P T E R 2

THE BOEINGCOMPANY ANDTHE IMPETUS FORA CULTURALREVOLUTION

There are relatively few companies that value and encour-age the contributions of their Rudolphs. However, TheBoeing Company is one such company. Because of thiscompany’s sheer size and scope, it might be helpful tofirst learn a little bit about Boeing’s operations. Accord-ing to the Census Bureau, there are approximately 900companies in the United States with over 10,000 employ-ees; and as one of the largest companies in the world,The Boeing Company is also one of the most complex.

25


THE RUDOLPH FACTOR

As with any formidably sized company, Boeing has itsshare of award-winning areas and those that can benefitfrom improvement.

The Boeing Company is the world’s leading aerospacecompany. It employs over 160,000 people in 70 countriesaround the world and generated revenues of $66.4 billionin 2007. It is considered one of the largest U.S. exportersin terms of sales. It has two main business units, Boe-ing Commercial Airplanes and Boeing Integrated DefenseSystems (IDS). There are approximately 12,000 Boeingcommercial jetliners in use today, which translates toroughly 75 percent of the entire global fleet of commercialaircraft. In addition to its impressive commercial base, theIDS Unit provides air-, land-, sea-, and space-based plat-forms for global military, government, and commercialcustomers, including NASA’s international space station.

The Boeing Company has a long history of world-classleadership and innovation. For the purposes of this story,we are focusing predominantly on an IDS-based Programthat manufactures the Boeing C-17 Globemaster, which isa highly innovative cargo aircraft used for military and,more recently, humanitarian efforts.

“FORTY AND NO MORE!”

In 1992, Boeing’s C-17 Program was near the brink of can-cellation with a threat to reduce its initial order from 120to 40. The statement, “Forty and No More!” reverberated

26


The Boeing Company and the Impetus for a Cultural Revolution

throughout the Boeing C-17 facility and became theirburning platform—or the impetus for their cultural revo-lution. Plastered on banners for all to see read the words,“40 and No More. . . . Unless You Perform.” For the Boe-ing C-17 Program to survive, all 10,000 employees wouldhave to do more than just participate. All individualswould have to be deeply engaged in the process of trans-forming their culture to the same standards of excellencethey demanded for their product. Every employee wouldneed to rethink his or her commitment to the Program.

Some of the specific problems contributing to thepotential cancellation of the Program included a highlyadversarial relationship between the customer (U.S. AirForce) and the United Auto Workers (UAW) and amongthe employees. We heard a number of stories of polit-ical maneuvering, derailing, sidelining, and sabotage. Itwas nothing short of a toxic environment. There werealso several quality problems, cost overruns, and latedeliveries—compounding a lack of confidence from allconstituents.

In addition to “Forty and no more,” another sloganheard repeatedly throughout their cultural revolution was“Change management, or change management.” Man-agers would have to change their thinking, or theywould be let go. To date, we do not believe there hasbeen another transformation similar to the Boeing C-17Program in terms of size and scope with the level of reg-ulation and inherent bureaucracy, for a program that, atthe time, had just one customer—the U.S. Government.

27


THE RUDOLPH FACTOR

It is more than a stroke of luck that the executive teamrealized it would take more than improving processes tosurvive. Leadership’s ability to identify, nurture, and lever-age their Rudolph Factor—wrangle their Rudolphs—wasa significant contributor to transforming from a highlydysfunctional culture to an award-winning organization.After their cultural revolution, the Boeing C-17 Programdelighted the customer in that they were able to deliveron or ahead of schedule with record quality in place.They also began to receive recognition from their cus-tomer for excellent service. Subsequently, they were ableto reduce the price by 25 percent for a follow-up orderof 60 additional aircraft. These phenomenal results ledto more customers, more aircraft orders, and within asix-year time frame, became the model acquisition pro-gram for the U.S. Air Force and a lucrative programfor the largest aerospace company in the world. Theiraccomplishments were manifested and recognized byreceiving the prestigious Malcolm Baldrige National Qual-ity Award presented by the President of the United Statesin 1998. In 2003, the support arm of the C-17 Program,now part of the Aerospace Support Division of Boeing,also received the Baldrige Award. The Baldrige Awardis the highest award given by the U.S. Government forQuality.

So, how did they do it? You might be expecting usto say leadership, quality assurance, teamwork, vision,strategy, and so on. Well, it might surprise you to learnthat it was a shift in thinking that influenced leadership’s

28



decisions, quality assurance tools, and initiatives, and sim-ply thinking about how they were thinking that took themso far. We believe thinking about how one thinks resultsin outstanding results!

Before you can realize similar results and generategreatness in your own organization, you have to recog-nize and appreciate what the Boeing C-17 leadership’sshift in thinking entailed and how it influenced actions,behaviors, and results. We firmly believe that one organi-zation cannot emulate the success of another by simplydoing what the other is doing. From the AVTAR modelintroduced in Chapter 1, attempting to copy another orga-nization’s success generally only encompasses actions(A) and results (R). We know it requires delving intodeeper waters to understand the awareness (A), assessthe value in that awareness (V), and thinking (T) to driveall actions (A) and decisions contributing to their success(results; R).

When any organization—no matter how big orsmall—undergoes a cultural revolution, it requires farmore than strategic planning exercises, generating mis-sion statements and visions and posting them on thewall, and certainly more than imposing process- andperformance-based initiatives on employees. While thosehave value, it also takes heart, meaning it takes an emo-tional investment by everyone involved to pull it off.Any truly great organization looks beyond satisfied stake-holders to include an engaged workforce, engaged cus-tomers, and engaged stakeholders. There is an emotive

29


THE RUDOLPH FACTOR

connection when employees are engaged that cannot anddoes not exist otherwise.

If you read articles about Boeing C-17’s transformationor another company that has transformed from mediocreto exceptional, you are likely to find a very tactical path ofactions that resulted in more profits, reduced waste—orin Boeing C-17’s case, was awarded the Baldrige Award.Most corporate transformations read something like this:“We first formed a committee to assess where we cur-rently were. We formed teams for problem solving, teamsfor quality assurance initiatives, and teams to keep an eyeon other teams. We brought in consultants . . . and moreconsultants, and implemented JIT, TQM, TPS, ISO, SixSigma, Lean, 5S, Kanban, Balanced Scorecard, Apprecia-tive Inquiry, PMI . . . and . . . and . . . and . . . built strategiesaround each . . . ”

While we are being a bit facetious with regard to thedescription and acronyms noted in the previous para-graph, we do agree that there is immense value in processimprovement and performance management tools. How-ever, imposing initiatives and tools upon employees saysnothing about the compelling reason they are being used.In other words, managers are leaving out the whys behindthe hows. Only when employees understand the whyscan they effectively perform the hows. Unfortunately, themost priceless information you can learn from anothercompany’s best practice or through benchmarking is whatyou cannot see, measure, or control! Secrets to success are

30



found in the collective awareness of the current state ofaffairs, and they include everything related to processesand products, as well as what is happening with thepeople—their perceptions and thoughts about how thestrategies fit into the larger scheme of things.

Consider how change and new initiatives have beenimplemented in your organization. Are the people aroundyou engaged and creative or ambivalent, discontented,and disengaged? What is the collective thinking of theorganization? Does anyone ask, “Why are we doing this?”How would you describe the current management style?Will the organization’s culture support a revolution ofthinking and behaviors? Does the organization’s structuresupport a cultural revolution? Does the current rewardstructure encourage the kind of thinking and behaviorsthat will be necessary during a cultural revolution oncethe organization is entrenched in the process?

Anyone can copy the strategies and initiatives, pur-chase the same equipment, build a similar facility, andreplicate most processes and products . . . but emulatinga culture and style of leadership as well as emulat-ing philosophies and principles that generate creativeand innovative thinking is the secret to organizationalgreatness. Your Rudolphs hold the key for unlockingthe door to get your organization there. They have theuncanny ability to propagate a new way of thinking andbehaving—a new culture—throughout an organization.The following story points out how culture, leadership,

31


THE RUDOLPH FACTOR

and underlying driving principles can start at the grass-roots level as they did in the C-17 Program.

I believe that all people are motivated by two things:to know that their opinion counts and that they canmake a difference. My experience has shown that whenasked genuinely, most people want to be involved inpositive change, and that can improve the entire com-pany. Even though the desperate situation of the C-17Program created a case for change, it was not obvioushow to fix it. The moment of desperation is not thebest time to start experimenting with fixes, so I rec-ommend that organizations not wait until they are introuble. It could have been too late for the C-17. I haverealized that there are many factors that made it suc-cessful, including persistence with a business model,always improving the approach based on feedback,and never wavering in commitment to the core valuesand business imperatives.

One of the most effective approaches for replica-tion was to build a community of change agents acrossthe company regardless of where they were in theirjourney. As with so many things we tried, we did notknow if it would work well or not; but we had a philos-ophy that ongoing collaboration among stakeholdersis good. We asked other business units if they wantedto be involved in learning new ways to improve theirbusiness on a totally voluntary basis. We asked them toidentify “focal points”—people who were interested in

32



organizational improvement. Now we were tapping intothe passions and intellectual capital of the people (theRudolphs).

In a few short years, we had a herd of over500 Rudolphs from various business units, at all lev-els, interested in employee involvement for businessresults. Some were part-time, some were full-time, andsome were just interested. They finally had a voice anda support system. We held regular conference calls,shared best practices, and held internal conferencesinviting key leaders to share their encouragement andmotivation. It was truly a grassroots approach. Lead-ers who were ready built it into their business plansand goals. No matter what happened organizationally,you could not stop the force of the people. Even witha whole new set of leaders, it is still in effect todayand continuing to grow at a corporate level across thismammoth company.

Richard Nicholson, Psy.D.

Employee Involvement Practitioner, The Boeing Company

THE RUDOLPH FACTOR

As mentioned in Chapter 1, we believe that Rudolphs,whose main intention is to improve their organizationthrough involuntary creative and innovative thinking, byleveraging their ability to affect change, and by taking

33


THE RUDOLPH FACTOR

action, make up approximately 10 percent of everyorganization. In other words, their most creative andinnovative thinking—their Rudolph space—is their workenvironment. They can turn on their creative juices (i.e.,illuminate their nose) in the blink of an eye, but they can-not turn it off. Rather than turning it off, most Rudolphswill redirect their creativity elsewhere (outside of theorganization) if it is not embraced or supported by theirmanagement, culture, or reward structure.

The modern day Rudolphs we share with you areinvoluntary, passionate, and creative contributors to TheBoeing Company. They connect the dots that others donot see, meaning they have a unique ability to perceiveseveral contributing variables in any situation. From thisability, they tend to identify causes of problems (ratherthan symptoms of problems) and generate solutions morequickly and efficiently than their counterparts. Before theintroduction of the Rudolph language to people at BoeingC-17, Rudolph-types were referred to as “Practitioners.” Inother organizations, they have historically been labeledas change agents, square pegs, radicals, misfits, loosecannons, zealots, mavericks, heroes, entrapreneurs, orinnovators—among other names. Has anyone ever calledyou names or not let you play in any reindeer games?Based on this limited description, do you consider your-self to be a Rudolph? Can you think of anyone aroundyou who fits the mold?

Rudolphs played—and continue to play—a tremen-dous role in Boeing’s story, within the Boeing C-17

34



Program and beyond. But it is not just the Rudolph Factorthat has sustained the Program’s results over the past 10years. It includes the successful integration of a RudolphCulture with a progressive, new way of looking at lead-ership, the creation of a Corporate Constitution, and analignment of a reward structure that encourages and sus-tains their very unique competitive advantage—these fourelements we refer to as the “Four Pillars of OrganizationalGreatness” (see Figure 2.1). As noted in Figure 2.1, thestrength and integration of the Four Pillars of Organiza-tional Greatness is dependent upon all five parts of thecycle, including actions, behaviors, and outcomes that are

Figur e 2.1 Four Pillars of Organizational Greatness

35


THE RUDOLPH FACTOR

observable and measurable as well as those things wecannot see (values, beliefs, attitudes, understandings, andthinking). You must look beyond the actions, behaviors,and outcomes to recognize that Boeing C-17’s success istransferable and replicable to any size organization in anyindustry.

GENERATING A PEOPLE-CENTRIC VISION

The Boeing Company’s Vision 2016 is “People workingtogether as a global enterprise for aerospace leadership.”Boeing connects and protects people globally. You caneasily access their strategies, core competencies, andvalues on their web site—as you can with most organiza-tions. Within the Boeing C-17 Program Vision, there areeight values supporting a people-centric focus (again,as opposed to a product- or process-centric focus).In finding the bright lights that will drive innovationin your business, focusing primarily on people—withsecondary focus going to processes and products—is anessential element. Before you can start identifying andnurturing your Rudolphs and build a Rudolph Culture,you must first address the values and belief systems (realand perceived) that drive your organization’s collectiveattitudes and understanding.

If Figure 2.1 was illustrated as an iceberg, we wouldnot be able to see, measure, or control anything under thewater, which would include the values, beliefs, attitudes,

36



understanding, and thinking. However, above the waterwe find language, actions, behaviors, and outcomes—allof which are tangible characteristics. Again, most orga-nizations operate above the water, in the realm ofmeasuring, managing, controlling, rewarding, and pun-ishing anything that they can see and measure, leaving themost powerful and influential elements out of the equa-tion. If you are able to tap into the wealth of power thatlies under the water (in our iceberg analogy), then you arewell on your way to organizational greatness. The beautyof it is that it is not terribly difficult . . . it starts with anopen mind and communication.

In the next three chapters, we are going to shift gearsfrom prevalent thinking styles and practices that have onlyworked marginally to a highly progressive way of thinkingand operating. Our intention is to first raise your aware-ness (A) and inspire the corresponding value to yourawareness (V). This process should provoke shifts in yourcurrent thinking (T). With AVT in place, it will be up toyou to select the appropriate actions (A) to get the results(R) you desire. With regard to results, we are strivingfor more companies to achieve sustainable organizationalgreatness through leveraging their Rudolph Factor as acompetitive advantage.

In defining organizational greatness, there are threedistinct elements, all of which must be present: (1) anextraordinary product and/or service, (2) treating all peo-ple associated with the organization (customers, employ-ees, suppliers, etc.) impeccably well, and (3) a vision that

37


THE RUDOLPH FACTOR

goes far beyond the boundaries of the organization.While many companies have been successful at achiev-ing one of the three elements, there are not very manythat have achieved two, and even fewer that have allthree in place. Unfortunately, for those companies thathave an extraordinary product or service—it can come atthe cost of treating people poorly. This is primarily dueto the prevalence of product- and process-focused cul-tures, rather than cultures that are people-centric. Whenpeople are treated impeccably well, the products and pro-cesses they manage will tend to follow suit and performexceptionally well.

In the next chapter, we offer tools and strategies fromBoeing employees as examples of how to start identifyingyour Rudolphs and nurturing them (not to be confusedwith rewarding them, which is addressed in Chapter 8),and building a team-based Rudolph Culture. Let us beginby introducing you to the wonderful world of Rudolphsand a glowing new way of thinking.

Chapter 2 Review

� In the Boeing C-17 story, necessity drove invention(Forty and no more!). For other progressive com-panies, a desire to achieve performance excellencehas been equally compelling.

� Change management, or change management.

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� When it comes to the psychology of change, whatyou cannot see has the greatest value to the organi-zation (beliefs, values, attitudes, understanding, andthinking).

� A people-centric focus is a must for sustainable busi-ness success.

� An extraordinary product and/or service must workin conjunction with treating people impeccably well.

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Chapter = c03 Date: April 30, 2009 Time: 9:46 am

C H A P T E R 3

WHY RUDOLPH,YOU ASK?

In 1939, Dartmouth graduate Robert May published thebeloved children’s Christmas tale titled Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer as an assignment from his employer,Montgomery Ward. Apparently, Mr. May had a trackrecord of creating catchy children’s stories and jingles,so he was charged with the task. As we understand it,he contemplated several different names before choosing“Rudolph.” Mr. May had a very young daughter namedBarbara, and unfortunately, while working on the story,his wife Evelyn was dying of cancer.

In the first year of its release, Montgomery Ward gaveaway 2.4 million copies of Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Rein-deer. People everywhere loved the story and could easilyrelate to Rudolph having to overcome many obstacles totriumph in the end. Everyone loves it when the underdog

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THE RUDOLPH FACTOR

wins! With the onset of World War II, the U.S. Govern-ment instituted paper rationing. Even though the numberof copies distributed decreased during the war, by 1946,nearly six million copies had been sold. Interestingly,Robert May did not receive royalties for his huge successbecause his employer owned the copyright. As it hap-pened, he was deeply in debt as a result of enormousmedical expenses from his late wife’s illness. In 1947, theCEO of Montgomery Ward, Sewell Avery, transferred thecopyright to Robert May, and he and his daughter wereable to reap the benefits of its success for several decades.While Mr. May took a short break from Montgomery Wardin 1951, he returned and stayed until his retirement in1971. He passed away five years later in 1976. Whetherhe ever fully recognized the enormity of his contributionto global Christmas lore is not known.

We believe Robert May’s intention was to create aunique character that was something of an outcast amonghis peers. But once recognized for his signature illu-minated nose, Rudolph rose above his challenges andcontributed to the success of Santa’s mission to delivergifts around the world by Christmas morning. Rudolph’spersonal challenges, unique talents, and ultimate successcould have been inspired by May’s personal experiences;it has been reported that he had to endure teasing duringhis childhood years because of his small stature. Yet he,himself, went on to overcome his challenges and con-tributed to the birth of a global folklore and Christmashero.

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Why Rudolph, You Ask?

As it happens, Rudolph’s journey from an outsider toa hero parallels the career tracks of many of today’s out-of-the-box, creative and innovative thinkers—the critical10 percent of every organization that makes up theRudolph Factor.

MODERN DAY RUDOLPHS

You may be wondering how Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Rein-deer relates to the business world. In our work withorganizations large and small, we have noticed that therealways seems to be a small percentage of employees thatare highly creative and innovative, yet they may not reallyfit within their organization’s culture. They have sharedmany exciting, innovative ideas with us—as well as sto-ries of frustration in not being able to voice or implementtheir ideas in their work environment. We used to refer tothese people as “creative, entrapreneurial, out-of-the-boxthinkers who do not really fit very well in their orga-nizations.” After many conversations among ourselves,we realized this description was a bit long-winded andthat we needed to come up with an easier (and shorter)descriptor. We did not like the traditional descriptor ofentrapreneur because we discovered these types of peo-ple were far more complex than an employee of a largecorporation who thinks like an entrepreneur. One day,it struck us like a bolt of lightning. They are sort of likeRudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer! While they do not run

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THE RUDOLPH FACTOR

around with red noses, they do have a different way ofthinking than those around them.

Rudolphs in the business world are filled with “bright”ideas, but they tend to be considered either heroes oroutcasts by those around them, depending on the corpo-rate climate at the moment. Interestingly, in the Christmasfairy tale, Rudolph was also considered to be an outcastby his peers until a critical moment—the eleventh houron Christmas Eve—at which point he was hailed the herofor saving Christmas for all of the boys and girls aroundthe world. Under the right circumstances Rudolphs areappreciated, but for the most part, they are ignored.Needless to say, the Rudolph metaphor stuck withus . . . as did the thought of having a red nose versus abrown one.

We became rather fascinated with the notion ofRudolphs in the workplace. Although we come fromvery different backgrounds (Cyndi comes from the aca-demic realm, and Craig comes from the corporate andentrepreneurial worlds), our thoughts and experiencesbranded us as Rudolphs. We also shared similar experi-ences with other Rudolphs who had faced obstacles likewe had in our previous work environments. We decidedto test our theories—as any good academician woulddo—and find an organization with a successful herd ofRudolphs. We searched and searched and found more andmore Rudolphs but struggled to find organizations thatrecognized and leveraged their innovative thinking on an

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ongoing, systemic basis. It was not like we could calla company’s corporate headquarters and inquire abouttheir Rudolphs!

