To a Better Executive
By Rolf Crocker

So far, 2010 has proved to be a very educational year for me, teaching and reinforcing several key lessons.  These lessons helped reinforce the core element of a successful executive.  Time and space will not permit me to go into all of the events that led to these lessons, many of which I 'knew' (mentally) but hadn't walked out (experientially).  It's been said that Wisdom is knowledge applied in real life.  Let that thought guide you as you read through the list and see if any of these resonate with you.

1)  Responsibility is deeper than one's picture or perception of the boss. Regardless of your education and prior experience, until you've been in a particular position under the full load of its requisite responsibilities, you have no clue what the risks, rewards, challenges, successes and possible failures really look like or may affect you.  It's easy to be an armchair quarterback without the risk of responsibility and/or failure.  Someone once told me, "New levels, new devils."  Until you've served in a position with its entire burden, you're really not qualified to pass judgment on it.  Period.

2) Difficult problems require tough decisions that not everyone is going to like. With very few exceptions, you can't care too much about what people think of you.  It's great when an outcome is win-win, but even if it's not, you have to proceed.  As long as you proceed with good counsel, treat others with respect and do your level best for all concerned, you have to evaluate, decide and move forward. 

3) Executives need to make time to clear the mind and renew the spirit for better business results. You need to periodically unplug to focus on family, friends, self.  In my case, I went 14 years without acting on this very important principle.  Thankfully, I had some good friends, one in particular, who asked me weekly if I had blocked out the time.   It was only a week this first time out, but it made a world of difference for all concerned, including Staff.  The only way you can see the forest through the trees is to get away to the mountains.  Or the ocean.  Or any where you can truly unplug.

4) Task Compartmentalization.  While a critical skill, is at best difficult and sometimes downright impossible.  Don't think for a moment that this skill is either innate or easy - it is neither.  Only through the discipline of practice can it become effective.  Even then, at some point, you have to deal with the issues you have 'compartmentalized.'  Make the time to walk through those issues (perhaps when you take time to unplug, per Lesson #3 above), otherwise they will manifest themselves and usually at the most inconvenient times.

5) Executives should not micromanage process. While it's important to have vision and goals, be open to the package or delivery mechanisms the answer to your vision and goals may come in.  Practically speaking - you're looking for a specific outcome and you think you know the steps/process/person necessary to achieve that outcome.  Then you get a curve ball and NOTHING goes the way you thought it would yet, in the end, it worked out as good as or better than you could've planned it.  Don't get hung up on the process - focus on the outcome.  Failure to do so will rob you of inspiration and strength when you need it most.

6) Executives need to act sooner rather than later.  Once you know you need to deal with something, face it (whatever 'it' is) head-on without hesitation.  Someone shared with me recently that when you touch a hot stove, the pain associated doesn't come next week or a month from now - it is immediate.  Failure to deal 'in-the-moment' (save for issues of opportunity or timing) will result in a lessening of impact.  "A good plan executed violently now is better than a perfect plan executed next week."   You will never have 100% of the information you need, nor secure 100% agreement from those who will be affected.  Don't let that stop you from executing a 'good' plan. The 'Paralysis of Analysis' has crippled all of us from time-to-time. As previously referenced, get good counsel, do your best by all concerned, then proceed.  Jack Welch, former CEO of General Electric, was asked what one of his biggest regrets was while at the helm of GE.  Welch said, "That, in the early days, I didn't move quickly enough."

7) Fact: Not every decision or plan will be a success. Gen. Patton's corollary to point #6: "I don't measure a man's success by how high he climbs, but how high he bounces when he hits bottom."  Even with the best of intentions, with good counsel, decisions you make may go south on you.  You cannot let failure 'own' you.  If you swing for the fences, sometimes you're going to strike out.  In fact, for decades, Babe Ruth held the record for most strikeouts as well as most home runs. Confucius said, "Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall."  The key is, when you fail, pick yourself up, dust yourself off and move forward.

I'm certain that every reader could add several to this list.  That said these are the ones that have been reaffirmed to me over the last several months.  There are two ways you can learn - through your own mistakes, or the mistakes of others.  While it's easier to learn from the latter, it's the lessons garnered through personal experience that leave a lasting impression and have lasting feedback.  Embrace the experience, learn the lesson and you'll find yourself ready for the next level!

Rolf Crocker

Rolf Crocker is a national Vice President with Associa and CEO of M&C Communities in Stockton, CA  and he can be reached at

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