Manney ‘the’ Felix

Today, May 1, would have been my dad’s 105^th birthday.  The Felix family was fortunate to have had him with us for 92 years.  You may wonder what ‘the’ represents in his name:  he wasn’t given a middle name and many years ago we started calling him that…he loved it.  Thinking of you dad!

Investor Relations Forum

A couple of weeks ago I chaired the Investor Relations, Marketing & Communications Forum in NYC run by PEI (Private Equity International). It was a very interesting and new type of experience in my history of chairing ‘industry’ events.  Of the 240 attendees I hardly knew anyone (great networking opportunity).  They were professionals from the broad Private Equity industry.  There were no LP’s in attendance.  The special thing was the transparency exhibited from the moderators and panelists about their challenges.  

One topic that got considerable attention was the Annual Investor Conference / AGM (Annual General Meeting).  My partner Liz Weiner and I conducted a ‘Master Class’ called:  The Annual Investor Conference: Powerful ways to engage and update with your investors.

The brainstorming part of the class was fascinating and the discussion totally open – people sharing their experiences, what’s going well, what’s not going well and what they could do differently next time – The Power of the Debrief that Liz and I both use ourselves and encourage all our clients to use (Here’s a link where you can download our article on The Power of the Debrief.

Racine (Wisconsin) Art Museum

Friday I took the Amtrak train up to Racine from Chicago, just a few minutes over an hour.  It was a very nice day, and it was the first time in quite a while that I had seen ‘rural America’ – farms, horses, cows.  Spending most of my time in New York I had forgotten how peaceful that type of scenery is.

A friend from Racine took me to the Racine Art Museum.  Never having sought out ‘contemporary crafts’ before I was blown away by the exhibit. As the adage says, ‘A picture is worth a thousand words’ I’ve included a few photos from the museum.  If you live in the area and haven’t been to the museum, I encourage you to visit it and if you’re going to be in Chicago on business, it’s a short train ride and just over an hour by car.  

Final thing:

I’ve been working on a memoir for a number of years.  It’ll just be for my family.  I have a spreadsheet of topics I want to write something about – all the places I’ve lived, all the jobs I’ve had, all the concerts I’ve attended and the bands I’ve played in – you get the picture.

One thing that has come out of it already is that as I’ve remembered and written about certain memories and experiences I’ve reached out and connected with a few folks that I haven’t been in touch with in a gazillion years – thanks to the Internet.

I had dinner with the bass player in the first rock and roll band I played in called ‘The Better Half.’  I had a long conversation with a star baseball player from our team at Fairleigh Dickinson University.  I’m scheduled to talk with an architect, a student of Frank Lloyd Wright’s who was working for the Kohler Co. (Kohler, Wisconsin) at the same time that I was a real estate consultant there. He and I became friends and he helped me navigate the politics that came with that territory.

I mention this because our lives are about the people we’ve met and the experiences we’ve had. So, maybe there are some folks that you haven’t seen or spoken to in ages that you want to reach out to now because, as with the title of my 4^th album of original songs that I’m starting to record in Asheville, NC in a couple of weeks:  You Never Know! 

     

Sorry, I remembered these after i published...uggh

Capitol Theatre, Passaic, NJ

1975 or something like that

Got there with my then wife and realized I had forgotten the tix!

Didn't know what to do

We were taking a walk around the block and then organist Chris Copping was walking towards us - just us on the street.

I stopped him and told him what happened.

He said, 'come with me' - took us to the box office and got us two tix - on him!

And one more:

The successful, local New Jersey band I was in during the late 60's/early 70's called 'Everyone' opened for Procol at a college in NJ.  It was during a time that the band (the original band) was not getting along.  We shared a 'dressing room' with them but they weren't at all interested in engaging with us (I was the guy in the band that introduced the band to them...we used to do "Kaleidoscope." So, because they were so not nice, as a 'give back' or 'get back' to them we opened with 2001 A Space Odyssey Theme - which at that time they opened a lot of their shows with.  Anyway...

     

Do you manage or lead?

Last week, while standing on the checkout line at Whole Foods, I heard an announcement over the P.A. system that made me pause: “Would someone in leadership please come to the customer service desk.”  This statement got me thinking about the difference between leadership and management. 