So we decided to survey people we thought wereRudolphs within our own circles. We quickly learned thatin almost every case, employers were not aware of thelatent creativity of these employees (Rudolphs). However,the employers that did nurture their Rudolphs benefitedtremendously and tended to leverage their innovativethinking and problem solving as a significant sustain-able competitive advantage. We expanded our informalresearch to include people we did not know throughonline business networks, such as LinkedIn. We poseda number of questions and found even more Rudolphs.Along this journey of learning about Rudolphs—andbeing Rudolphs ourselves—we have come to recognizethat managers who successfully nurture their Rudolphsare leaders in their industries.

After learning about Rudolphs and the value theybring to organizations, most people ask, “How do I findthem?” There are five different ways to identify Rudolphsincluding:

1. Self-assessment

2. Senior manager recognizing Rudolphness in a peer,manager, or frontline worker

3. Middle-manager recognizing it in a peer or subor-dinate

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THE RUDOLPH FACTOR

4. Peers recognizing it within their group or character-istics of it in their manager

5. An employee involvement or engagement program

An example of a program that elicits creativity andinnovations is Boeing C-17’s Creative Edge Program.We share further details of how it works in Chap-ter 5, “Establishing a Team-Based Rudolph Culture.” Allfive avenues act as a funnel for identifying Rudolphs(Figure 3.1). As you read about Rudolphs in the workenvironment, you might recognize Rudolphness in your-self and you may be able to easily spot other Rudolphfriends, family members, or coworkers you know. If not,do not despair. We also share a comprehensive list of howto identify your bright lights that will drive innovation inyour organization.

Figur e 3.1 Rudolph Funnel

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When people read about Rudolphs, there is a natu-ral tendency to ask, “Am I a Rudolph?” In interviewing avariety of people within Boeing, we would share charac-teristics of Rudolphs, and for some, the light bulb literallyturned on right before our eyes (pun intended). Theywould say, “That’s me! I really want to fit in but just don’t.”Before we get into the characteristics, our disclaimer isthat it is not all glory to be a Rudolph. In fact, mostRudolphs we interviewed shared more stories of beingmistreated or becoming targets at work rather than beingthe heroes of the herd. Many have been conditioned to“put mud on their noses” and not contribute anymorebecause their managers, culture, or reward structure donot support their creative and innovative thinking.

If your curiosity is getting the best of you, Table 3.1offers a short survey to analyze whether you might be aRudolph in your work environment. Remember, this is nota scientific assessment; it is simply a short set of questionsto help you determine if your nose is aglow.

If you check “yes” on a majority of these questions,you might be a Rudolph. If these questions do not makeany sense to you or do not resonate with you, thenyou most likely are not. Remember, every organizationis made up of approximately 10 percent Rudolphs, so itis reasonable to assume there is a one in ten chance thatyou will identify yourself as a Rudolph.

There is nothing good or bad, right or wrong, specialor not special about being a Rudolph. And we are cer-tainly not saying that Rudolphs should have any special

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THE RUDOLPH FACTOR

Table 3.1 Rudolph Self-Assessment Survey

Please check yes or nofor the following 10 questions Yes No

1. Do you find yourself thinking about ways tosolve problems or make improvements at workwhen you are not at work?

2. Do you tend to see the potential in yourorganization—see opportunities forimprovements or solutions to problems thatthose around you do not see?

3. Are you sometimes referred to as a changeagent, maverick, loose cannon, troublemaker,innovator, genius, hero, scapegoat, or similarnames?

4. Do you feel as though your thinking is differentfrom the people around you, and do you havedifficulty fitting in?

5. Do you often ask why things are done a certainway?

6. Do you consider yourself entrepreneurial eventhough you work for an organization?

7. Do you discover unconventional ways ofimplementing your ideas just because youknow they will be of benefit to theorganization?

8. Do you find inspiration in doing things thatmake the organization better?

9. Have you ever said to yourself, “If my manageronly knew how good I could make him (orher) look?”

10. Have you ever said to yourself, “Why doesn’tmy manager leverage my ideas?”

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privileges that others do not have or that they should beseparated from the herd in any way. However, if you area Rudolph, then you will need to learn some tools to bemore effective from where you are within your organiza-tion. If you are not a Rudolph, it is in your best interestto learn how to find, support, and leverage their naturallycreative and innovative thinking. Remember, part of whatconstitutes a Rudolph is that they want to make othersand the organization look good. Seriously, they are mostdriven and interested in win-wins. Personal gain is not aprimary priority for a genuine Rudolph.

For those of you who do not feel like you are aRudolph, here are some other characteristics you can useto identify them in your work environment:

� First and foremost, Rudolphs are naturally cre-ative and innovative thinkers. Some Rudolphs mayappear a bit eccentric to the people around them.

� Rudolphs generally share unconventional ways tosolve problems and have an easier time than mostat identifying the root cause of a problem. They willexpress frustration at putting band-aids on symp-toms of problems. They like to get their hands (orhooves) dirty when it comes to problem solving.

� Rudolphs involuntarily spend an average of four tosix hours per day (outside their normal workday)thinking about new ways of doing things, or simplymaking things better for their organizations.

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THE RUDOLPH FACTOR

� Rudolphs are passionate about their work and lightup when talking about their role or a particularproject they are working on. You can tell they areexcited when the pace of their speech increases,they use quite a bit more gesturing, and their eyesare bright (almost twinkling).

� They often ask “Why?” even when it is not the mostpopular question to be asking, which can make peo-ple around them feel uncomfortable.

� They tend to challenge the status quo because theybelieve questioning it is of value and benefit to theorganization. Challenging the status quo is also howthey discover what they need in order to solve aproblem. It may appear as if they are trying to rockthe boat just for the sake of rocking the boat, butthat generally is not the case with Rudolphs.

� Rudolphs see their world through a lens of possi-bility, opportunity, and potential. This is the drivingmotivation behind their involuntary, creative, andinnovative thinking. Often times, the opportunitiespresented are nontraditional or unconventional innature.

� Rudolphs do not have the intention of self-promotion—in other words, their actions are notbased on climbing corporate ladders. They certainlyappreciate being recognized—even promoted—fortheir work, but it is not the primary motivation fortheir actions.

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� They also tend to easily connect the dots that othersdo not see. In other words, they have the abil-ity to quickly synthesize many variables to solveproblems or make improvements. It may appear tonon-Rudolphs as if their ideas come out of the blueor that there is no rhyme or reason behind theirthinking. When this occurs, question Rudolphs toclarify or further explain their thought process.

� Rudolphs have a greater awareness of dynamic sys-tems than non-Rudolphs. They tend to be naturalsystems thinkers and see the whole forest rather thana single tree . . . or just the bark on the tree. Theymay express frustration if people around them arehaving conversations about the bark, rather than theforest.

� They do not want to be an entrepreneur or runtheir own business; however, they think like one.In some cases, for their own mental and emo-tional well-being, some Rudolphs will leave theirorganization and start their own business becausethe organizational work environment can takeits toll on their enthusiasm and natural creativethinking.

� Rudolphs prefer to leverage the name, reputation,resources, etc. of an organization, rather thanstarting and managing their own businesses, whichwould take time away from being creative andinnovative.

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THE RUDOLPH FACTOR

� Rudolphs prefer collaborating with others versusgoing it alone—although many may appear asloners to non-Rudolphs because they have chosento not play the game.

� They have the ability—and at the very minimum,the confidence—to turn their ideas into action. Ifthey feel they do not have the appropriate skills,they will do whatever is necessary to gain the abili-ties to manifest their innovative ideas/solutions intoreality.

� They act on their ideas, sometimes without knowinghow they will accomplish them. You might heara Rudolph say, “It can be done—I don’t knowhow—but I can see it.” The how is always revealedin time.

� Rudolphs rarely rely on convention to put their ideasinto action. They tend to appear like trailblazers,troublemakers, or loose cannons to non-Rudolphs.

Whether you are a Rudolph in your work environ-ment or not, we believe everyone has a little Rudolph inthem—that little spark or twinkle in the eye everyone getswhen talking about his or her passion. Whether or not thenose is aglow depends on the context of a situation andthe environment. When you are in your Rudolph space, itis similar to being in the zone—you have little awarenessof time passing, and you can see nothing but poten-tial and opportunity around you. Because of this intense

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passion, Rudolphs tend to make leaps in their fields ofstudy or hobby of interest, and some actually go so faras to revolutionize concepts, organizations, environments,or entire industries.

Many inventors, change agents, and problem solversare Rudolphs. However, as previously mentioned, thereare distinct differences between being an entrepreneurand a Rudolph. Both are highly creative but have differentskill sets. For example, a friend of ours who works at Dis-neyland engineers and builds roller coasters. If he were anentrepreneur, he would leave Disneyland to start his ownrollercoaster-building company. He would be responsiblefor all aspects of his business, from the creative designto raising capital, hiring workers, sales, marketing, qual-ity control, transportation, and so on. He is a Rudolphbecause as much as he loves the creative work, he alsoloves being able to leverage his employment at the “hap-piest place on Earth” to do things that he could not do asan independent rollercoaster manufacturer. Although anentrepreneur would love to create and build a productor service and build a company to support that creativity,our friend has no desire to raise capital, hire people, orrun a business.

Another friend of ours is a Rudolph in the educationrealm, working for a large university, because she isdeeply passionate about facilitating the learning processin others. She has no desire to start her own educationor training business, and she enjoys leveraging the nameand reputation of her university to gain access to all kinds

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THE RUDOLPH FACTOR

of behind-the-scene grand tours of manufacturing facili-ties and other unique opportunities to gather ideas. If shewere an independent trainer or contractor, these types ofinvitations would not be so readily granted.

Our last example is a software developer and Rudolphthat we interviewed named Steve Lewis. When asked ifthe characteristics of a Rudolph resonated with him, heresponded by saying,

That’s me exactly—a creative guy in the InformationTechnology industry that [unfortunately] generallyscares the heck out of people. I have always beenwilling to take risks in the various positions I haveheld in companies, trying different ways to do things,and so on. Most of corporate America sees me as aliability rather than an asset. The few managers whohave recognized my talents and creative thinking wererewarded with reliability of software, substantial costsavings, and the ability to expand their businesses.I have to admit, though, that managing my careerhas been tough. I take positions that sound interest-ing and pray that my manager understands me. Or asmy resume once said, “Give me enough rope to hangmyself”—meaning, give me just enough freedom to beable to do something revolutionary. Most employersdon’t even know where the rope is. I’ve been calledcrazy, nuts, and genius a few times as I pursue apath less traveled. In the end—when the project iscompleted successfully—I am the hero for a day.

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While Rudolphness may differ based on context,circumstance, and environment, one constant for allRudolphs is that they cannot help but spend time (1)involuntarily thinking about the things they are mostpassionate about, (2) acquiring the capabilities to man-ifest their thoughts into reality, and (3) taking action.In the business realm, after many interviews with alldifferent types of employees including frontline work-ers, managers, executives—and the Rudolphs sprinkledthroughout those roles—we had an epiphany. We dis-covered that, generally speaking, we could determinewhich mode employees were in by simply measuringwhat percentage of time outside of their normal eight-hour workday they spent involuntarily thinking abouttheir work (Table 3.2).

Table 3.2 Rudolphs and Time Spent InvoluntarilyThinking about Work Outside of a Normal Eight-HourWorkday

Per centage Hours Mode Rudolphs

0–25 0–2 Tactical/operational

26–50 2–4 Facilitative/managerial

51–75 4–6 Creative/innovative Yes76–100 6–8 Visionary/strategic

Based on a handful of relatively simple questions andlistening to the language people used, we are able todetermine if an employee is tactical, managerial, strategic,

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THE RUDOLPH FACTOR

or innovative. It is important to note that the modedoes not necessarily correlate to the title of the person’sposition—unless someone has recently added “Rudolph”to the traditional organizational chart.

Again, to be reasonable, this does not mean that everyperson who thinks about work for an additional six toeight hours a day is a Rudolph; but, that characteristicwould certainly lead us to more investigation. The num-ber is simply a reflection of the percentage of time spentinvoluntarily thinking about work. It is also importantto note that everybody works within all four modes asshown in Figure 3.1; each mode coming to light underdifferent circumstances or in different types of environ-ments. Our goal is to locate those people whose Rudolphspace is located in their work environment and to nurturetheir thinking so that they can bring an ongoing steadystream of creativity and innovation to their organizations,resulting in a truly sustainable competitive advantage forthat company.

For example, if you are assigned a task that you haveno desire to do and cannot find value in, chances are youwill be in an operational or tactical mode. You are notdeeply invested in the task at hand and simply do whatneeds to be done to complete it. The task, the work, orthe job is simply a means to another end—working fora paycheck so you can do the things you are really pas-sionate about. There is absolutely nothing good or bador right or wrong with this mode. Alternatively, if you areassigned a task that you cannot wait to dive into and are

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really excited about, you will more than likely be in yourRudolph space—highly creative and innovative. Again,there is nothing good or bad or right or wrong with anyof the four modes. In fact, all are essential to the suc-cessful operation of any organization. And if you becomecompletely consumed with your work and are constantlythinking about potential, possibility, and opportunity, youmay decide to make the shift to self-employment in theland of entrepreneurship.

It is also important to note that we recognizedlife/work balance issues at the extreme ends of the per-centages spectrum (from 0 to 5 percent and 95 to 100percent). For example, many entrepreneurs and exec-utives tend to live/breath/eat/sleep/think about theirwork all of the time. They won’t realize it is 3:19 AM

because they have been consumed with thoughts aboutwork. In an extreme case, an entrepreneur might spendhis or her normal day working and an additional eighthours . . . or more . . . working and thinking about work.At the opposite end of the spectrum, not thinking aboutwork at all is generally reflective of someone who maybe completely disconnected from his or her job—ororganization—altogether and who simply clocks in andclocks out or checks in and checks out. Safety issues couldoccur as a result of this type of disconnection.

As we have become more familiar with the char-acteristics of each mode through our research—mostspecifically, Rudolphs—we have found that each isinspired by different means and appreciates different

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THE RUDOLPH FACTOR

forms of reward (to be discussed in greater detail inChapter 8). The beauty of the information presented inTable 3.2 is that it never locks anyone into any specificmode. Whichever mode you are in is dependent uponcontext, circumstance, and the environment you are in.Consider where you may fit based on the Table in var-ious aspects of your life—at home, at work, with yourrole in different groups, or your affiliations to variousorganizations.

Chapter 3 Review

� Employers are typically not aware of their Rudolphsand the latent creative and innovative thinking thatcomes quite naturally to them.

� Managers who identify and nurture their Rudolphsare leaders in industry.

� Everyone has a degree of Rudolphness in them.

� Depending on context and environment, you maybe operating in a tactical/operational, facilitative/managerial, creative/innovative, or a visionary/strategic mode.

� All four operational modes are essential to everyorganization.

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C H A P T E R 4

NURTURINGRUDOLPHS TOMAXIMIZE THEIRINNOVATIVECONTRIBUTIONS

While Santa’s Rudolph looked fairly similar to the otherreindeer on the team (with the exception of his glowingnose, of course), Rudolphs in the workplace look just likeevery other employee, except as noted in the last chap-ter, they think very differently, ask more questions, areinspired by different factors, and typically value a differenttype of reward. Fortunately, it only takes a conversationor two to recognize Rudolphs who do not seem to fit wellwithin their organization’s norms.

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THE RUDOLPH FACTOR

We have found that people who behave as mentorsin their organization tend to have an uncanny ability torecognize and nurture Rudolphs. They tend to take juniorRudolphs under their wing, give them guidance, and offeran outlet for their creativity. In some cases, it is a directmanager who does this, and in other cases, it might be asenior executive who happens upon a friendly Rudolphand acts to protect him from the harsh realities of mostcorporate cultures. Mentors may or may not be Rudolphsthemselves, but they recognize the potential in Rudolphsand nurture them in an effective and productive way.The short answer to the question, “How do I nurturemy Rudolphs?” is to mentor them, take them under yourwing, and commit yourself to their success as creativeand innovative contributors to your organization. Recog-nize that they will not always fit in and may need someadvocacy and protection to be able to transform theirunconventional ideas into reality.

The longer answer to the question of how to nur-ture Rudolphs involves very specific things you can do(actions, A), once you are aware (A) of your Rudolph’spotential, value (V) what Rudolphs bring to the organi-zation, and are thinking (T) about how to leverage theircreativity and innovative thinking. Based on the AVTARmodel, knowing what to do can only be answered oncethe AVT (awareness, value in awareness, and thinking)has been addressed. Results occur quite naturally withinan environment conducive to Rudolphs. The following

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Nurturing Rudolphs to Maximize Their Innovative Contributions

story demonstrates what it looks like and feels like tovalue people and nurture their capabilities.

In my opinion, the job of leadership is to inspireand motivate people. Managers severely underestimatetheir people and their capabilities. Extraordinary per-formance is not achieved by “managing” people butby “shoulder to shoulder” leadership, treating them asequals in trust and respect. Leaders must transform themindset from “you versus me” to “us” working together.You can release the power of the minds of the employ-ees, and they will deliver.

I try to lead people by what I would want to seein my leader and with basic coaching skills that youwould see in a winning sports team. You have to trustthat people have the ability to accomplish their tasksand empower them to make decisions to execute thework. I empower my teams by chartering them to runtheir part of the business. I challenge them with highgoals, am always available for coaching, and often askteams to talk about their business.

Never come off like the “big honcho.” You don’thave to remind people that you are the boss, anddon’t expect to be treated any differently than anyoneelse. When people leave work, they are homeowners,investors, and coaches in their personal lives. Makethem the bosses of their destiny at work. Rally these

(continued )

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(continued )people for success. They will amaze you with theirresults.

Don Pitcher

Operations Director, C-17 Fuselage, The Boeing Company

From the last chapter, we know that Rudolphs aredeeply passionate about their work and truly believe theycan and do positively affect change within their organi-zations. Because they see the world through a lens ofpotential, possibility, and opportunity—not through rose-colored glasses, but through a true ability to see realisticopportunities and solutions to problems that others can-not see—they want nothing more than to do good work,make their managers and peers look good, and improvetheir organizations. As a non-Rudolph, it may be difficultto believe, but genuine Rudolphs actually find inspirationin making others look good.

While Rudolphs really shine in their work environ-ments, they tend to have difficulty bringing their ideas tofruition. This is not because of a lack of personal abil-ity but because of an institutional or systemic hindranceto action taking. Most managers are not aware of theirRudolphs, and most organizational cultures do not nur-ture their unique, innovative thinking. In many cases wehave seen, the leadership style, organizational culture,and reward structure fail to properly recognize Rudolphsin a manner that inspires them to continue to contribute.

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Under such circumstances, a Rudolph’s light begins tofade. According to our interviews, in time, Rudolphs pur-posefully withhold, and ultimately stop sharing ideas withtheir company leaders—even though the ideas continueto percolate in their minds.

As your organization’s cultural revolution begins, yourRudolphs might be difficult to nurture at first—especiallybecause most organizational cultures unwittingly encour-age their employees to check their red noses at the door.It is a paradox, really. Corporations are spending millionsof dollars trying to figure out who their innovative agentsof change are—even going so far as to mandate psy-chological assessments to determine latent creative talent.Today’s managers desire—even demand—creative contri-butions from their employees but are hesitant to acceptthe inherent risk that comes with innovation.

As discussed in the first chapter, the command-and-control style of management, which is still prevalenttoday, is antithetical to environments that nurtureRudolphs. Eliciting innovative and creative thinking fromemployees, in general, requires a transfer of responsibil-ity to them, and most company managers are unwillingto do so. At Boeing C-17, this transfer of responsibilitybrought about new challenges for their teams. There areover 500 formal (defined as working through the fourdocumented stages of team maturity) teams in the C-17Program, approximately 3,500 formal teams in the Inte-grated Defense Systems business unit, and over 4,000teams at the Boeing enterprise level (meaning, across

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THE RUDOLPH FACTOR

The Boeing Company)—all working on self-initiatedprojects. Rather than perpetuating the wedge betweentheir Rudolphs and non-Rudolphs working on the sameteams, the roles of leaders and teams had to change.In-house Practitioners in the Employee Involvement (EI)Program created ground rules for working together.Rudolphs and non-Rudolphs on the same team must:

� Meet weekly to identify and manage improvements.

� Commit to projects and a shared vision.

� Develop team-building skills.

� Participate in the learning process.

� Share information and cooperate with one another.

On average, C-17 teams have reported generating$143,000. If you do the math, it does not take long to seethe potential. Collectively, those 500+ formal teams haveconsistently generated savings or revenues in terms ofcost-avoidance, cycle-time reduction, new products, andproduction and process improvements to the tune of mil-lions of dollars each year. Just through the Creative EdgeProgram, employees and teams have generated savings ofover $90 million to their bottom line over the past decade.As impressive as these numbers are, do not be temptedto identify your Rudolphs and throw them into teamsand expect the same results. The secret is to nurtureyour Rudolphs, which will inspire them to do greatthings and generate high-level business results on theirown on an ongoing basis. Remember, the elements that

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you cannot see are the ones that generate organizationalgreatness.

If the nurturing element is missing, the paradox ofmanagement wanting creativity and innovation withoutthe ability to transfer responsibility to the workers causesRudolphs to learn to intentionally stay under the radar.It amazed us to discover how many Rudolphs out thereare purposefully withholding cost-saving or revenue-generating ideas. Management’s inability to transferresponsibility to employees significantly decreases theeffectiveness of teams. The nurturing element has beenall but nonexistent for many Rudolphs, so they tend tooperate from a set of survival skills. These skills are aresult of conditioning from being sidelined or sabotagedby peers or their direct managers. Rudolphs want to suc-ceed, but more importantly, they want their organizationsand the people around them to succeed. They live by val-ues rather than rules, and sometimes make career-limitingmoves (what we refer to as “CLMs”) when at odds with thedominant or prevailing culture of their company. Becausethey tend to ask the tough questions that others are afraidor unwilling to ask, it can appear as if they are intendingto rock the boat. This is simply not the case. SometimesRudolphs save the day, and other times they have to jumpship, or worse, are thrown overboard.

As previously noted, Rudolphs look at their organiza-tions through a lens of potential, possibility, and oppor-tunity, although the traditional corporate culture requiresand rewards conformity, compromise, and control. In this

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THE RUDOLPH FACTOR

scenario, it is like doing the tango on a high wire. The sim-ple act of nurturing your Rudolphs will bring them theirhighest level of satisfaction—effecting sustainable changeand seeing their ideas in action. We refer to this highestlevel of satisfaction as leaving an indelible hoofprint ontheir organization. The irony is that companies are lit-erally begging for radical creativity and innovation, andmost are unaware of the fountain of creativity right undertheir own (brown) noses.

A SMALL BUT MIGHTY HERD

We believe every organization has a small but mightyherd of Rudolphs just waiting for an opportunity to shine.From large, global corporations to small, family ownedbusinesses—whether it is a private, public, or not-for-profit organization—Rudolphs are sprinkled throughoutevery company and hold positions on every rung of thecorporate ladder, from CEO to frontline worker. Whilesome may be heroic leaders of innovation, others arequiet but deeply committed agents of change, not onlyseeing opportunities to act but also taking action. Youmight be wondering why Rudolphs would continue towork for a company where they do not fit in and wherethey feel they have to temper their involuntary but highly,innovative thinking. We discovered that their unique abil-ity to see possibility and potential opportunities aroundevery corner—along with their capacity to make a positive

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difference—keeps many Rudolphs from seeking greenerpastures, unless the culture becomes too difficult, painful,or toxic for them to stay.

Rudolphs tend to be a bit isolated (typically, by theirown choice) and generally save their energy for creativeoutlets outside of work. Over time, they might stumbleon a handful of other Rudolphs within their organization,but even then, the existence of this small herd is relativelyunnoticed. Rudolphs do an excellent job of nurturing eachother and leveraging each other’s talents, titles, and polit-ical influence to get things accomplished. All the while,most employers have no idea that they have a full herdof Rudolphs in the stable. Ironically, it is becoming rathercommonplace for corporations to seek creativity andinnovation from expensive, outside sources by acquir-ing new talent. Another prevalent and expensive practiceis for larger companies to acquire smaller, more nimbleand creative companies. Ironically, the larger, more domi-nant culture tends to squish the acquired group’s creativejuices in a formal, strategic merging of diametrical cul-tures. Even though we have seen and read about it timeand time again, it continues to be a common practiceamong behemoth companies.

THREE STEPS TO NURTURING YOUR RUDOLPHS

If you think you might have some Rudolphs in your herd,there are three things you can do right away to start the

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process of getting them back on the radar screen, and theeasiest is to have them read this book. It demonstratesthat you are aware that Rudolphs think differently thantheir cohorts, and it will help them see they are not alonein being different from their peers. The process of gettingthem back on the radar screen will be as easy as open-ing your mind (and ears) to what your Rudolphs sharewith you. Chances are that your Rudolphs will have a lotto say once they are given the chance, after first beingconvinced that there will be no repercussions for sharingtheir thoughts.

Step 1: Open Your Mind

The first step you have to take is to open your mind to adifferent way of thinking. In doing so, you create an envi-ronment in which it is safe to voice ideas. Dependingon how healthy or unhealthy your organization’s cul-ture is, you may need to do some foundation-buildingwork before you are in a position to identify and nur-ture your Rudolphs. We share tools on how to builda supportive team-based culture as well as ideas forleadership style in Chapter 5 and appropriate rewardstructures in Chapters 6 through 8. Rudolphs will notallow themselves to be drawn out of the herd if theyperceive it is not safe. Remember, many of their pastefforts have made them a proverbial target, so expectthem to be a little shy at revealing their red noses underthe mud.

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Also remember that these people have had nonstopthoughts about how to improve their work environment,solve a nagging problem, and improve performance for avery long time. In fact, we have met many Rudolphs whodid not share their creativity and innovations for decades!Consider the millions of dollars of cost savings that werenot realized prior to Boeing C-17’s cultural revolution. Ifyou happen to be the manager of a Rudolph or two, beprepared to take a lot of notes because what they sharemay be overwhelming. If you have been asking for afountain of creativity from your people, you are going toget it via a fire hose when you unleash the voices of yourRudolphs. Be prepared with an open mind, and have aprocess in place to be able to move on ideas that mighthave merit (ideas with legs).

Step 2: Identify Unique Unmet Needs of Your Rudolphs

While the first thing you can do is open your mind towhat your Rudolphs are going to share, the second stepis to identify what their specific needs are. Almost everyRudolph we have come into contact with has needs thatare unique to their counterparts. Here are some examplesof needs that Boeing Rudolphs shared with us:

� Rudolphs need an outlet to share ideas on a regularbasis.

� Most Rudolphs need protection from their directmanager because Rudolphs are commonly per-ceived as a threat—unless that manager is savvy at

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THE RUDOLPH FACTOR

realizing the value Rudolphs bring to the organiza-tion.

� Rudolphs’ thinking is best leveraged when theyknow it is okay to take risks. Rudolphs’ ideas gen-erally do not come nicely packaged. They tendto be unconventional ideas and sometimes requireunconventional means to effectively implement.You will need to be okay with unconventionalthinking—particularly if you are not an unconven-tional thinker. This does not entail agreeing towhatever ideas your Rudolphs have. If you do notunderstand where the thinking came from or how itis going to work, ask lots of questions. Chances are,when your Rudolphs share their thought processused in getting to the ideas, everything will makemore sense. As their manager, you will be able toprovide more information about the constraints thatRudolphs may not be privy to.

� Many Rudolphs need to be protected from ill-willedpeers who may not appreciate or value the dy-namic that Rudolphs can and do bring to theorganization.

� All Rudolphs need other people to be success-ful, and they value collaboration immensely. Youwill need to provide team training to facilitatethe process of building teams in which Rudolphswork with non-Rudolphs. This is detailed further inChapter 5.

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� Rudolphs need the ability to execute their ideas, butnot in a haphazard fashion. You need to create a sys-tem for capturing, funneling, reviewing, modifying(if necessary), and implementing ideas, which is alsodetailed in Chapter 5.

Step 3: Put Processes in Place that Encourage Implementation

In nurturing Rudolphs—as opposed to non-Rudolphs—the two most important tools they are given include avoice (empowerment) and the ability to implement theideas that improve organizational conditions. Throughmany interviews with Boeing C-17 personnel as wellas Rudolphs at other organizations, we have found thatthe greatest limiting factor for Rudolphs in contributingtheir creativity and innovations tends to be their director middle managers. Because of the system midlevelmanagers work in, they tend to face a different kindof pressure than the workers or executive staff. Theirpopulation tends to be pulled in the most different—andsometimes diametrical—directions. Rather than lever-aging the creative ideas from their Rudolphs, they maytend to micromanage or sometimes even take credit forthe ideas, which quickly dims the lit noses of Rudolphs.

In the lessons-learned phase of Boeing C-17’s culturalrevolution, the executive staff recognized that the systemtheir culture operated in discouraged midlevel managersfrom moving quickly on change initiatives. These days,when a proposed change of some sort is necessary, it

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still comes from the top, but it bypasses the traditionalhierarchical ladder and goes straight to the floor—to thepeople actually doing the work. Then the top and bottomput the squeeze on the midlevel managers. With pressurefrom both ends, midlevel managers have no choice but toacquiesce. While this sounds rather imposing, it is actuallya relief to midlevel managers because the responsibil-ity for success or failure does not fall on their shouldersalone. Executives and workers share in the responsibilityfor success or failure with midlevel managers. This shar-ing of responsibility eliminates most of the finger pointingfaced in organizations and encourages alignment of theproposed change to long-term strategies.

An excellent example of communication from seniorleadership going directly to the workers can be seenin a recent e-mail from Vice President/General ManagerGlobal Mobility Systems, Jean Chamberlin. It not onlyinspires collaborative efforts during challenging times, butit also addresses recognition of success stories. The lan-guage used is very reflective of a people-centric culture.

GMS Teammates,

Last week I informed managers across GlobalMobility Systems [GMS] about some of the cost-cutting measures we have to take as Boeing maneu-vers through some challenging economic times.Our goal across GMS, Integrated Defense Systemsand Boeing is to find ways to reduce costs while

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maintaining our strengths and improving our pro-ductivity.

For the C-17 Program, we certainly must findways to meet and/or exceed the expectations of ourdomestic and international customers. Only by keep-ing the C-17 an affordable solution can we sustainexisting customers and gain new ones, ensuring along future in Long Beach.

I am welcoming all of you to provide whateversuggestions you may have on how we can driveour costs down while maintaining the GMS brandof quality that makes us the world leader in mobil-ity products. Some of the areas in which we alreadyare taking steps include reducing travel wheneverpossible and getting a handle on electronic devicesby making sure they are dispersed efficiently. Yourmanager can inform you about other efforts.

We all need to work together and challenge our-selves to find ways to be more productive. And let usknow your success stories as well as ways your teamhas helped make our operations more cost effectiveand productive. Please respond to this e-mail withsuccess stories and any and all suggestions to furtherreduce costs.

Together we can get through these tough times.

Jean

Jean Chamberlin

Vice President/General Manager, Global Mobility Systems, Inte-

grated Defense Systems, The Boeing Company

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THE RUDOLPH FACTOR

Please recognize that if the culture had not been rev-olutionized, this letter would most likely have ended upignored, or worse, scoffed at by employees. But becauseBoeing C-17 has done the work—addressed their think-ing, revisited what leadership means to them, developeda solid institutional memory (or Corporate Constitution),and continues to encourage and nurture their RudolphCulture—this letter had significant meaning to all employ-ees. Referring to our AVTAR model, Chamberlin providesthe awareness (A) and offers a sense of value (V) to work-ing together to make it through the current state of theglobal economy. Because responsibility and ownership ofthe culture has been shifted to the employees, they willvery likely embrace her request and be inspired to think(T) of things they can do (action, A) to get the desiredresults (R), which include cost-cutting practices withoutcompromising quality by finding ways to be more effec-tive and productive. As a result of Chamberlin’s e-mail, 50to 70 ideas worthy of consideration were generated imme-diately. Given our experiences with Boeing C-17’s peopleover the past few years, we have no doubt that more ideasare brewing and new success stories are being captured.The following story from a C-17 wing tank mechanic illus-trates this shift of responsibility felt by employees.

I am a wing tank mechanic. We no longer leave ourbrains and common sense at the gate. Our leadershipencourages us to think out of the box to improve ourbusiness and remove the barriers. We see our cost and

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performance numbers, and we are saving the com-pany money. The mechanics are listening to each other,sharing knowledge and information. Because of thetransformation, we feel like part of the company.

Jake B. Hampton, Jr.

Wing IPT 5S focal, Wing Tank Mechanic C-17, The Boeing

Company

OUR CHALLENGE TO YOU

Consider who might be a Rudolph in your organization,take an interest in understanding how they think, andcommit yourself to joint success. Know that they arecommitted to yours. Also consider the four modes of oper-ation: tactical or operational, facilitative or managerial,creative or innovative, and visionary or strategic. As youbecome more aware of what mode the people around youare operating in, you will be able to address the psychol-ogy of change (AVTAR) for each mode. There are distinctforms of recognition, rewards, and motivators that addresseach mode (to be discussed in detail in Chapter 8),and knowing this allows you to be more effective withall types of people. Rudolphs are revolutionaries—driversof change—and businesses reap the rewards of extraordi-nary results when they nurture and create an environmentthat supports and encourages innovative thought and cre-ative contributions from Rudolphs.

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Chapter 4 Review

� Consider whether your Rudolphs are checking theirred noses at the door.

� Rudolph Cultures are based on values rather thanrules.

� Every organization, large and small, has a small butmighty herd of Rudolphs.

� Open your mind, identify unmet needs, and haveprocesses in place to nurture creative and innovativethinking from Rudolphs and non-Rudolphs.

� When responsibility and ownership has been shiftedto employees, organizational greatness is a distinctpossibility.

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C H A P T E R 5

ESTABLISHING ATEAM-BASEDRUDOLPHCULTURE

It is important to note that we define culture as themanifestation of every exchange and interaction everyday between every person (including workers, managers,executives, suppliers, and customers) affiliated with anorganization. An organization’s culture is not just theresponsibility of management, it belongs to everyone. Itis no wonder that cultural change can be difficult, but asshown in this book, it can occur on a grand scale in arelatively short period of time (10,000 people over a six-year period in one of the most regulated and bureaucraticindustries).

We believe there are four elements that, when inte-grated, make up what we refer to as the Four Pillars ofOrganizational Greatness. Chapters 5 through 8 address

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each pillar individually, including establishing a RudolphCulture, redefining leadership, developing a CorporateConstitution, and creating an Alternative and AlignedReward Structure. Recognize that organizational greatnessis not dependent on how strong each pillar is individually.Greatness is dependent on how well the four pillars holdup the structure—in other words, how well each pillar isintegrated with the other three.

We begin with establishing a Rudolph Culture inresponse to the problems noted in Chapter One facedby companies with regard to eliciting innovative think-ing and employee engagement. Many managers react tothis ambivalence and lack of engagement by mandatingprocess improvement or performance management initia-tives. Even worse, some management teams tie these typ-ically poorly planned strategies to workers’ performancereviews without addressing how the strategies affect eachindividual’s work. Rather than taking the time to considerwhich strategies, tools, and initiatives are best suited forthe organization’s long-term vision, management makesthe workers responsible for the success of the initiativesand strategies. Before long, a flavor-of-the-month cultureis born, only fueling the perpetuation of the disengagedand/or dysfunctional corporate culture. Almost everylarge organization we have worked with has experiencedthis type of culture at some point in its journey . . . andmany have never gotten beyond it. The cycle of forcingemployees to contribute or be engaged in carrying outthe mandates—by tying the reward structure to employee

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Establishing a Team-Based Rudolph Culture

performance—only further diminishes any possibility forbuilding a high-performing, team-based Rudolph Culture.

In addition to internal behaviors, we believe anorganization’s culture is also influenced by how seniorleadership and management respond to external circum-stances. In many cases, management either reacts hastilywithout consideration for the internal dynamics, or theyresist letting go of what has historically constituted theircompetitive advantage. For the past century, first tomarket or faster/smaller/cheaper to produce has beenconsidered strong criteria for generating a competitiveadvantage. In the past 20 years, new or expanded ser-vices, improved quality, and lower price via cost-cuttingprocess improvement initiatives have been targetedgoals to generate a competitive advantage. In today’sexpansive global market riddled with the current globalfinancial crises, vast improvements in transportation,communication, and tracking technologies, as well asleaps in computing capabilities (those things we havetraditionally considered to be sustainable competitiveadvantages) are all now replicable in a fairly short periodof time by domestic, international, and even virtualcompanies (those that operate without brick-and-mortarfacilities from all over the world).

As you might have guessed, we believe the only sus-tainable competitive advantages over a long period oftime are nontangibles, including, but not limited to, theindividual and collective knowledge base of workers,leadership style, an innovative culture, and creating an

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THE RUDOLPH FACTOR

“experience” for customers (rather than simply a transac-tion between company and customer). In the simplestof terms, the nontangibles are reflected in the “peo-ple part” of an organization and can be frightening tomanagement because nontangibles can be very diffi-cult to properly assess, measure, and control. In theworld of people-centric organizations, one size does notfit all, which throws a complete monkey wrench inthe realm of process improvement, problem solving,performance management, and generating innovations.However, organizations like Boeing’s C-17 Program thatvalue their nontangibles (primarily their people) arewinning the race to secure an enormous sustainable com-petitive advantage. During interviews with two of theEmployee Involvement (EI) Practitioners, Richard Nichol-son and Charles Macias thoughtfully explained that EI is atthe epicenter of B-O-EI-N-G and that their Rudolphs werethe people who started the revolution that transformedthe Boeing C-17 Program into a world-class leader. Onaverage, every employee we interviewed had been withBoeing (or previously, McDonnell Douglas) for over 20years. Employee involvement and engagement is at thevery core of all people-centric organizations.

ELICITING ONGOING CREATIVE AND INNOVATIVE INPUT

Once you are able to identify and nurture your brightlights, the next step is to build a system to generate ongo-

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ing creative and innovative employee engagement andcontribution. The development of a Rudolph Culture willensure proper encouragement and support so that it canbecome a sustainable competitive advantage regardless ofindustry or size of organization. As previously mentioned,within the Boeing C-17 Program, this sustainable com-petitive advantage has impacted the bottom line by over$90 million during a 10-year time frame and continues togenerate greater savings every year. Between the CreativeEdge Program and Team-Based Business Improve-ment (TBBI) Programs, savings and generated revenuesequaled hundreds of millions of dollars. According to met-rics that have been collected over the past several years,we are pleased to report that there is a direct correlationbetween Boeing C-17’s employee cost reduction incentiveprograms and employee satisfaction levels, which havecontinued to stay high. The employee satisfaction levelsare at the “Premier Company” level. Based on our find-ings, happy Boeing workers are creative and innovativeBoeing workers! The following story depicts how apply-ing concepts and practices to engage employees not onlytransformed the dominant engineering culture, but alsoincreased employee satisfaction in the process.

Applying principles of Employee Involvement (EI) andEmployee Engagement (EE) has helped our engineer-ing organization transform to a high-performance team-based culture. As an engineering center of excellence

(continued )

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(continued )and a high-performance organization, we have beenable to develop, design, test, build, and deliver ourworld-class products to our government and otherglobal customers. We have accomplished our goals anddeliverables by leveraging principles of EI and Lean ineverything we do.

Based on our shared vision of 100 percentimplementation and institutionalization of team-basedculture, we have been able to promote and integrateinnovation, productivity, employee satisfaction, anddiversity. Such EI components have collectively helpedus achieve business results and globally increase ourcompetitiveness, while adding value to our sharehold-ers’ interest.

Kami Moghaddam, EdD

Engineering Integration EI & Lean+ Leader, The Boeing Company

In establishing a Rudolph Culture, the most critical ele-ment to consider is ensuring Rudolphs and non-Rudolphshave a safe environment to share and execute ideas. As amanager (whether you are a Rudolph or not), you mustrecognize that perceptions are as powerful as reality. Infact, we believe they are one and the same. Therefore,you might believe that you have created a safe envi-ronment in which contributions can be made, but youremployees do not appear to be engaged in the process.This is a management moment—meaning, it is now your

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responsibility to find out what is missing. In many cases,we have found that managers, who are able to truly rec-ognize the value of employee engagement and shift theirthinking as a result, have had to reintroduce themselvesto their workers. This shift in thinking changes how theymanage and interact with the people around them. Thereare often trust issues that need to be addressed during theprocess of establishing a Rudolph Culture. Our advice isto be patient and continue to commit to the success ofpeople around you. It may take time, and people typicallytest the water before the process is running smoothly.

Because most organization cultures are influenced by90 percent non-Rudolphs, we will also give you tools tohelp you manage and foster creative and innovative think-ing from your non-Rudolphs. The idea is not to createa separation between Rudolphs and non-Rudolphs—wealready have that in most organizations. The goal is tonurture relationships between the two so that all fourmodes—tactical (i.e., workers), facilitative (managers),creative (Rudolphs), and strategic (executives)—worktogether to be as effective as possible.

Taking the concepts we have shared from identi-fying and nurturing individual Rudolphs to building aRudolph Culture requires identifying the thinking behindthe building process. It would be of no service to youto simply share the initiatives Boeing C-17 uses becausethere would be no foundation for you to build on. Boe-ing C-17’s cultural revolution grew out of trial and errorand some pivotal ah-ha moments by leadership. Because

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we have captured their process, we can now replicate thethinking with intentional design. Your process of transfor-mation might look different than theirs. This is okay. Infact, we would hope that yours will be unique, unless youare the same size as the Boeing C-17 Program, are manu-facturing the same product, with the same customer, andin the same industry . . . you get the point.

The “Ten Lessons Learned on the Journey” that wereshared with us from the leadership of Boeing’s C-17 Pro-gram, reflect the thinking behind the tools used, initiativesintroduced, and decisions made. These lessons continueto significantly influence the culture at Boeing C-17 todayand are transferable to any size and type of organiza-tion. The only requirement is that everyone within theorganization must share a common purpose.

Ten Lessons Learned on the Boeing C-17 Jour ney

1. The law of change: If you always do what you havealways done, you will get what you have alwaysgotten!

2. Change is hard for people if they do not knowwhere they are going or why.

3. It is a journey, not an event—we are still on ourway.

4. Leadership must execute business strategiesthrough others. When employees are part of defin-ing what it means to them, there is more personalcommitment.

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5. Leadership must be persistent; stay the course andrefuse to give up.

6. All training must include immediate application tothe team.

7. You must have a written plan.

8. Recognition must be part of the process.

9. Traditional roles must change (leadership and teammembers).

10. Enjoy the journey!

We are going to discuss lessons one, two, three, andsix in this chapter regarding establishing a Rudolph Cul-ture. Lessons four, five, and nine will be addressed inChapter 6, “Redefining Leadership.” Lessons seven andnine (again) will be addressed in Chapter 7, “Developinga Corporate Constitution.” Lesson eight will be addressedin Chapter 8, “Creating an Alternative and Aligned RewardStructure,” and Lesson Ten—Enjoy the Journey!—will beshared in the Epilogue.

LESSON ONE: DOING WHAT YOU’VE ALWAYS DONE

The first lesson, doing what you’ve always done will getyou what you’ve always gotten, came out of the seniorleaders’ awareness that companies tend to be slow onaction. The value of this awareness is if you want adifferent outcome, you must change the process, the

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product, or both, NOW! This influenced management’sthinking about their technical-social system within theBoeing C-17 Program. Historically, and as with mostcompanies, the technical aspects of the business far out-weigh the sociocultural elements. The technical aspectsinclude the processes, procedures, goals, technology,financial resources, equipment/tooling/electronics, andother mechanical features and comprise approximately10 percent of the formal and informal aspects of orga-nizational life. The other 90 percent, the socioculturalelements, include personal beliefs, personal assumptions,perceptions, attitudes, feelings of anger or pride, personalvalues, personal interactions, and team norms.

∗

In establishing a team-based Rudolph Culture, havingcreated a formalized EI Program balances the technical/sociocultural scale through commitment and engagement.Assessment is an effective tool that is most useful foraddressing the technical and sociocultural balance. Thereare literally hundreds of types of organizational assess-ment tools available, but two primary ones used in BoeingC-17’s journey included a SWOT analysis (examining theorganization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, andThreats) as connected to the Program’s Vision, and a setof six simple questions that were used to facilitate the

∗ Information regarding the 90/10 split comes from the E.I. Toolkit

for Growth and Productivity Presentation—created by E.I. Practition-

ers, Dr. Charles Macias, Dr. Richard Nicholson, and other EI Team

Members.

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process of taking an honest look at where your organiza-tion is by the way it values people. Sometimes it can bedifficult for management to take an objective look at theorganization because we tend to be more invested in whatwe believe exists than what truly exists. The six questionsBoeing management used to take an honest assessmentof their current state of affairs involving people included:

1. Does everyone in the organization understand ourcustomers and their business?

2. Do leadership and management have a clear vision?

3. Does the vision include language about people andteamwork?

4. Do the employees know what the vision is?

5. Has leadership and management created strategiesand supporting objectives at all levels of the orga-nization? Are they aligned with each other?

6. Are all employees encouraged to be involved indecision making and improvements for their partof the business?

Question number six is critical—employees must beinvolved at the decision-making level. To do so, they mustbe trained in creating budgets, meeting management, con-flict resolution, as well as other business functions thatare typically facilitated or led by management, ratherthan frontline workers. As we previously noted, respon-sibility and ownership must be transferred over to the

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people doing the work. You can easily see how stiflingit would be if management were trying to encourageemployee involvement and engagement but did not offertools or information that would allow employees to reallyown their part of the business. You simply cannot haveone without the other. Engagement at the level that willdrive innovation into your business requires a transfer ofresponsibility to the workers.

LESSON TWO: CHANGE IS HARD FOR PEOPLE IF THEY DON’TKNOW WHERE THEY’RE GOING OR WHY

The second lesson, change is hard for people if they don’tknow where they’re going or why, requires leaders andmanagers to share the vision often so that everyone cansee it. Many companies share their organizational vision,but it has no emotional value to employees. We believepeople do not naturally resist change. Naturally resistingchange implies that all change would be resisted, and weknow this is not true. For example, if employees were toldthat management was going to double bonuses at the endof the quarter, we do not believe there would be muchresistance expressed! Resistance comes from the inabil-ity to know how a proposed change is going to impactemployees at a personal level. Resistance is also appar-ent when employees do not have insider information thatlets them know why the proposed change is necessary.Within the Boeing C-17 Program, the executive leadership

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realized that imposing change might work for the shortterm, but to get the level of engagement they were askingfor, employees would have to be the change agents.

LESSON THREE: IT IS A JOURNEY

The third lesson, it’s a journey, not an event, addressesone of today’s most prevalent and crippling thoughtparadigms. Our larger, societal culture has become fixatedon short-term metrics. This has infiltrated most organiza-tions, with some even going so far as posting daily stockprices where employees can watch them go up and downevery day. Management’s thinking behind this practice isthat employees will work harder when the stock pricedecreases. Employees, on the other hand, recognize alltoo quickly, that their individual efforts have no directeffect on whether the stock price goes up or down. Theycan work as hard as they have ever worked, and the stockprice can and does go down. Think of the message thispractice sends to employees.

Boeing C-17’s leadership had another ah-ha momentwhen they realized the value of not stopping one effortand starting a new one; instead, they built efforts into thejourney. This thinking has several implications, but theone we would like you to most consider is to introduceonly those initiatives that fit into the larger strategy andvision. It is never the initiative that fails. Most often, wesee initiatives introduced without consideration of how

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other parts of the organization will be affected. Once yourecognize that the organization is a dynamic, connectedsystem that is part of a larger system, you will use morediscretion in deciding what tools and initiatives are imple-mented. However, if the mindset continues to be “if thisone doesn’t work, we’ll try another and another . . . ”;eventually, no one takes any initiative seriously, even if itis actually the most appropriate one to implement.

This is one area where you can really leverage thethinking of your Rudolphs because they are generally thepeople asking, “Why are we doing this?” While it mayappear that Rudolphs’ questioning is indicative of resis-tance, know that it is not. Rudolphs naturally see theirenvironment as a system, recognizing the connectionsbetween elements within and beyond the organizationand having the ability to clearly separate symptoms ofproblems from causes of problems. It is simply how theirmind works. Your Rudolphs’ questioning ensures that thetools and initiatives introduced to your organization havegone through a rigorous, thought-filled process.

LESSON SIX: ALL TRAINING MUST INCLUDE IMMEDIATEAPPLICATION TO THE TEAM

The sixth lesson is all training must include immediateapplication to the team. The greatest power found in train-ing is actually in the discussion by the team membersregarding how it immediately affects each one of their

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jobs. This discussion is as critical as the training itself.We have all experienced training or have learned newconcepts at conferences that sound great, but that is theextent of it. The missing link is how the training affectsme right now. If organizations spent half of their trainingresources on facilitating the discussion around training,employees would likely need half the training! For anytype of training to be effective, managers, trainers, andfacilitators need to use the AVTAR model.

In using AVTAR, the person conducting the trainingsets the stage for raising awareness (A) about the training.The manager is also responsible for presenting com-pelling reasons so employees can find value (V) in theirnew awareness (compelling to the employees, not justthe trainer or manager). After employees recognize thevalue of the training, their thinking (T) is influenced, andthey are more able to choose actions (A) that will leadto the desired results (R). Without this simple process,it is likely that managers would simply tell employeeswhat to do and hope for the desired results to occur.We never conduct workshops or classes without firstconfirming the benefits of the curriculum to the client.There is no sense in jumping into training unless theycan connect the value of it to their immediate work. With-out application, training is simply a waste of efforts andresources.

Ensuring training has immediate application toemployees requires a simple facilitative conversation withvery few rules of engagement. First, every team member

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must be present at the time of the conversation—presentin person or on a conference call. This is not effec-tive to conduct via e-mail. All team members must begiven an opportunity to share how they see the initia-tive affecting their job as if the initiative were alreadyin place. For example, one of the C-17 team empower-ment areas is Financial Management. Teams of employeescan be empowered to monitor and manage their ownbudgets, so they have to be trained on some financialmanagement concepts. In this case, learning financialmanagement concepts teaches employees how to designa budget and facilitates the process of discussing the bud-get with information, rather than instinct. It also teachesemployees how to find the right information and keeptrack of costs. In the end, it teaches employees howto take responsibility for staying within the budget theythemselves created, which eliminates—and at the veryleast minimizes—finger pointing at management for notgiving the team enough resources. Success and failurebecomes the responsibility of the team, rather than just themanager.

Team training and learning are essential and valuedelements of Boeing C-17’s Rudolph Culture. If your workentails designing training, know that it must be relevantto people’s current work as well as to the larger orga-nizational values and vision. The Boeing C-17 EI areahas a highly developed team-training program involvingknowledge transfer and application of the knowledge. As

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the EI Leadership shared with us, “Let the team trainingbegin, and watch the ‘magic’ happen with application.”The days of training for the sake of checking a box areover. It is archaic, costly, and a serious demotivator foremployees.

Because of the high number of Rudolphs and non-Rudolphs working together on teams, the C-17’s EIin-house practitioners spend a significant amount of timeteaching employees how to be effective members ofhighly empowered and self-directed teams. If workershave come from another organization that did not have aRudolph Culture, the AVTAR model is even more impor-tant because ingrained filters and conditioning may stifle anew employee’s ability to see beyond actions and results.Before application—or actions—can be taken, the aware-ness, value, and thinking must be addressed.

Some of the training required for all Boeing C-17 teamsincludes:

� Developing a case for change

� Developing a team charter

� Facilitating effective meetings

� Brainstorming techniques

� Decision-making methodologies

� Empowerment

� Feedback

� Group dynamics

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� Problem solving

� Strategic planning

� Team formation

� Communication and team conflict

� Leadership development

� Coaching

Again, this is not management training conducted formanagers only. This training is team training for the peo-ple doing the work on the shop floor, in the office,manufacturers, engineers, managers . . . everyone.

THE CREATIVE EDGE PROGRAM

Another important element of leveraging your RudolphFactor revolves around how the culture is structured. TheBoeing C-17 Program management thoughtfully alteredits highly layered and bureaucratic structure to allow fora higher level of lateral and interrelational communica-tion. This alternative approach is not radical, nor doesit require prohibitive time or resource commitments. Itoffers a structured and sustainable process for contribut-ing innovations. Within their Rudolph Culture, Boeinghas a formalized Employee Cost Reduction Incentive Pro-gram. And believe us when we say, “This is not yourfather’s employee suggestion program!”

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At the most fundamental level, The Boeing Companyis aware of and recognizes the value in eliciting cre-ative and innovative thinking from employees (the Athrough V of AVTAR). As a result, management’s think-ing began to shift from imposing creativity and innovationupon its employees to drawing it from employees. Eventhough employees desire to have a voice and a processto share their ideas, most employee suggestion programsare short-lived for a variety of reasons. In some cases,the process of accepting and processing ideas was notwell thought out, and the review process becomes atremendous bottleneck for any innovation. Other times,the suggestion program is simply lip service—employeesgive ideas but never get feedback or see them manifestedinto reality. It does not take long for employees to recog-nize that their thinking and suggestions are not valued.Once this occurs, it is a difficult and time-consuming pro-cess to reverse.

At the heart of eliciting creative and innovativethinking from Boeing C-17 employees are the CreativeEdge and Team-Based Business Improvements (TBBI)Programs. These are both vital elements to leveragingBoeing’s Rudolph Factor and have resulted in a cost sav-ings of over $90 million over the past 10 years. Theobjective of the Creative Edge Program is to make theproduct (the Boeing C-17 cargo aircraft) more affordableby soliciting, evaluating, facilitating, and rewarding cost-saving ideas submitted by employees. It is an integral part

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of the EI Reward and Recognition system. Every year, hun-dreds of employees contribute their innovative ideas andare awarded from $50 to $250 per employee plus 1 to2 percent of the first year net savings (FYNS) if appli-cable. We believe the largest amount of money paid toan employee was $32,000. The following story is from aCreative Edge participant and shows how having a mech-anism and process to capture creative and innovativeideas can result in employees feeling greater ownershipof the success of the overall organization.

Through the Creative Edge Program, every employeeis encouraged and empowered to continuously makesignificant improvements to quality, safety, cost, andprocesses in the production of the C-17 airlifter—achieving the true spirit of Employee Involvement withpride of ownership. There is no better feeling or moti-vation in knowing that, yes, I can make a difference.

Wayne C. Coleman

Creative Edge Participant and Team Lead, C-17 Final Function, The

Boeing Company

The beauty of the Creative Edge Program is that it isavailable to and accessible by any employee who has aninnovative idea. From our interviews, we learned that noteveryone participates, but every person expressed a senseof value in having a process that captures a great idea ifone comes to mind. By their very nature, Rudolphs tendto be the primary users of the Creative Edge Program.

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There is a small percentage of employees that tend togenerate new ideas and test their feasibility through theCreative Edge Program on a continual basis—the regulars.Because this is a voluntary program, it is not taking awayfrom getting normal job functions completed. However,anytime you have employees who work closely with aprocess and/or product, ideas for improvement are boundto occur. In a Rudolph Culture, employees take ownershipof their work and of the organization’s success by sug-gesting improvements, solving problems, and presentinginnovative ideas to the Review Team.

The Review Team includes a cross-functional team ofhighly skilled and qualified individuals from all facetsof the C-17 Program. The Creative Edge Program issupported by subject matter experts (SME) within theirresponsible areas. Each supporting Executive Leader hasappointed a team member to represent his or her orga-nization on the Review Team. The members includemanagers and senior managers ranging from Productionto all other facets of support functions including SupplierManagement, Manufacturing Estimating, as well as theQuality and Affordability Areas. Review Team membersare responsible for meeting twice a month to review andapprove suggestions and recommend those with potentialto higher levels of review. To date, over 1,000 suggestionshave been evaluated and reviewed. The following storydepicts how the Creative Edge Program was transformedfrom a nonfunctioning program to a “Best Practice” withinthe aerospace industry.

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During my 20-year career, I have had the honor ofdeveloping and implementing several improvements.As we know, some accomplished projects can bring asense of pride while others constitute a “check off thebox” routine. The project I chose was one of the biggestin my work and is still very exciting to me.

The assignment began as a problem. No onewanted anything to do with it because it had repeatedlyfailed in the past. This project involved cost reductionsand employee suggestions with tiered rewards. It wascalled the Creative Edge Program. It had a long historyof losing money on paid awards, and in addition, ideaswere not being implemented. They had lost millions ofdollars, and the program’s name alone had such a neg-ative association that it caused people to just leave theroom while they grumbled silently. Employees refusedto use it. Needless to say, the company needed thistype of program—if anyone could figure out how tomake it work. It seemed there were details missingthat could be causing the continued failures. Every-one I knew who had been assigned to manage thisprogram took what was given to them and wanted tomake it work without changing much of anything. Thefailures continued, and the numbers of discouragedpeople mounted.

I was given the challenge to make this programwork, and my approach was immediately different. Itook what was given to me and did some research on

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why the program had failed so miserably. My direc-tor, Ed Schaniel, along with every executive leader,vice president, and general manager of the C-17 Pro-gram thereafter were always big supporters and veryinstrumental with empowerment to make the neces-sary changes and open doors for what was to happennext. I identified who made it fail, what caused it to fail,and why it failed. Once I completed the first part of myresearch, I briefed the necessary team of executives onthe findings. After they heard the details of my review,they were eager to help. I requested that each directorappoint a subject matter expert from their organizationto represent them at a two-day offsite and to representthem as a monthly member on a review board. On thefirst day of the offsite with this team of experts, I madea recommendation saying, “Each of you is here todayto share what you can to build a completely new costreduction program.” I added, “You are the experts. I amthrowing out the old guideline that has never workedand am replacing it with a new process flow and proce-dure that we as a team will design.” The team seemedsurprised that this had never before been done, andcalmness filled the room. The tension diminished, andthe team seemed really excited to move forward withthis plan. The Creative Edge Review Team worked dili-gently toward a common goal to redesign a programof the future and to apply a new business plan that

(continued )

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(continued )amazed all of the executive leadership. It took longerthan the two days to tie up several loose ends, thoughat the end a tremendous effort provided great businessresults.

It has now been over 10 years, and the program isstill functioning beautifully. The employees participatein the program, and they are highly involved in the ideaimplementation from its inception to its completion.The platform is set to ensure full buy-in from all exec-utive stakeholders. The review board now consists of23 appointed subject matter experts who help vote andimplement new cost reduction and safety ideas. Today,through this program, I have been able to documentover a whopping $90 million in cost reduction. It works!The Creative Edge Program’s success has also beenrecognized as a “Best Practice” within the aerospaceindustry and was acknowledged during our BaldrigeAward presentation in 1998. It is also captured throughour Lean Manufacturing Assessments, 2005–2008, as aBest Practice.

My first thought was “Wow!” How much better canI describe the joy that comes from taking a difficulttask and being able to make it work better than everexpected? This accomplishment meant so much to mebecause I was really terrified of the assignment, yetI really wanted to try something different to explorethe possibilities of potential success. The thought of

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getting the same results as before disturbed me, yet theopportunity to be able to report something differentand better was also a possibility. I believe this meansthat when something doesn’t seem right, I can take adifferent perspective. I can look at it from a differentangle and allow myself to think differently from thosebefore me. I need to know that sometimes the infor-mation that lies in the dark can be the key to the thingsthat can be seen during the day. Just being able to makethis program work effectively with my team was a greatvictory for me and for the C-17 Program at The BoeingCompany. I loved it!

Rosie Robles-Gleason,

Creative Edge Project Manager, The Boeing Company

Because the culture seeks greater benefits for every-one, there is a constant evaluating, reenergizing, andre-creating of the incentive-based programs. In fact, thereis a team currently researching the benefits to employ-ees by awarding points rather than cash. Other rewardprograms use points (one point = one dollar) whereemployees can choose to spend their points in a vari-ety of ways. By design, the Creative Edge Program is awin-win for everyone involved. Boeing receives creativeand innovation improvements and solutions on an ongo-ing basis, and if viable, the employee who submitted theidea (or the team) receives a small percentage of the firstyear net savings (FYNS). There are four Creative EdgeLevels (as seen in Table 5.1).

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Table 5.1 Creative Edge Program Structure

Employee MaximumLevel Receives Description Per Team

1 $50 Suggestion is accepted,validated, andreviewed for possiblehigher levels. It hasthe potential to savea minimum of $5,000.

$500

2 $250 Suggestion must beimplemented andhave potential to save$5,000 to $24,999.

$2,500

3 1% to 2%First YearNet Sales

Suggestion must beimplemented andreviewed byEstimating, Industrial,and Affordability. Itmust save or reduce$25,000 or more forthe first year afterimplementation (notcost avoidance).

First Year NetSales basedon MD-7091(Boeingpolicynumber)

4 $50 Must be a valid safetysuggestion. No costreduction minimumis necessary. OnlyForeign ObjectDebris (FOD) andSafety along withapproval and theidea must beimplemented.

$500

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RELATIONSHIP BY OBJECTIVES

Another program used to fully engage employees in theirwork and the Boeing Vision is the Relationship by Objec-tives (RBO) Program. This program, which is made up ofemployees, is intended to facilitate union and nonunionemployees working together to achieve objectives thataffect everyone. The program uses employee-generatedinformation to focus on initiatives that create and maintainan attractive, secure, and safe workplace. Unfortunately inmost traditional organizations, a significant percentage ofworkers experience quality-of-work-life issues that nega-tively effect their contribution to the organization. Thisparticular RBO forum supports a team-based RudolphCulture by providing a favorable setting for employees tomeet and resolve issues that are having a real or perceivednegative effect on their work. The RBO team addressesimprovements to the physical environment, work climate,recognition and reward systems, and the current level ofcommunity involvement and social responsibility. Someexamples of projects the RBO team has researched, pro-posed, presented to leaders for buy-in, and implementedinclude adding a motorcycle area in a part of their parkinglot; adding a lactation center for new mothers; remodel-ing the cafeteria and improving the menu; working withthe City of Long Beach to add a left-turn light whenexiting the facility because it was a dangerous intersec-tion; and building a $3 million fitness center; amongothers.

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Boeing’s C-17 and other Boeing sites have experi-enced tremendous success in building and developinghigh-performing, team-based cultures. However, theirsuccess is not based on the culture alone. They have inte-grated their Rudolph Culture with a new and progressiveway to define leadership, a well-established institutionalmemory that does not change with new leadership oroutside circumstance (what we refer to as the CorporateConstitution), and a reward structure that is aligned tothe vision, strategies, and culture. We refer to these fourcriteria as the Four Pillars of Organizational Greatness.In other words, for your organization to realize similarresults, you must examine the bigger picture, or the sys-tem in which your culture resides. We consider the FourPillars of Organizational Greatness to be like Rudolph’slegs. If one leg is lame, broken, or missing, then Rudolphcan’t run. In any organization, nothing exists in a silo.When you think of your organization, recognize that itis more closely related to a living and breathing organ-ism where everything is literally affected and influencedby everything else. Generating a sustainable, competitiveadvantage through your people depends on successfulintegration of all four Pillars.

Chapter 5 Review

� The level of organizational greatness is dependenton how well the Four Pillars are integrated.

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� While sometimes difficult to assess, measure, andcontrol, the nontangibles (the people part of theorganization) drive all of the tangibles (profits,improvements, and other measurable elements).

� Immediate application of training is critical.

� Happy workers are creative and innovative workers!

� The “Ten Lessons Learned on the Boeing C-17 Jour-ney” reflect the thinking behind the tools used,initiatives introduced, and decisions made duringthe transformation of the C-17 Program.

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C H A P T E R 6

REDEFININGLEADERSHIP

Building a high-performing, team-based Rudolph Cultureis only possible when it is integrated with the other threePillars of Organizational Greatness. The second of theFour Pillars is Redefining Leadership. Our intention in thischapter is to provoke thought about how you currentlydefine leadership. More specifically, we want to challengeyour thinking and examine how the actual language youuse to define leadership can result in your increased abil-ity to create opportunities to lead from wherever youwork within your organization. Many books about lead-ership offer readers a five-steps-to-be-a-leader approachor share a list of characteristics that constitute a good (orgreat) leader. Many articles and books dissect great lead-ers throughout history and then leave it up to the reader toput those qualities into action in their own life. However,on our journey, we discovered that if workers, managers,

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or Rudolphs define leadership as “the person who ownsthe company I work for” or define leadership as a titleor position on the organizational chart, then all of thecharacteristics in the world will not open their eyes toopportunities to lead from where they are. So, how doyou define leadership?

Take a moment to write down your definition of lead-ership. In our leadership training workshops, one of thefirst exercises we conduct is to have each person writehis or her personal definition of leadership. Then, eachindividual shares that definition with the group, and itdoes not take long to recognize that each of us definesit from different angles, with different emphases and dif-ferent characteristics. Rarely, if ever, do two definitionsamong a group of coworkers read exactly the same. Atthis point, you may be wondering, what does this haveto do with leveraging my Rudolph Factor? In the simplestterms, finding the bright lights that will drive innovationin your business requires your Rudolphs to not only con-tribute innovative thinking, but also to actually drive theinnovation itself. Driving implies that somebody takesthe wheel—leading the process of sharing, reviewing,and implementing creative and innovative ideas into theorganization.

Because we believe language is reflective of a per-son’s values, beliefs, attitudes, and thinking, it is importantto share our unique definition of leadership. We defineleadership as a commitment to the success of the people

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Redefining Leadership

around you. This definition is based on two importantrealizations made while gathering research about the lan-guage of leadership. We asked nearly 700 people twosimple questions: (1) What is the one thing that hindersyou most from generating an extraordinary product orservice, and (2) How do you define leadership? With analmost 50 percent response rate in the first 24 hours,nearly 80 percent of our respondents thought that man-agement or leadership was the single most influentialhindrance to extraordinary products and/or services! Also,people who held positions or titles of leader or managerdefined leadership as an action or behavior (to inspireothers or create a vision were the two most popularresponses), while the people doing the work definedleadership as a title or position (the person who leadsthe team or the person who inspires workers were twocommon responses). Imagine the implications! Based onthe findings, we have positional leaders and managersexpecting workers to see opportunities to lead fromwhere they are, and we have workers expecting the lead-ers and managers to take responsibility for leading. Withfingers pointed diametrically at one another, it is no won-der that we have issues with leadership development inmost organizations.

In sharing our definition of leadership over the pastthree years, we have found that it resonates with man-agement and positional leaders as well as with workersbecause it opens the door for anyone in an organization

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to lead from where they are, rather than waiting for theexecutive team or management to “do something.” It alsogenerates a greater sense of personal responsibility inworkers to lead the organization to its intended vision,which is one of the greatest challenges facing leaderstoday.

LEADING FROM WHERE YOU ARE

Within the Boeing C-17 Program, it is widely recognizedthat the story begins and ends with leadership. We arenot saying it begins and ends with the positional leadersor management—but with a new definition of leader-ship. From the “Ten Lessons Learned on the Boeing C-17Journey” revealed in the previous chapter, we are goingto address lessons four, five, and nine in this chapter.Lesson nine is also discussed in Chapter 7 as it relatesto the development of a Corporate Constitution. To beclear about what leadership means within the BoeingC-17 Program, the former Program Manager, David Bow-man, defined it as connecting people to their future. Thisis reflected in Boeing C-17 team training sessions whereawareness about the role and responsibilities of leadersis raised. In leading from where they are, Boeing C-17leaders:

� Are “purveyors of hope” who create the vision andinspire others to achieve it.

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� Take others to places they normally would not goalone.

� Encourage an environment where highly creative—and somewhat inherently risky—innovative thinkingis welcomed.

� Create an environment supporting peak perfor-mance and employee satisfaction.

� Must be role models who walk the talk!

LESSON FOUR: LEADERS MUST EXECUTE BUSINESS STRATEGIESTHROUGH OTHERS

This brings us to the fourth lesson of the “Ten LeadershipLessons Learned”—leaders must execute business strate-gies through others . . . with the people. Employees aremore personally committed when they are encouragedto define what the business strategies mean to them. In apeople-centric Rudolph Culture, similar to the discussionin the last chapter about how training must have immedi-ate application, business strategies must have immediaterelevance to people’s work. The effective execution ofbusiness strategies only occurs through people, and ifpeople do not or cannot determine any relevance to theirwork, they will not find a compelling enough reason tosupport the business strategies. Many times, corporationsspend a bundle of money, time, and other resources cre-ating business strategies only to have them fall by the

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wayside when there is no effort demonstrated in the exe-cution phase. Management can point out many reasonsfor ineffective strategy execution, but unless employeesare committed to them, the strategies created will notbear fruit. The following story demonstrates how oneRudolph led from where he was by first recognizinghis need for the assistance of many people to initiateand implement quality improvement initiatives aligned tobusiness strategies of improving productivity and reduc-ing costs. After finding other Rudolphs, this small butmighty herd creatively encouraged employees to becomeengaged enough to transform their factory.

I had the opportunity to be one of the Boeing changeagents who initiated the use of “Lean” concepts onthe C-17 Program to improve productivity and reducecost. When we started introducing Lean principles onthe C-17 shop floor, we developed detailed strategiesand plans, many of which were based on the ToyotaProduction System.

However, we realized early on that even the bestprocess designs do not go very far if you do not havethe buy-in and engagement of the people who ownthe processes. We started to conduct process designworkshops, which we call Accelerated ImprovementWorkshops (AIWs). The AIWs relied on expert knowl-edge and input of the process owners, and they utilizedemployee engagement to drive Lean improvements.

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This powerful combination of Employee Involvementand Lean helped transform our factory.

Lee Whittington

Director, C-17 Program Performance, The Boeing Company

LESSON FIVE: LEADERSHIP MUST BE PERSISTENT

The fifth lesson—leadership must be persistent, stay thecourse, and refuse to give up—refers to an intentionallydesigned principle called “Line of Sight,” and the tool usedto facilitate it is called the Vision Support Plan (VSP). Theline-of-sight language refers to the vision and values beingaligned with business strategies and supporting objectivesthroughout the Boeing C-17 Program. In other words, atevery layer and level of the Program, supporting objec-tives are aligned to a small number (two or three) of keybusiness imperatives that can change over time. Employ-ees are highly involved in this process, which ensures agreater level of engagement to fulfill agreed-on objectives.The VSP process aligns goals from the top to the bottomand from the bottom to the top. Anyone can track goalsand functions all the way up to the CEO. It is tracked andmeasured monthly and helps everyone see the light at theend of the tunnel. It is like having the cover of a puzzlebox available so that you can see what it looks like whenall the pieces are put together. Without the VSP process,

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each team or area has a piece or two of the puzzle butis stumbling around trying to see to which pieces fit. Tofacilitate the process, there are VSP focal points and afairly high level of employee participation.

LESSON NINE: TRADITIONAL ROLES MUST CHANGE

The ninth lesson is that traditional roles must change (forleaders and team members). In Chapter 4 we shared thechallenges faced by teams and five things team membersmust do that are essential to sustaining their cultural rev-olution. With regard to positional leaders and managers,the constant challenge is to continually engage their peo-ple by:

� Being more participative than autocratic

� Asking for collective ideas from people rather thanimposing initiatives on people

� Treating all employees as business partners regard-less of their title

� Delegating day-to-day decision making

� Focusing on removing barriers and providingresources for people to be successful

Creating awareness of an alternative way of defin-ing leadership organization-wide has contributed to the

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development of over 500 formal C-17 teams generatingmillions of dollars of cost savings and cost avoidance fromself-initiated projects that go through the Creative EdgeProgram or Team-Based Business Improvements (TBBI).Can you imagine what your work environment might looklike if these five points were already in place within yourorganization? Consider how your role might change ifyou did not have to be concerned with having to dic-tate, watch, measure, and control employees’ actions, ifyou were freed from having to make every little decision,and you were well liked and respected for lifting up thepeople around you, who in turn brought you to new andhigher levels of performance.

If this sounds good, here is even better news . . . wediscovered through interviews over the past year and ahalf that Boeing C-17 leaders (not positional leaders butthose who see opportunities to lead from where theyare) are not always born leaders. Although some peo-ple’s Rudolph space is clearly in the context of leadingothers, not everyone feels most comfortable in the lead-ership capacity. As previously mentioned, we believe thelanguage you use is the single most contributing factor tobeing a leader and seeing opportunities to demonstrateleadership capabilities. You do not have to take a num-ber of classes or get a degree in leadership to be a leader.If you define leadership as we do—a commitment tothe success of people around you—you can start leadingright now!

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START LEADING TODAY

Using our AVTAR model, your actions are a manifestationof your thinking. Our thinking most closely resembles thephilosophies behind servant leadership, natural leader-ship, and situational leadership. Information about thosespecific leadership theories is easy to find. Some thoughtsfor you to consider: leadership does not exist withoutpeople who follow, which requires you to value andrevitalize the relationships around you. Effective—evenspectacular—leadership has nothing to do with the leaderbut everything to do with other people and the processesthey manage. If you are not on board with this kind ofthinking, your actions will feel awkward and forced.

If you recognize this within yourself, all is not lost. Thefirst thing to do is to spend some time reflecting abouthow you define leadership, consider the language ofeffective leaders, and what it means to you to lead othersbefore jumping into action. The second recommendationis to facilitate the exercise mentioned in the beginningof this chapter where you have team members, includ-ing yourself, take a moment to define leadership. Haveeach person share his or her definition with everyoneto see how uniquely we all view this seemingly simpleword. Offer an alternative that allows anyone to lead fromwhere they are. Your definition must be phrased with lan-guage that speaks to those outside of your organization.Please feel free to use our definition of leadership as “acommitment to the success of people around you.”

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The next step is pivotal. You must commit your-self to the success of the people around you. Whetheryou define leadership in this way or not, it is impera-tive that you are compelled to ensure others’ success.If you are unable to do this, or it is not comingquite naturally, we recommend going back to assess-ing the value of your awareness of effective leadership(the “V” from the AVTAR model). Ask yourself why effec-tive leadership is important. In committing yourself to thesuccess of others, you will be connecting them to theirfuture.

Always be on the lookout for win-wins. When a nego-tiable issue is presented or raised, be the person who asks“Who wins, and does anyone lose as a result of this deci-sion?” We recommend using the AVTAR model, which wehave used to present material throughout this book, toeducate the people around you by raising their level ofawareness about the language they are using to defineleadership:

What kind of results can you expect?

� People around you go above and beyond the call ofduty.

� People share the responsibility for the success of theorganization.

� People enjoy working together.

� Rudolphs (and non-Rudolphs) generate and con-tribute creativity and innovations.

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� A sustainable competitive advantage is possible.

� Organizational greatness is possible.

The following story from the current Vice Presi-dent/General Manager of Global Mobility Systems, JeanChamberlin, speaks to the responsibility leaders must takewith regard to helping others find meaning in their workso that there is a direct line of sight between workers’visions and the organizational vision.

My passion has been helping others find the nobil-ity in their everyday work. What is their purpose, andhow do they make a difference? For the team that pro-duces, delivers, and sustains the C-17, the affirmationof their purpose is seen almost daily in the newspaperas we witness the lives that are saved and sustainedin the multiple missions carried out by the men andwomen operating this jet and performing their duties inthe protection of our freedom, support to humanitarianaid, medical evacuation, and worldwide peacekeeping.Working on the C-17 Program is a great honor. This isa sentiment shared in many Boeing Programs but par-ticularly strong in this Program because the team cansee the difference they make each and everyday.

Jean Chamberlin

Vice President/General Manager, Global Mobility Systems,

Integrated Defense Systems, The Boeing Company

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With a team-based Rudolph Culture under devel-opment and a new way of looking at and definingleadership, we are ready to introduce the third Pillar ofOrganizational Greatness, the creation of a CorporateConstitution.

Chapter 6 Review

� Language used to define leadership creates oppor-tunities to lead from where you are.

� Leadership is a commitment to the success of peoplearound you.

� Role models must walk the talk!

� Business strategies are executed through others . . .

with the people!

� Line of Sight is essential to aligning vision and valuesto strategies and supporting objectives.

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C H A P T E R 7

DEVELOPING ACORPORATECONSTITUTION

The third of the Four Pillars of Organizational Greatness,the development of a Corporate Constitution, involvescontributing factors that result in an organization’s civilcode and political infrastructure, which are generallyrecalled as institutional memory. In any organization, the“this is the way we do things” concept is reflective of howpowerful an organization’s institutional memory is andwhether the members of that organization will be able toadapt to an ever-changing external environment. In lever-aging your Rudolph Factor, the successful development ofa Corporate Constitution is dependent on identifying thepolitical system that currently exists within your organiza-tion and recognizing whether it is supportive of buildinga team-based Rudolph Culture. In this chapter, we discuss

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political structures within organizations, share two morelessons from the Boeing C-17 Program’s “Ten LessonsLearned,” and finish with ideas and tools to get you startedin creating your organization’s Corporate Constitution.

POLITICS AS USUAL? NO

Every organization has inherent and necessary politicalsystems that exist to create order out of diverse interests,perspectives, and/or goals. While the means to createorder may differ (via imposition or collaboration), themanagement of people and processes is not a neutralendeavor. Politics, in terms of negotiation, coalition, andinfluence building is commonplace in today’s organiza-tional life. Interestingly, when the subject of office politicsis introduced, most people respond with disgust—or atthe very least, share a negative experience based on officepolitics. We believe it is still one of the two things our par-ents tell us not to talk about in mixed company. Kiddingaside, it is unfortunate that politics has become such adirty word because it is a necessary element in every orga-nization. The characteristics that make business politicsgood or bad depend on the type of political structure.

In the United States, we govern ourselves in ademocracy. However, within the larger national politicalstructure, it is truly amazing to see how many organiza-tions’ political structures are more reflective of dictator-ships, autocracies, monarchies, or bureaucracies. In our

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Developing a Corporate Constitution

work with companies large and small, we have found thatworkers are at a distinct disadvantage when the politicalstructure of their organization is not a democracy. Whilewe do not plan to offer a lesson on civics or government,there are several implications of how business politicsplay a role in day-to-day organizational life. Creatinga Corporate Constitution will encourage a non-coerciveform of social order and ensure the appropriate politi-cal structure is in place for a highly effective, team-basedRudolph Culture to really fly (pun intended).

Imagine the life of a worker who lives in a democraticsociety, but for five days a week and eight hours a daymust obey the orders of a power-hungry boss. The onlyfreedom this worker has is to find another job. While thismight appear extreme, you would be shocked at some ofthe stories of power, control, and authority shared fromworkers in many different industries, regardless of thesize of the company. Perhaps you are beginning to seehow the political structure contributes to the disconnec-tion between managers’ attempts at eliciting creativity andinnovations from workers and the associated lack of em-ployee involvement and contribution as discussed in thefirst chapter. Your rights as a paid employee should not befewer than your rights as a citizen living in a democracy.

However, there is an interesting opposition to thisperspective. The thinking is that if managers give theiremployees rights, they will lose their personal power as amanager. As we have shared, more often than not, largeorganizations are run by command-and-control managers

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who wield great power over their subordinates basedon their position, their capacity to reward and punish,and/or their ability to influence. Most large organizationswithout a healthy Corporate Constitution in place havestrong autocratic tendencies, where the power to influ-ence behaviors rests in the hands of an individual or asmall group of individuals. You may be wondering wherethe source of this perceived power comes from. Someof the sources of perceived power we have recognizedinclude, but are not limited to:

� Formal authority based on title or position

� Control over resources (information, technology,supplies, training, as well as monetary resources)and the scarcer the resources, the greater the per-ception of power

� Control over the organizational structure, policies,rules, and/or regulations

� Informal authority based on personal characteristicsor informal networks

WHAT IS A CORPORATE CONSTITUTION?

In a healthy, politically decentralized and democraticenvironment, like Boeing’s C-17 Program, the CorporateConstitution is the written and unwritten civil code thateveryone has agreed to abide by and that the infrastruc-ture ensures it is upheld. It is based more on values thanrules and includes how members of the organization view

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and define ethics, civility, collaboration, and boundaries.With a shared purpose in place and values driving think-ing and actions, employees have a greater sense of pridein their work and understanding of coworkers’ roles. Inthe most progressive and forward-thinking organizations,a healthy Corporate Constitution is steadfast and does notchange over several years, if not decades.

Without a shared purpose and using rules to drivethinking and actions, people employed in autocratic orbureaucratic organizations experience uncertainty, anxi-ety, and nervousness. Furthermore, the culture becomesa breeding ground for power trips and self-preservingor self-promoting political maneuvering. Rudolphs whowork in the capacity of management in a nondemocraticorganization must use nontraditional—and sometimes,very creative—methods to survive in a system thatdemands actions that are contrary to their values andthinking. Again, we offer the Corporate Constitution asa structure to provide boundaries from within the organi-zation’s culture functions.

When everyone in an organization is “on the samepage” and compelled to lead from where they are, devel-oping a Corporate Constitution is a natural process. Inthe Boeing C-17 Program, there is an understanding thattheir Rudolph Culture is a natural outcome of the strengthof their Constitution. Their culture is continually affectedby every interaction and transaction between every per-son every day and with every process they manage. Indemocratic organizations, such as theirs, power is

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THE RUDOLPH FACTOR

exercised through highly participative methods whereeveryone is encouraged to share in the management pro-cess. This is not to say that there are no managers whoattempt to wield power or no power-hungry people. Theyexist in the best of democratic organizations; however,their abilities to take control over others is limited due tothe political structure, the team-based Rudolph Culture,the language used to define leadership, and a rewardstructure that encourages democracy and win-wins ratherthan self-promotion. The following story from a C-17production mechanic and team lead illustrates how every-body benefits from participatory-based management.

We have been able to take ownership of our workbecause of C-17’s “team” concept. Teams are more incontrol of their destiny now. Before the transformation,ideas were dictated down from the top. Now we movethe ideas up from the workers. It helps with innovationand the feeling that we are part of the bigger picture.Our ideas are worth something, and we are puttingthem to work. Even after years of improvements, weare still implementing new ideas. It benefits everybody!We directly impact the product and get rewarded for it.

Craig Johnson

Production Mechanic/Team Lead, Wing Support C-17, The Boeing

Company

In any healthy political structure, people in formalpositions of power or influence are accountable to a

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process of checks and balances. In an organization,checks and balances generally present themselves asopposition to status quo or through valued Rudolphs whocan safely ask “Why?” without fearing repercussions. In aculture where everyone takes part in the decision-makingprocess, it becomes quite difficult, if not impossible, foranyone to oppose decisions. Similarly, if you choose notto vote in an election, you also lose the right to complainabout whomever is elected.

Some organizations offer a limited ability for partici-pation because they are not comfortable “handing over”power and control to employees. In this case, employ-ees are allowed to make minor decisions, but when pushcomes to shove, their opinions are not valued. As seenwith Boeing C-17, a handing over of power and respon-sibility requires new kinds of training to give employeesthe skills and tools to self-manage. The development ofa healthy and effective Corporate Constitution ensures asteadfast approach to sustaining Boeing C-17’s highly suc-cessful Rudolph Culture into their future no matter whatexternal circumstances are presented, which leads us tothe seventh lesson—You must have a written plan.

LESSON SEVEN: YOU MUST HAVE A WRITTEN PLAN

The seventh lesson, you must have a written plan, refers toensuring that the Corporate Constitution is supported withquantitative data tracking forward movement of teams.

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Because we are suggesting the creation of a CorporateConstitution that is reflective of a democratic organiza-tional political structure, we must be certain that theorganization’s senior executives and midlevel manage-ment support a people-centric vision and aim. At BoeingC-17, the general political structure is modeled after ademocracy and is used as the primary method by whichdivergent ideas, goals, thinking, strategies, vision, andvalues converge. The Corporate Constitution is the doc-umented system of fundamental principles according towhich the organization is governed. Without these valuesand thinking, the organization cannot survive.

In the C-17 Program, the Corporate Constitution isaligned to other documents including the Vision SupportPlan (VSP), Team-Based Business Improvements (TBBI),and the Employee Involvement Team Management Sys-tem. These are three of their “best practices tools” usedto quantify forward movement. The VSP (which is pri-marily used in the Integrated Defense Systems businessunit) includes critical milestones, the name of the personresponsible, and a schedule of time lines and due dates.While it is one thing to have a document in place thatinspires democratic thinking and behaviors, it is some-thing far greater to track and measure it. The other toolused is a TBBI template. It contains information aboutself-initiated, team-based projects including:

� Team maturity stage.

� Project status.

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� Team members.

� How the project improves the team’s business.

� Methods and tests used to identify improvementopportunities.

� The team’s action plan.

� The potential to be a process/system change.

� How the team’s business was improved.

� Cost savings/avoidance.

� How the project improved the team and customersatisfaction.

� Return on Investment (ROI)—however, this isoptional.

In large organizations, the importance of having effi-cient ways of documenting the work that teams do toimprove their part of the business cannot be overstated.The delicate balance lies in providing ways to docu-ment that are not overly bureaucratic or command andcontrol. One way that Boeing C-17 has addressed thisissue is the use of an electronic database for the teamingprocess. The system was initially developed by a work-force team at one of C-17’s sister facilities in Palmdale.Known as Employee Involvement Team Management Sys-tem (EITMS), the web-based tool helps teams managetheir team business quickly, efficiently, and effectively.

EITMS was developed with input from EI Practitionersand tested with real teams at multiple Boeing sites. Theapproach used in the design phase of the system was

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THE RUDOLPH FACTOR

critical because it provided an opportunity to get inputfrom the workforce. The main components of EITMSinclude: team rosters, charters, empowerment plans, teamtraining modules, effective meeting management, leanplans, customer surveys, and TBBI projects. The systemis designed to be team driven with minimal oversightby management, enabling the sustainment of workforceempowerment. EITMS has quickly become the commonteam management system used across Boeing and hasbecome a part of the company’s formal goals. After thecompanywide launch in 2007, over 4,000 formal teamshave started using EITMS to help manage their teams’business. The following story depicts how a system devel-oped to track team efforts in a Rudolph Culture inspiresgreater collaboration across the Boeing enterprise.

I have been able to watch the growth of EITMS from theinitial homegrown platform built by an EI team in theHigh Desert to the deployment of the online enterprisesystem. All along the way I’ve marveled at how quicklyit has been adopted by programs and teams across thecompany. Even though I had the vision that it wouldbe a great tool, it has still been amazing to watch. Ithink a key to the growth of EITMS is the thoughtthat was put into the design phase of the tool. TerraKruse, the original EITMS Project Lead, was intentionalabout involving EI Practitioners and real teams in theprocess. She utilized the expertise available across thecompany—the people that work with teams day in and

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day out in order to build a tool that could actually workfor the teams. There was also a lot of thought put intodesigning a system that would provide the opportunityfor teams to collaborate with a level of structure thatisn’t overly complicated or cumbersome.

Another key feature of the system is that it providesteams across the company the ability to share projectideas in a fast and efficient manner. Teams love to seewhat other teams across the company are doing—itdrives the vision of Boeing being one company! Frommy perspective, EITMS is a successful tool becausemost people want the opportunity to work togetherto positively impact their part of the business, and itallows them a chance to do that.

Suzi Hammond-Miller

Employee Involvement Practitioner, C-17 Program, The Boeing

Company

AMENDING THE CONSTITUTION

Have you ever heard the phrase, “It’ll take an act ofCongress”? Amending an organization’s Corporate Consti-tution should be considered with ample degree of thoughtand input from a variety of sources. Like a government’sconstitution, the power in the document is that it ensureschecks and balances. If the Corporate Constitution wasto change willy-nilly, or with every new CEO, neithermanagement nor the workers would take it very seriously.

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THE RUDOLPH FACTOR

LESSON NINE: TRADITIONAL ROLES MUST CHANGE

With a steadfast, democratic Corporate Constitution inplace, the ninth lesson, traditional roles must change,could not have more relevance. Within the Boeing C-17Program, through trial and error, they have clearly iden-tified how every person’s role is immediately affected.Each person must behave as if the desired results—orgoals—have already been achieved. Otherwise, peoplecan wait forever to find “the right time” to change. Forexample, if at a meeting on Thursday night we all decideto create a goal to be a world-class organization, behav-iors must demonstrate that immediately. . .yes, that night.For this to be possible, all people must identify how beinga world-class organization immediately affects their roleand share that with the team. In other words, if I amnot world class now, what does it look like, sound like,and feel like to be world class tomorrow? Does anythingchange? Am I already thinking and behaving in a way thatdemonstrates what it means to me to be world class? Domy internal and external customers feel as if my currentthinking and behaviors are supportive of a world-classorganization? Please recognize this is a very personal pro-cess, which collectively has a profound effect on businessresults and achieving desired outcomes.

For the Boeing C-17 Program to continue to be suc-cessful, the executive team, managers, and workers arealways committed to improving business results, alwaysfocusing on continuous process improvements, and

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always keeping the customer (internal and external) inmind. This would be included in their Corporate Consti-tution. Please note the absolute language of always—theProgram’s very existence could be in jeopardy if any ele-ment is compromised. The following story demonstrateshow every individual of the organization is responsible forupholding the Constitution and sustaining the improvedculture.

Our culture has transformed from one where employ-ees would check in at the door as a number to actuallycontributing to the business. People experience pridewhen they are able to have their voice and input heard.It’s good for the union environment because it helpscreate a culture with the right people doing the rightjob and having the help they need when they need it.It also enables Rudolphs to come out into the open andflourish.

Because we have EI written into our union contract(constitution), the union and management both holdthemselves accountable to the principles of involve-ment and empowerment. This written language ensuresan environment of working together to sustain a part-nership and find win-win solutions to our businessneeds.

Once the workers feel ownership of their businessand a connection to their future, there is no turning

(continued )

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(continued )back. The workforce will challenge leadership to sus-tain the improved culture, and the best leadership willrespond with a greater vision for the future.

Arlene Rios,

UAW Employee Involvement Representative, International UAW

More specifically, they have identified behaviors tomanagers and workers in supporting the Corporate Con-stitution.

Managers must� Communicate a clear vision to employees.

� Train and empower workers to make sound busi-ness decisions.

� Ask employees to be fully involved and engaged.

� Relinquish any perception of control as the teamgrows more capable of taking on more self-management functions.

� Be responsible for recognizing and publicizingprogress and successes.

Workers must� Recognize that with more responsibility comes more

accountability.

� Take on more ownership of the day-to-day decisionmaking as their skill set grows.

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� Be responsible for sharing information and support-ing each other.

� Elevate real or perceived problems to the team andmanagement as soon as they are recognized.

ELEMENTS OF YOUR CORPORATE CONSTITUTION

Your Constitution should address all sectors of your busi-ness, no matter how diversified the organization is, andit should drive the AVTAR process for each employee(meaning, the Corporate Constitution raises Awareness,places Value on the awareness, influences each person’sThinking, which drives appropriate Actions that Result inthe organization’s desired outcome). The level of cred-ibility and success is directly related to how well it isdocumented, communicated, and demonstrated by lead-ership all the time. If senior leadership is abiding by theCorporate Constitution, everyone else will, too. Elementsthat make up a comprehensive and powerful CorporateConstitution include:

� Mission or aim: What does your organization intendto collectively accomplish?

� Vision: How do you see the organization fitting intothe larger society?

� Brand promise: An expression of your organization’scommitment to deliver on your product(s) and/orservice(s).

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THE RUDOLPH FACTOR

� Values: Those things that guide the collective think-ing, actions, and decision making.

� Financial goals: (Not created haphazardly and notto come at the cost of something else in the system.)

� Civil code: Five to ten very specific points the collec-tive organization does to achieve desired outcomes(ways of working together). These could includethings the organization is committed to, how peopleare valued, the organization’s commitment to inno-vative thinking, risk taking from employees, andso on.

While the content of Corporate Constitutions maydiffer based on unique values and visions of varyingorganizations, we have strong recommendations as wellas some examples for your review. First and foremost,when the Constitution is being created, recognize thoseaspects that people within the organization would beunwilling to compromise on no matter who is leadingor what circumstances may be present in the future.Also, recognize that the language used in the Constitutionmakes the path less of a destination and more of a jour-ney. Developing the language in a Corporate Constitutionshould not be an annual event, nor one that is specifi-cally revisited whenever the senior leader changes. In fact,succession planning should include potential candidates’ability to uphold the elements of the Corporate Consti-tution. Finally, participation of senior leaders, managers,and employees is critical in ensuring that everyone will

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uphold the Constitution. EI Practitioner Richard Nicholsonsuggests developing a communication plan from lead-ership. Nicholson suggests drafting a letter by a seniorleader and sending it to everyone thanking them for theirhard work and increased involvement. The letter wouldalso explain the process by which a steering commit-tee would be formed and asks that everyone participate.Employees need to know their ideas are important andpivotal to the success of the organization. With the team-based Rudolph Culture in place at C-17, such forms ofcommunication from senior leadership are powerful andinspiring ways to encourage involvement early on.

While many organizations have a mission statement,vision, and set of values, workers tend to disconnectwhen they do not see these elements in action. If work-ers believe the mission, vision, and values are simplylip service, the Corporate Constitution will not encour-age people to think or behave any differently than theycurrently are. We highly recommend the vision be no lessthan 20 years out as it will ensure creative and innovativethinking beyond current issues and opportunities. We alsorecommend stating the vision as if it exists now. Considerthe subtle, yet powerful difference between the followingtwo visions: We will work together to be a global enterprisefor aerospace leadership versus People working together asa global enterprise for aerospace leadership. The secondvision is The Boeing Company’s Vision 2016 and is statedin such a way that they are already working together asan enterprise, whereas the first vision leaves “working

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THE RUDOLPH FACTOR

together” to some undetermined time in the future with,We will. . . . Using words such as, will, will be, going to beleave us asking the question “When?” When will you startworking together? We know the difference is subtle, butit makes a profound difference in how people internalizethe language and turn the vision into reality.

An example of an effective and timeless vision state-ment created for the Boeing C-17 Engineering Team in1998 follows.

People are passionate about their work and makinga future for the Program.

An environment where people feel

� Valued;� That their ideas matter and opinions count;� That they have an affect on a shared

destiny.

An environment where people feel

� Diversity is appreciated;� People’s creativity is maximized and

respected;� Everyone has something to offer—author-

ship.

Dr. Katherine Erlick

Director of Mission Assurance, IDS Engineering, The Boeing

Company

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In considering the language used in constructing theCorporate Constitution, recognize that the infrastructuresand systems that emphasize centralization encouragecommand-and-control behaviors, while decentralizationis more reflective of democratic behaviors. When contem-plating what values are of significance, it may be helpfulto think of those characteristics that are absolutes—thosethings that must always occur. Another company that pro-vides an excellent example of an effective set of valuesfor a Corporate Constitution—although they do not call itthat . . . yet—is Southwest Airlines.

Craig worked with Southwest Airlines for nearly 10years, and he recalls from his perspective those charac-teristics that he believes were absolutes to be internalizedby everyone in the organization. These include but arenot limited to:

� Always have fun.

� Always value smart work.

� Always value every person and their thinking,however unconventional it might appear (valueRudolphs).

� Always value every contribution.

� Always value open communication.

� Always value external competition because internalcompetition is a tremendous waste of resources.

� Always value a positive work ethic.

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THE RUDOLPH FACTOR

� Always value people going above and beyond thecall of duty because it is their choice to do so.

� Always value people for who they are.

We believe this is a great template to start with andpersonalize specifically for your organization’s needs.Southwest Airlines operates across 64 cities, and each hasits own unique culture but follows the same underlyingCorporate Constitution.

FINAL THOUGHTS ON CORPORATE CONSTITUTIONS

We believe the Corporate Constitution can be the gluethat holds people together, and this has never been asimportant as it is now in our current global financial cri-sis. The larger or more global the organization, the moreimportant the Constitution becomes. It is the rudder forguiding the ship to new possibilities, opportunities, andcompletely new frontiers in business. We also believe thatas the larger Corporate Boeing begins to transform from aproduct-based model that encourages silos and separate-ness to a needs-based model that encourages all 160,000Boeing employees across 70 countries work together tocreate new (and fulfill unknown future needs) of commer-cial travel, defense systems, and space exploration—thestrength of their Corporate Constitution will be pivotal toits continued success.

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Chapter 7 Review

� Business politics (which facilitate the convergenceof divergent goals and interests) are not the same asoffice politics (which are power games that result inresource drains).

� A well-designed Rudolph Culture encourages thepolitical structure that people operate within.

� Is your organization’s political structure reflective ofa democracy, autocracy, monarchy, bureaucracy, ordictatorship?

� The political structure occurs by design or default.There is a choice.

� The larger and more layered an organization is, themore essential is the Corporate Constitution.

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C H A P T E R 8

CREATING ANALTERNATIVEAND ALIGNEDREWARDSTRUCTURE

The last of the Four Pillars of Organization Greatness,an Aligned Reward Structure, is the most complex andleast understood by most managers. We believe there isan incredible opportunity to revolutionize how organiza-tions motivate and reward their employees. Along ourjourney, we have discovered the things used to rewardemployees are not the same mechanisms that motivateor inspire. To further complicate the issue, one size doesnot fit all when it comes to recognizing, rewarding, ormotivating employees. For example, while some might

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THE RUDOLPH FACTOR

feel recognized and motivated with monetary rewards,Rudolphs often find greater reward in seeing their ideasin action. In the C-17 Program, this became clear whenthe Engineering EI steering team decided to survey whatrewards their engineers would value. Historically, rewardshad come in the form of mugs and jackets and such.When the results from the survey were reviewed, the com-mittee found the engineers were interested in growingintellectually. The reward they most desired and valuedwas receiving funding to attend classes and conferences.

In this last chapter, we first distinguish between moti-vation and reward and offer insights on how to ensurethe reward structure is actually perceived by employ-ees as a reward. We also revisit each of the four modesof operation (tactical, facilitative, creative, and visionary)as defined in Chapter 3 and offer our perspectives andtools regarding what people in each mode find inspiringand what is typically perceived as a worthy and valuedreward. Finally, we share another one of Boeing C-17’s“Top Ten Lessons”—lesson eight, recognition must be partof the process.

DO REWARDS INSPIRE?

It is most important to first distinguish between the termsmotivation and reward. Many managers are trained touse rewards to motivate workers to work harder, whichmay not be an accurate perception, particularly in a

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Creating an Alternative and Aligned Reward Structure

Rudolph Culture. We believe the technical term is positivereinforcement—using some form of reward to reinforcethose behaviors you want to see continued. Conversely,when discouraging certain behaviors, many managersrely on the theory of negative reinforcement. While thismay work when raising a child or training a pet, it doesnothing to encourage or elicit creative and innovativethinking from employees, particularly when the rewardgiven is not considered of value to the recipient.

Understanding the psychology of reward and moti-vation for each of the four modes (tactical, facilitative,creative, and visionary) is one of the biggest challengesthat every manager faces. And because most managers areresponsible for conducting a formal performance evalu-ation process with employees, which tend to be fairlyineffective, it only makes their task more challenging.As we have discovered, to be successful in leveragingan organization’s Rudolph Factor, a healthy CorporateConstitution provides the framework from which a team-based Rudolph Culture can operate. And within whichappropriate and valued motivation tactics and rewardstructures are exercised.

For example, the level of EI realized at the Boe-ing C-17 Program is further encouraged by a rewardstructure that is fair, timely, and consistent. Also of sig-nificant importance is that if the reward structure doesnot support the other three Pillars of OrganizationalGreatness (establishing a Rudolph Culture, redefiningleadership, and developing a Corporate Constitution),

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THE RUDOLPH FACTOR

actions and behaviors will not change. People alwaysbehave perfectly within the reward structure created forthem. (W. Edwards Deming’s thinking and recommenda-tions revolved around this notion that the system is moreof a driver of individual behaviors than the individualsthemselves.)

For example, we worked with a small company inthe construction industry having performance issues withtheir salespeople. When asked what the pay structurelooked like, the response was, “100 percent salary.”The owners were interested in upholding their repu-tation of excellent quality of services. However, thisstructure was not motivating the salespeople to workharder with the downturn of construction. Whether ornot they made a sale was of no consequence to the salesteam—unless the members of the sales team were com-mitted to the success of the greater organization beyondtheir own personal financial success. We asked the own-ers if they thought that behaviors might change if theyswitched the pay structure to 100 percent commission,half salary/half commission, or to a shared commissionbetween the three salespeople. As we discussed eachscenario, it was clear each structure would elicit differ-ent behaviors—and not all scenarios would necessarilyimprove current conditions. The point of the discussionwas to raise the consciousness of the owners to howtheir “system” was influencing the behaviors of their sales-people. This awareness inspired a dialogue between theowners and the salespeople regarding the current system

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and what options might result in closer alignment withcompany’s financial goals for the sales team as well as forthe rest of the organization.

MOTIVATING AND REWARDING THE FOURMODES OF OPERATION

As previously discussed, we believe there are four dis-tinct modes of operation (tactical/operational, facilitative/managerial, creative/innovative, and visionary/strategic).These modes do not necessarily coincide with a person’stitle or position on the organizational chart. Rudolphs,who are naturally creative and innovative in their workenvironment, can be found in any job function includ-ing frontline worker, salesperson, manager, accountant,executive, janitor, or any other capacity found in an orga-nization. Starting with the tactical and operational mode,the motivating feature of their work is that it tends to be ameans to another end. They “plug-and-chug” so they cando whatever strikes their fancy away from work. Again,there is nothing positive or negative about this mode ofoperation, and it is highly essential to organizations. How-ever, as a manager, it is most helpful to know their primarymotivator tends to be having consistent work in a pleas-ant and agreeable environment. The type of reward mostdesired and appreciated tends to be monetary in form,including bonuses, flexibility in scheduling, time off, orcash rewards.

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THE RUDOLPH FACTOR

The second mode—facilitative and managerial—tendsto find the greatest inspiration or motivation in gain-ing prestige or receiving positive acknowledgment fromsenior leadership or from workers. In most traditionalorganizations, we believe managers are caught in a sys-tem that closely resembles the childhood board gameChutes and Ladders. If you are not familiar with thegame, the theme involves children climbing ladders orsliding down chutes. The idea behind the game is toteach behavioral ethics as the artwork depicts squareson the bottom of the ladders showing a child doing agood deed, and the top of the ladder shows the childenjoying the reward. Conversely, at the top of the chutes,the artwork depicts children behaving with mischief, andthe pictures at the bottom of the chute show the childsuffering the consequences. We believe many managersare unknowingly stuck in this game and subsequently arethinking and acting in such a way to get up the ladder asquickly as possible. Managers often hide or do not fullydisclose problems or deficiencies because they perceivesomething “bad” happening could be a direct ticket to achute. In the world of middle management, there are rel-atively few demotions—instead, they are moved laterallyor moved out of the organization altogether.

We believe this is a horribly ineffective system andone of the main reasons managers can be a primaryobstacle to leveraging an organization’s Rudolph Factor.Through the eyes of a manager, a Rudolph’s contribu-tion is not considered creative and innovative, but rather

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nontraditional and unconventional . . . and very risky to amanager’s long-term success. Often, a Rudolph’s thinkingand actions appear way too risky for the predicament orposition many managers are in. Therefore, understandingthat managers in a healthy organization like Boeing C-17 are motivated by internal acknowledgment from theirsubordinates and senior leaders is a good start for creatinga better environment for managers to operate effectively.

For our third mode, creative and innovative Rudolphs,we discovered their greatest incentive for motivation ishaving an outlet to contribute unconventional thinking—having a voice—as well as being empowered to exe-cute innovative ideas without the fear of repercussion.Rudolphs revealed that the greatest reward experienced isthe feeling they get in seeing their ideas in action . . . whatwe refer to as leaving their “hoofprints” throughout theorganization. In other words, Rudolphs are motivated bybeing empowered to make a difference for the organiza-tion and rewarded when they see a positive differencehas been made via their contribution.

Unique to their counterparts, Rudolphs tend to be lessinspired or motivated by short-term monetary incentivesor personal gain. Their innovative, call-to-action thinkingcomes very naturally to them. As previously discussed,many Rudolphs typically have a history of multiplenegative experiences in “just being themselves” and verypurposefully fly below the radar. Their noses can shineagain, but only when it is safe to do so. It is possibleto leverage your Rudolph Factor when the leadership,

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THE RUDOLPH FACTOR

culture, and reward structure are aligned to embracecreative and innovative thinking—and its inherent risk.The following story is an example of what a Rudolphreward might look like.

As a first level manager, I inherited a team comprisedof three different groups of people who historically hadbeen conditioned to mistrust and dislike each other(intensely). . . . And to top it off, we were co-locatedafter sitting in three different buildings. . . . Just imaginethe tension. . . . This was about the time that EmployeeInvolvement was being implemented in the officeareas. Honestly, I didn’t think we had anything to lose;it couldn’t get worse! And so we began our journey. . . .

Our first meeting stands out in my mind. After about20 minutes, one of my more vocal team members (whohad tried to get out of going to the conference room inthe first place) uttered a strong expletive and stormedout of the room. . . . I was mortified and discouraged. . . .But we stayed the course . . . and the next time some-one criticized the process, I didn’t offer to correct theperson’s attitude because another teammate took careof it. In a very respectful way, she said she disagreed,because in their previous ways of doing business theywould not have even been in a room together, let alonebeen civil and trusting. That is when the facilitator sur-reptitiously passed me a note saying “It works!” I smiledand knew that we were on the right path.

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Coming from a huge success with Employee Involve-ment on the C-17 Program, I had the opportunityto work with teammates in our General Procurementorganization at other sites through my involvementon the People Team. I kept talking about what wedid at our site regarding people interaction, processimprovements, and so on. Many on the team respondedenthusiastically—they wanted what we had! That ledthe team leader and me to great opportunities totravel to other sites to train the principals of EmployeeInvolvement and/or set up contacts with a local EI focalto start them on their own journeys. It was a very excit-ing time.

Elizabeth Haseltine

EI Focal—Supplier Management, The Boeing Company

The last mode, the visionary and strategic mode, findsthe greatest motivation from external acknowledgment.This typically comes in the form of positive publicity froma third party or outside source—being invited to speakat a conference, being invited to be a board memberfor a charitable organization their organization fosters, orother external sources of validation. The greatest rewardexperienced is leaving a legacy through their work in theorganization. We have summarized the specific motivatorsand rewards in Table 8.1.

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Table8.1

Oper

atio

nal

Modes

and

Rew

ards

Modeof

Operation

Tacticalor

Operational

Facilitativeor

Managerial

Creativeor

Innovative

Visionaryor

Strategic

Motivator

Job

isa

mea

ns

toan

oth

eren

d

Hav

ing

consi

sten

tw

ork

inan

agre

eable

envi

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Pote

ntia

lto

clim

bth

eco

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tela

dder

More

free

dom

with

thei

rte

am(s

)

Looki

ng

good

tose

nio

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ader

ship

Ack

now

ledgm

entfr

om

staf

for

work

ers

Pote

ntia

lto

mak

ea

posi

tive

diffe

rence

for

the

org

aniz

atio

n

Hav

ing

avo

ice

tosh

are

thin

king

Hav

ing

asa

feen

viro

n-

men

tin

whic

hto

be

them

selv

es

Get

ting

skill

snec

essa

ryto

mak

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grea

ter

contrib

utio

n

Ext

ernal

ackn

ow

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Posi

tive

public

ity

Pote

ntia

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Pote

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ela

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thro

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pro

duct

(s)

and

serv

ice(

s)

Reward

Monet

ary

Flex

ible

sched

ulin

g

Bonuse

s

Cas

hre

war

ds

Pro

motio

n

Inte

rnal

awar

d

Rec

ogn

ition

from

senio

rle

ader

s

Seei

ng

thei

rid

eas

inac

tion

Tra

inin

g

Rec

ogn

ition

from

pee

rsan

ddirec

tm

anag

er

Leav

ing

hoofp

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152



LESSON EIGHT: RECOGNITION MUST BE PART OF THE PROCESS

In the Boeing C-17 Program, managers want to take theirwork with employee involvement and engagement to thenext level where all employees are contributing at theirfull potential to their team and through personal devel-opment. Their vision of “People and Products Making aDifference for Our Customers through Teamwork” is atthe very heart of what motivates the entire Boeing C-17Team. As previously mentioned, there are over 500 for-mal teams in the Program and approximately 4,500 formalteams in the Integrated Defense Systems Business Unitworking on a plethora of problems, processes, and perfor-mance management issues with all teams working towardthe shared purpose of making a difference for customersand the larger society. At the crux of graduating to thenext level of performance are motivation, rewards, andrecognition.

Lesson eight from “Ten Lessons Learned”—Recogni-tion must be part of the process—refers to the depththat management values the capacity to lead from wher-ever you are within the organization. The balancingact between meeting demands of the current globalbusiness environment and creating a future every dayrequires management team members to be advocatesof employee engagement. The intangibles, as discussedin Chapter 1, including information, collective knowl-edge, and employees’ commitment to the Program are thelifeblood of Boeing’s C-17 Program. Managers understand

153


THE RUDOLPH FACTOR

and appreciate the underlying philosophy that one sizedoes not fit all when it comes to reward and recogni-tion. Along their journey, they discovered that it is ofthe utmost importance to have wide and varied means ofrewarding employees. In addition to a breadth of rewards,they also have created multiple levels of awards to recog-nize a job well done. For example, Pride@Boeing offersemployees multiple ways to acknowledge and appreci-ate coworkers, contractors, and even customers for goodwork. Currently, there is an effort to connect the CreativeEdge Program to the Pride@Boeing Program for the pur-poses of creating more win-wins for employees and theC-17 Program.

A more formal appreciation honors those who exceedexpectations, and achievement recognition acknowledgessubstantial improvements to products or processes. It isnot always easy for a manager to take the time to showhis or her appreciation for the little things, but withinthe C-17 Program there really is no alternative. It is sim-ply that important. Managers and team leaders at BoeingC-17 place such a significant Value on reward and recog-nition, that it does not escape their Thinking, which inturn leads to having a variety of quick and easy ways tosay “Thanks!” Little thank-yous mean a great deal to thepeople receiving them.

For example, they have “Director Giveaways,” “Lunchon Us,” and “Moose Munchies”—all of which are fun, sim-ple, and frequent informal tangible ways to say “thankyou” in a timely and efficient manner. It might include

154



lunch or special treat coupons from the cafeteria. Safetyawards are given on a regular basis to teams and individ-uals exhibiting particular concern for safety, and “SafetyBingo” is an ongoing safety game with prizes to encour-age all-points safety requirements. There are also anumber of team awards given frequently and regularlyto minimize any “scarcity mentality” related to rewards.Because the culture and leadership are healthy, havingmany types of frequent rewards does not minimize thevalue of the rewards.

To ensure that employees are properly rewarded, theEI Program Administrator coordinates reward and recog-nition requirements through a designated recognitionfocal point person from each Integrated Defense Systems(IDS)—Long Beach, Integrated Performance Team, andsite tenant. This includes sites in addition to the BoeingC-17 Program. Literally thousands of “Lunch on Us” and“Moose Munchies” coupons are purchased every year. Asyou may have guessed, funds for reward and recognitionare actually part of the financial budget each year, ratherthan an afterthought as in most traditional organizations.

Another reward program, called “The Doing Some-thing Right Program,” is completely managed by a team ofemployees and allows teammates to recognize and showtheir appreciation to subordinates, peers, and supervi-sors for hard work and effective interpersonal skills. Itis a monthly celebration acknowledging contributions ofindividuals and teams that improve quality, increase on-the-job safety, effectively remove Foreign Object Debris

155


THE RUDOLPH FACTOR

(FOD), and demonstrate exemplary performance. ThisProgram has also recognized thousands of IDS employeesover the past 13 years. Regarded as one of the more “cele-brated” Programs, every year the C-17 Program sponsorsa float in the Christmas Parade in Long Beach, Califor-nia. Winners of the “Doing Something Right Program”and their families (approximately 100 to 200 people) areinvited to march alongside or ride on the Boeing C-17float and are given sweatshirts, flashing buttons, and otherhoopla for the festivities. It is a remarkable way to rewardgreat work, and it is especially well regarded becausefamilies are also able to participate.

One of the most unique features we discovered withinthe C-17 Program was that “local” and empowered peopleare supposed to reward and recognize others. Because ofthe culture, the definition of leadership, and the Corpo-rate Constitution, managers—and employees—are able tocreate their own team awards and rewards for work welldone. Senior management does not mandate it, and it isnot an “office politics” scenario. We found the rewardsand recognition programs and practices (whether formalor ad hoc) to be genuine, of value to the recipients, andreally made the environment a desirable place to work.For example, 2009 will denote the Third Annual TeamAppreciation Day. All of IDS (Business Unit) can attend,which translates to approximately 8,000 people. One ofthe bays in the facility is blocked off, and they havelunch together. Teams can create a storyboard to share thegood work they have been doing over the past year. All

156



teams are recognized for their contribution to the successof the organization. Even in these tight economic times,this event is included in the budget because reward andrecognition is another essential core value. Just becausetimes are tough does not mean it is okay to stop rec-ognizing people’s efforts. In fact, there could not be abetter time to inject new energy and enthusiasm into theorganization’s journey.

With regard to motivation tools, “Gainsharing” is oneof the incentive programs used to motivate employees toincrease performance by offering an opportunity to sharein the profits gained by employee-influenced cost reduc-tions. In this case, The Airlift & Tanker Program/LongBeach Division (which includes Boeing C-17 in additionto other Boeing Programs in Long Beach). The UAW Inter-national Union and UAW Local 148 collaborated to createthe Gainsharing reward system for Boeing’s C-17 and 717Programs in 1996. It is based on cost reductions madeby UAW members and has benefited the company andthe union with a payout split of 50/50 on all cost reduc-tions, increased productivity, and ultimately has resultedin delivering a better quality product to their customers.

Everything has its moment in time, so has Gainshar-ing. The world was changing in the 1980s and early1990s, bringing with it changes and some hard reali-ties. The United Automobile Aerospace and Agricultural

(continued )

157


THE RUDOLPH FACTOR

(continued )Implement Workers of America (UAW), along with theUAW Local 148 and the McDonnell Douglas Corpora-tion were jointly facing an urgent need to find ways toreduce cost and improve productivity and quality. Wewere facing massive layoffs and restructuring. Theseevents highlighted the need for us to work together col-laboratively to build a better future for all employeesand the company. Further we also were facing greaterglobal competition from abroad.

Out of this scenario was born Employee Involve-ment and the Gainsharing Program. Employee Involve-ment was the vehicle and Gainsharing was a tool andincentive utilized to unleash the power and innovationof our teams to lower cost and increase quality and pro-ductivity. Gainsharing provided the “skin in the game”for the production workers to justify their involvement,by rewarding them for their efforts with a 50 percentshare of the savings. This program existed and thrivedfrom 1995 until December of 2008. In its 13 years ofexistence the Gainsharing Program has paid out anaverage amount of just over $1,000 per person eachyear.

Today going into 2009 and forward we have devel-oped and implemented a new plan called the EmployeePerformance Program (EPP). After thoroughly review-ing and assessing the merits of the GainsharingProgram, the UAW and the Boeing Company agreed

158



to close the Gainsharing Program and introduce a thenew EPP incentive plan. The new EPP provides for agreater alignment of metrics that support the businessand drive actions that increase the quality, reduce over-all cost, and reinforce Employee Involvement. I believethat the line of sight created by EPP will dramaticallyimprove our business results and increase the earningspotential for our represented employees.

P. James Drake

UAW Employee Performance Program Coordinator, The Boeing

Company

One of the most creative incentives for inspiringand motivating continued exemplary performance can befound through Boeing’s educational reimbursement pro-gram. It is the best we have come across in our work withlarge organizations. Every employee has the opportunityto grow and learn personally, which in turn, furthers thecollective knowledge base. Virtually all expenses are paidfor (tuition, books, and fees), as long as it is an accred-ited university. There are even opportunities to attendother programs such as Dale Carnegie Training. Educa-tion is one of the core values to The Boeing Companyand is highly encouraged. On any given night, thereare approximately 35,000 Boeing employees (enterprise-wide) attending classes. This translates to an “investment”of nearly $100 million per year for tuition reimbursement.Many employees we interviewed shared stories of how

159


THE RUDOLPH FACTOR

they were able to take advantage of ongoing learningopportunities to better themselves and the organization.This is a great win-win for everyone and has long-lastingeffects on loyalty and commitment, which only increasesthe level of engagement by employees.

Chapter 8 Review

� Recognize the difference between recognition,reward, and motivation.

� Not all Rudolphs eat carrots—one size does not fitall when it comes to rewarding your people.

� Some rewards can actually de-incentivize or de-motivate employees (if not appreciated or desiredby a particular mode of operation—tactical/operational, facilitative/managerial, creative/innova-tive, or visionary/strategic).

� People tend to operate perfectly within thepolitical structure and systems that have beencreated—whether by design or by default.

� Are “Chutes and Ladders” happening within yourorganization? If so, consider altering the systemthat managers operate within via an alternative andaligned reward structure.

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E P I L O G U E

GO FORTH—AWAKEN THERUDOLPHWITHIN

As we have discussed throughout the story of the Boe-ing C-17’s cultural revolution, from the beginning, seniorleadership and management must be committed to apeople-centric culture—as opposed to a product-only orprocess-only focused culture. You simply cannot haveproducts or processes without people, and you must trustyour people to do their jobs well. And let’s face it, what isthe point of it all if we cannot enjoy it along the way! Evenwith everything in place—a high-performing team-basedRudolph Culture, a progressive way of defining leader-ship so that anyone can find opportunities to lead from

161


EPILOGUE

where they are, a healthy Corporate Constitution, and areward structure that is aligned to the other three Pillars ofOrganizational Greatness—the Boeing C-17 Program stillfaces the same challenges and global challenges everyother company faces. Like every other organization, theyhave internal conflict, divergent agendas, goals and ideasall pulling resources and energy in a variety of direc-tions. The difference, and what makes their journey socompelling, is how they process through the issues moreeffectively than most companies of any size.

It is impossible not to recognize and appreciate howfar they have come in such a relatively short amount oftime. In our studies within Boeing and other innovativecompanies, we found that it takes more than a new orunique set of skills to sustain a Rudolph Culture once it isdeveloped. We believe a system to identify, nurture, andleverage Rudolphs (those uniquely creative and involun-tary agents of change) continues to be the missing link inthe quest for sustainable competitive advantage. In sup-plying this missing link, The Rudolph Factor is not simplya new tool or skill set; nor is it just another new lead-ership or management style or a repackaged but familiarimprovement initiative or set of performance criteria. TheRudolph Factor embraces all current and future perfor-mance tools, techniques, initiatives, and criterion becauseit requires a shift in awareness and thinking that drivesa change in actions and behaviors. The Rudolph Factorshows how the fabric of extraordinary innovation is actu-ally woven.

162


Epilogue

Ironically and sadly, the small percentage of employ-ees who have the natural ability to drive and sustaina company’s competitive advantage is the one segmentof the corporate population that is first to walk out thedoor day after day. However, when properly nurtured andleveraged, Rudolphs will remain and can deliver remark-able results. For example, in Boeing’s C-17 Program,these are ordinary people collectively generating extraor-dinary ideas.

It is impossible to accurately compute the negativefinancial impact companies suffer by not retaining theirmost cost-effective and nonrenewable resource—theirinnovative people. The progressive business leaders oftoday are waking up to the cost of losing talent andincreasingly understand their products and services willnot survive without innovative people—those who canbuild and implement creative knowledge to create acustomer experience that is better than the competitions’.As Boeing’s Employee Involvement Office Practitioners,Charlie Macias and Rich Nicholson have shared with uson many occasions, “The real magic is in the people.” Ata time when the leading edge of the baby-boomer gen-eration is exiting the corporate workforce and an entirelynew type of worker—Generation Y or “Millennials”—enters the scene, talent management is taking on a wholenew meaning and set of challenges. We believe thatthere is a much larger percentage of Rudolphs enteringthe workforce; so the information gleaned here is notonly essential to business success, it is timely as well.

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EPILOGUE

LESSON TEN: ENJOY THE JOURNEY!

The tenth (and final) lesson from the “Ten LessonsLearned”—to enjoy the journey—comes from the realiza-tion that although the Boeing C-17 Program has come along way, and everyone is extremely proud of their col-lective accomplishments, they still have a long way togo. The journey continues. They plan to be around for along time, and in doing so, have to continue to redefinewho they are and what constitutes their sustainable com-petitive advantage in the global marketplace. We believean advantage is only competitive when it is sustainableover an extended length of time. What most organiza-tions consider a competitive advantage—such as price orquality—is generally not sustainable over time or marketconditions.

Currently, many organizations tend to focus on inter-nal improvements or innovation as independent events.For example, there is an incredible focus on introduc-ing the latest process improvement strategies to reducethe cost of doing business. Most initiatives support-ing improvement or innovation are used as destinationpoints, rather than launching pads supporting a journeyto achieve ongoing organizational greatness. This narrow,events-based thinking does not allow sustainable compet-itive advantage to exist, let alone thrive. Improvementsand innovation tend to be viewed as events, rather thanongoing processes.

164


Epilogue

Whether you have identified yourself as a Rudolph ornot, we recognize that not everyone is going to becomea Rudolph after reading the book. However, the tenetsand thinking revealed should certainly help unearth yourown latent Rudolphness and generate greater employeeengagement as a result. We leave you with the challengeto go forth with your new awareness and thinking alongwith new ideas and tools to find those bright lights thatdrive innovation in your business. Identify the Rudolphwithin yourself and among your peers, nurture their dis-tinctive needs, and build a team-based Rudolph Culture.Remember a Rudolph Culture is only sustainable whenintegrated with all Four Pillars of Organizational Greatness(including redefining leadership, developing a CorporateConstitution, and aligning the reward structure). Createyour own unique sustainable competitive advantage byleveraging your Rudolph Factor . . . and, as we heardthem exclaim as we drove away from their site: “Enjoythe Journey!”

What did you think we were going to say?“Happy Rudolph to all, and to all a good night!”That, too!

165

Chapter = e1both Date: April 27, 2009 Time: 12:40 pm

RESOURCES

BooksCrother, Cyndi. Catch! A Fishmonger’s Guide to Greatness, San Fran-

cisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler Publishing, 2003.

Deming, W. Edwards. The New Economics. 2nd ed. Cambridge, MA:MIT Press, 2000.

Johnson, H. Thomas, and Anders Broms. Profit Beyond Measure, NewYork: Free Press, 2000.

Spong, E. David, and Debbie J. Collard. The Making of a World-Class

Organization, Milwaukee, WI: ASQ Quality Press, 2008.

NetworksThe In2:InThinking Networkwww.in2in.org

Pegasus Communicationswww.pegasuscom.com

The Deming Cooperativewww.deming.edu

Web Sites and Quality Related AssociationsGuide to Greatness, LLCwww.guidetogreatness.com

167

Chapter = e1both Date: April 27, 2009 Time: 12:40 pm

RESOURCES

Rudolph Factorwww.rudolphfactor.com

Baldrige National Quality Programwww.quality.nist.gov

American Society for Qualitywww.asq.org

American Society of Training and Development

www.astd.org

Califor nia Council for Excellencewww.calexcellence.org

Center for Organizational Excellence Resear chwww.coer.org.nz

168

Chapter = Index Date: May 5, 2009 Time: 3:12 am

INDEX

Absenteeism, 3Accelerated Improvement

Workshops (AIWs), 112Aerospace Support Division

(Boeing), 28Airbus, xixAircraft industry

Boeing’s leadership in,25–26

volatility of, xixAirlift & Tanker Program,

157American Airlines, xxAvery, Sewell, 42AVTAR model

at Boeing, 29and Corporate

Constitution, 135leadership and, 74,

116–117mentoring, 60–61operational types and,

75overview, 9–15

as training tool, 91, 93transformative thinking,

37

Baby boomers, 163Baldrige Award. See

Malcolm BaldrigeAward

Bell Labs, xiiiBlessingWhite, Inc., 10Boeing Commercial

Airplanes, 26Boeing Company. See also

C-17 Programinitiating Rudolph

Culture, 33–39operations, 25–26, 63–64as people-centric, 36–39,

161teams comprising, 63–64,

115, 153transforming, 26–33turnaround, xix–xxiv, 21,

26–33

169


INDEX

Boeing C-17 Program. SeeC-17 Program

Boeing IDS. See IntegratedDefense Systems (IDS)

Bowman, David, xi,110

Budgeting. See Financialmanagement

Business cultureAVTAR model, 9–15defined, 77employee involvement

(EI), 5–9innovative, 15–23traditional versus

people-centric, 1–4

California Award forPerformanceExcellence, xv

Career-limiting moves(CLMs), 65

Chamberlin, Jean, 72–74,118

Change agents. SeeRudolphs (innovators)

Charitable giving, 6Christmas float, 156Coaching. See MentoringColeman, Wayne C., 96

College, tuitionreimbursement,159–160

Command-and-controlmanagement

versus employeeinvolvement (EI), 8

as innovation-inhibiting,4–5, 63

versus participative,122–127

Compensation issues. SeeRewards

Competitive advantageeffect of global economy

on, 1–4nontangible factors in,

79–80Rudolph Culture as, 45,

81Constitution, Corporate

at Boeing, xxi, 35defined, xxiii, 124–127developing, 121–124,

131–135documenting, 127–131elements of, 135–141and RBO Program,

103values-based, xiii

170


Index

Corporate Constitution. SeeConstitution, Corporate

Cost reductionincentivizing, 95–96,

98–100rewarding, 157–159and Rudolph Culture, 81,

112team-based, 64–65, 72–75,

115Creative Edge Program

bottom-line impact, 81and cost savings, 64,

115overview, 94–102and Pride@Boeing

Program, 154as Rudolph identifier, 46

Creative modeand AVTAR model, 75defined, 83identifying, 55–58motivating, 147, 149–152rewarding, xiv

C-17 Globemaster, xx, 26.See also C-17 Program

C-17 Programassessment for change,

85–88Baldrige Award, xii, xxi

Corporate Constitution,124–127

cost reduction (see Costreduction)

Creative Edge Program,94–102

dysfunction factors,26–33

engineers, 81–82,138–139, 144

Global Mobility Systems,xiv

leadership, xi, xiv, xv–xvi,110–111

as ongoing process,89–90, 132–135

rewards/recognition, 144,145, 153–160

success factors, xii,161–165

teams comprising, 63–64,115, 153

Ten Lessons list, 84–85training issues,

90–94turnaround of, xix–xxiv,

21, 26–33vision sharing, 88–89

Culture, business. SeeBusiness culture

171


INDEX

Culture, team-based. SeeTeam-based culture

Customer satisfaction,21–22, 28

Dale Carnegie courses, 159Defective products, 3Deming, W. Edward, 146Design

intentional, 10process, 112

“Director Giveaways”program, 154

“Doing Something RightProgram,” 155–156

Drake, P. James, 159Dysfunctional culture

at Boeing, xix–xxiv, 21,26–33

effect on performance,78–79

effect on product, 109and office politics,

122–124rewards and, 148–149

Education, reimbursementfor, 159–160

E.I. Toolkit for Growth andProductivity, 86

EITMS, 128–131Employee Cost Reduction

Incentive Program, 94Employee engagement (EE).

See also Employeeinvolvement (EI)

of Boeing engineers,81–83

defined, 6, 10value of, 8, 80

Employee involvement (EI)as Boeing philosophy, 80and C-17 Program, xxii,

144, 151EITMS, 129–131as empowerment tool,

15–18in engineering, 81–82,

144as management style, 5–9and reward structure, 145,

151, 155team-based rules, 64UAW’s role in, 158

Employee InvolvementTeam ManagementSystem. See EITMS

Employee PerformanceProgram (EPP),158–159

172


Index

Employees. See alsoRudolphs (innovators)

in AVTAR model, 12–13creativity incentives,

94–102as innovators, xiii, 4–5motivating (see Rewards)responsibilities of,

134–135rewarding, xiv, 153–160satisfaction factors, 81as stakeholders, 29–33

Empowerment, employee.See also Employeeinvolvement (EI)

and coaching, 61–62middle-managment

issues, 71–72Engineering team (Boeing)

and EI principles, 81–82rewards program, 144vision statement, 138–139

Entrepreneurs, Rudolphs as,51, 53, 57

Erlick, Katherine, 139

Facilitative modeand AVTAR model, 75defined, 83identifying, 55–58

motivating, 148–149, 152rewarding, xiv

Financial managementcost savings, 64–65,

72–75, 115employee training in, 92revenue enhancement,

64–65, 81and rewards budget, 155,

157“Forty and No More,” 26–28Four Pillars of

OrganizationalGreatness

Constitution (Pillar 3),xiii, 121–122

and C-17 success, xiidefined, xxiii, 35explained, 77–80Leadership (Pillar 2),

107–110and RBO Program, 103Rewards (Pillar 4),

143–147Rudolph Culture (Pillar

1), 80–85

Gainsharing Program,157–158

Generation Y, 163

173


INDEX

Global Mobility Systems,xiv, 72–73, 118

Governor’s ProductivityAward (California), xv

Hammond-Miller, Susan,131

Hampton, Jake B., Jr., 75Haseltine, Elizabeth, 151Hiring, EI training, 9“Hoofprints,” defined, 66,

149HRMagazine, 9

IDS. See Integrated DefenseSystems (IDS)

Incentives. See RewardsInnovation

discouraging, 62–63, 67and EI concept, 5–9nurturing, 59–66, 80–85

Innovative mode. SeeCreative mode

Innovators. See RudolphsIntangible values. See

Nontangible valuesIntegrated Defense Systems

(IDS)as Boeing business unit,

26

and C-17 CorporateConstitution, 128

employee collaboration,72–73

reward structure, 155,156

teams comprising, 63–64,153

Inventors, Rudolphs as, 53

Johnson, Craig, 126

Kadish, General Ron, 6–7Kozlowski, Don, xvi, 6–7Kruse, Terra, 130

Leadership. See alsoManagement

characterisitics, 110–111and C-17 Program, xxidefined, xiii, xvi, 108–109Don Pitcher on, 61–70nurturing EI, 80–85redefining, 107–119as Rudolph factor, xii–xiii,

xxiiitransformative, 28–29

Lean principlesand C-17 success, xileadership and, 112–113

174


Index

and Rudolph Culture, 82,100

Lewis, Steve, 54Line-of-sight principle, 113LinkedIn, 45Lockwood, Nancy, 9“Lunch on Us” program,

154–155

Macias, Charles A., 23, 80,86, 163

Malcolm Baldrige Awardand Creative Edge

Program, 100C-17 Program as recipient

of, xii, xv, 28Malcolm Baldrige

Foundation, xiManagement. See also

Business culture;Leadership

command-and-controlstyle, 4–5

democratic versusautocratic, 122–124

dysfunctional, 27–30, 78midlevel, 71–72, 148–149responsibilities of, 134role in EI, 5–9, 64–66,

80–85

as Rudolph identifiers,46

Managerial/facilitativemode. See Facilitativemode

Managerial mode. SeeFacilitative mode

May, Barbara, 41May, Evelyn, 41May, Robert, 41–42McDonnell Douglas Corp.,

xix, 6–7, 158Mentoring, 60–61Middle-managment

nurturing innovation,71–72

as Rudolph identifiers,46

Mission, corporate. SeeVision, corporate

Moghaddam, Kami, 82Monaco, Anna M., 18Montgomery Ward, 41–42“Moose Munchies” program,

154–155Motivation. See also

Rewardsby personality type,

147–152versus reward, 143–147

175


INDEX

NASA, as Boeing customer,26

Negative reinforcement, 145Nicholson, Richard, 33, 80,

86, 137, 1639/11, effect on aircraft

industry, xixNontangible values

as competitive advantage,1, 79–80

versus tangible values,35–37

Office politics. See Politicalinfrastructure

Operational modesand AVTAR model, 75defined, 83identifying, 55–58motivating, 147–152rewarding, xiv, 144, 145,

147–152

Parker Hannifin, xxPeople-centric culture

at Boeing, 36–39, 161versus traditional, 1–4

Performanceand disaffected

employees, 3

rewarding, 145–146,155–159

Pillars of success. See FourPillars of OrganizationalGreatness

Pitcher, Don, 62Political infrastructure,

121–124Positive reinforcement,

145Practitioners, Boeing

and CorporateConstitution, 137

defined, 34in EI Program, 64, 80and EITMS development,

129, 130as trainers, 93

Pride@Boeing Program,154

Process-based culture, 1–2Process design,

112Productivity

as business strategy, 112and disaffected

employees, 3rewarding, 155–158

Products/servicesimportance of, 37–38

176


Index

in people-based culture,1–2, 161

Purpose-driven projects,118

Recognition programs,153–160. See alsoRewards

Relationship by Objectives(RBO), 103–105

Resistance to change, 88–90Resources, balancing, 3Revenue, enhancing. See

Financial managementRewards

Creative Edge Program,94–102

and C-17 success, xii, xvi,xxi, 34–35

by employee type, xxiii,147–152

as motivator, 49, 143overview, 143–146recognition factor,

153–160Ricoh Group, 6, 14, 19Rios, Arlene, 134Robles-Gleason, Rosie,

101Rockwell, xix

Royal Philips Electronics, 6,14, 20

Rudolph, the Red-NosedReindeer (May), 2,41–43

Rudolph Culture. See alsoRudolphs (innovators)

at Boeing, 33–39, 81–94competitive advantage of,

45, 81establishing, 77–80sustaining, 161–165

Rudolph Factorat Boeing, 33–39, 81–94and C-17 Program, xii,

xxii, 10–11defined, 2identification of, xiiintentional design and,

10leveraging, 161–165

Rudolphs (innovators)at Boeing, 31–38as change agents, 2, 5,

162characteristics of, 43–52,

65–67culture of (see Rudolph

Culture)discouraging, 62–63, 67

177


INDEX

Rudolphs (continued )empowering, xiii, xviii,

61–62identifying, xxii, 43–53needs of, 69–71versus non-Rudolphs, 64,

82–83, 93nurturing, xxii, 59–75origin of name, 41–44rewarding, 147–152self-assessment survey,

48work-related thinking,

55–58Rudolph space, 56–57

Safetyand disaffected

employees, 3RBO Program, 103rewarding, 155

Satisfaction. See alsoRewards

customer, 21–22, 28employee, 81

Schaniel, Ed, 7, 99Self-employment. See

EntrepreneursService issues, disaffected

employees and, 3

Sociocultural issuesdemocratic versus

autocratic, 122–124versus technical issues,

86–87Southwest Airlines, 139–140Spong, E. David, xi, xivStrategic mode. See

Visionary modeStrategies, business,

111–113Subject matter experts

(SME), 97, 100SWOT analysis, 22, 86

Tactical modeand AVTAR model, 75defined, 83identifying, 55, 56motivating, 147, 152rewarding, xiv

TBBI programand Corporate

Constitution, 128, 130cost savings from, 81, 95,

115EI binders for, 17

Team-Based BusinessImprovement. See TBBIprogram

178


Index

Team-based cultureat Boeing, 63–64, 115, 153compatibility guidelines,

64and C-17 success, xii, xxi,

104establishing, 77–80and RBO Program, 103TBBI (see TBBI program)

Technical issues, versussociocultural issues,86–87

Toyota, 6, 14, 19Toyota Production System,

112Training

applicability of, 90–94C-17 teams, 22education reimbursement,

159–160leadership workshops,

108–109Tuition reimbursement, 1592008 Employee Engagement

Report, 10

Union issues. See alsoUnited Auto Workers(UAW)

accountability, 133–135

and RBO Program,103–104

United Auto Workers (UAW)collaboration with

management, 7rewards programs,

157–158and USAF, 27

United States Air Force(USAF)

customer satisfaction,28

partnering with Boeing,xvii, xx, 6

UAW interaction, 27U.S. government, as Boeing

customer, 26, 27U.S. military, as Boeing

customer, 26USAF. See United States Air

Force (USAF)

Value systemand AVTAR model, 11–15,

36–37commitment to, 32, 36in Constitution, 136–140

Vision, corporatecommunicating, 87documenting, 135–139

179


INDEX

Vision, corporate(continued )

examples of, 19–20people-centric, 36–38

Visionary modeand AVTAR model, 75defined, 83identifying, 55–58motivating, 151–152rewarding, xvi

Vision Support Plan (VSP)and Corporate

Constitution, 128

employee involvement in,18

leadership’s role in,113–114

“Vision 2010” (Philips), 20“Vision 2016” (Boeing),

36Volunteerism, 6

Waste issues, 3Whittington, Lee, 113

180


ABOUT THEAUTHORS

Cyndi Laurin, PhD, is founder of Guide to Greatness,LLC, author of Catch! A Fishmonger’s Guide to Greatness,an international speaker, and a business developer. CyndiLaurin is passionate about provoking an awareness ofthinking in individuals and organizations. Cyndi believesa collective awareness of our thought and language isthe proverbial silver bullet to organizational greatness.Her insights and expertise in process improvement andperformance excellence are transforming both domesticand international organizations. Cyndi Laurin taught for10 years in the College of Business at California Polytech-nic State University, San Luis Obispo, and has also taughtfor The National Graduate School of Quality Managementand California State University, Dominguez Hills, in theareas of quality systems management.

Cyndi Laurin’s degrees include a BS in IndustrialTechnology from California Polytechnic State Univer-sity, San Luis Obispo (1992); an MA in Industrial and

181


ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Technical Studies from California Polytechnic State Uni-versity, San Luis Obispo (1994); an MA in EducationalLeadership and Organizations from the University ofCalifornia, Santa Barbara (1995); and a PhD in Educa-tional Leadership and Organizations from the Universityof California, Santa Barbara (1997). Her areas of exper-tise are process improvement, performance management,leadership development, corporate training, and teamdynamics. She was awarded the Distinguished Educatorof the Year in 2001–2001 by the California Faculty Asso-ciation, California Polytechnic State University, San LuisObispo.

Dr. Laurin lives by the tenets she presents to thousandsof people every year, and she firmly believes that great-ness (or having an extraordinary life) is generated fromwithin. She believes it is possible for anyone to live anextraordinary life, and from her commitment to the suc-cess of people and organizations, she intends to focus herlife’s work encouraging and facilitating others’ journeys inpaving their own roads to greatness.

Craig Mor ningstar is a COO of a financial ser-vice firm in Arizona. He is an experienced businessleader with a unique ability to quickly discover, elevate,and execute on business opportunities that many peo-ple do not see. This skill set of seeing problems andopportunities—where others do not—works to compli-ment senior management teams, boards, and advisoryboards that are focused on goals, problems, opportunities,and competition.

182


About the Authors

Craig’s background includes eight years at SouthwestAirlines and eight years at Charles Schwab in additionto starting, owning, operating, growing, and selling com-panies. His business leadership and board experiencesinclude law, accounting and financial firms, software,medical services, transportation, shipping, business ser-vices, and a variety of franchise companies.

In addition to leadership and board positions withfor-profit companies, he has extensive experience withnonprofit organizations in leadership and mentoring rolesand is active throughout the year with speaking engage-ments.

He holds multiple certifications and licenses in thequality, finance, compliance, and aero industry. He is aregular participant of various industry professional boardsand associations.

183

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( C O N T I N U E D F R O M F R O N T F L A P )

( C O N T I N U E D O N B A C K F L A P )

JAC KE T DES IGN : PAUL M CCARTHY

JAC KE T PHOTOGR APHS : © GE T T Y I MAGES

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The R

udolph Factor /

Find

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the

Brig

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Drive

Inn

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You

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CYNDI LAURIN, PHD, is an

author, international keynote speaker,

and founder of Guide to Greatness,

LLC. She specializes in process

improvement and performance man-

agement. She is also the bestselling

author of Catch!

CRAIG MORNINGSTAR is an

experienced senior-level executive

whose background includes positions

at Southwest Airlines and Charles

Schwab. He is also an entrepreneur

who has founded, operated, and sold

several companies.

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“ It’s the operationalizing of the Four Pillars held in The Rudolph Factor that make this writing invaluable to virtually any organization who cares about optimizing the performance of their ‘herd.’ Cyndi and Craig clearly detail the whys and hows to move your workforce, currently centered around working with the body, to fully engaging their minds and hearts as well. An essential read.”—BRUCE CUMMINGS, VP Human Resources, Guardian Industries

PR AISE FOR The Rudolph Factor

CYNDI LAURIN • CRAIG MORNINGSTAR

Finding theBright Lights thatDrive Innovation in Your Business

The

RudolphFactor

the rudolph factor: finding the bright lights that drive innovation in your business

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