While researching this subject, I discovered a Harvard Business Review blog (published August 2, 2013) by Vineet Nayar.  As vice chairman of HCL Technologies, an India-based global IT services company, Nayar suggests there are three differences between managers and leaders.  How he describes these differences resonated with me.  The following is quoted directly from his post:

Counting value vs. creating value.

You’re probably counting value, not adding it, if you’re managing people. Only managers count value; some even reduce value by disabling those who add value. If a diamond cutter is asked to report every 15 minutes how many stones he has cut, by distracting him, his boss is subtracting value.

By contrast, leaders focus on creating value, saying: “I’d like you to handle A while I deal with B.” He or she generates value over and above that which the team creates and is as much a value-creator as his or her followers are. Leading by example and leading by enabling people are the hallmarks of action-based leadership.

Circles of influence vs. Circles of power.

Just as managers have subordinates and leaders have followers, managers create circles of power while leaders create circles of influence.

The quickest way to figure out which of the two you’re doing is to count the number of people outside your reporting hierarchy who come to you for advice. The more that do, the more likely it is that you are perceived to be a leader.

Leading people vs. Managing work.

Management consists of controlling a group or a set of entities to accomplish a goal. Leadership refers to an individual’s ability to influence, motivate, and enable others to contribute toward organizational success. Influence and inspiration separate leaders from managers, not power and control.

I encouraged my colleague to put this theory to the test by inviting his teammates for chats. When they stop discussing the tasks at hand — and talk about vision, purpose, and aspirations instead, that’s when you will know you have become a leader.”

Steve’s comment: Clearly, leadership is much more than a simple management style.  Great leaders nourish their successors. And, as firms develop their succession plans, it is increasingly more important to attract, develop and retain high-potential leaders in the organization.  The next generation of leadership becomes the focus of all stakeholders in the firm.  

How would your career or mine have evolved differently if we had been exposed to extraordinary leadership skills vs. basic management techniques? 

 ~~

Here are some leadership perspectives from a blog by Marie Peeler of Peeler Associates, which are poignant to this discussion:

• Managers develop policies and procedures.  Leaders develop vision and strategy.
• Managers direct and control.  Leaders motivate and inspire.  Stated another way, managers get people to do what needs to be done. Leaders get people to want to do what needs to be done (read that again if you need to; the distinction is subtle.)
• Managers explain, “What we have to do.”  Leaders explain, “Where we are going.”
• Managers give directions.  Leaders ask questions.
• Managers are concerned with the here and now.  Leaders are concerned with the long view.
• Managers are bottom-line oriented. Leaders are big-picture oriented.
• Managers are concerned with projects. Leaders are concerned with people.

Steve’s comments:

After absorbing the writing of both Nayar and Peeler, I thought more about my own career; were the people I reported to managers or leaders?  I also reflected on my own style and wondered how I was seen by those I supervised.

What about you?  When you look in the mirror do you see a manager or a leader?  And would you like to make any adjustments to your own style?  No time like the present.

Steve's travels:

March 23-25: PREA (Pension Real Estate Association) Spring Conference, Beverly Hills, CA [https://prea.org/spring2022/

Spring 2022: London to host my first Fish 'n' Chips & Pint Thing [Couldn't call it Pizza/Drink Thing in London, right?]  Stay tuned for announcement of date and venue.

     

OMG…almost the middle of February already?  Dare we think that things are getting towards some type of PC (pre-COVID) normal?  

One thing I’ve done to make myself more peaceful is eliminate news from my life: I don’t read, listen to or watch any news.  I do keep up on LinkedIn with real estate industry stuff.  What I’ve learned is that if there’s something really important for me to know either my brother or a close friend in London will tell me.  (Note: I’m not suggesting this approach is for anyone else, however, I have had a lot of folks tell me they admire me for this!)

I found the following two items that I shared here many years.  When I first found them, I did start employing some of the suggestions and they’ve helped – all I need is to remember them!

Zen Habits

Have you ever wondered why someone comes into your life at a certain time?  Or why you hear a song that means so much to you just at the time you needed to hear it.  Or when something arrives in your mailbox, and it says things that you’ve been thinking or that you read at another time in your life and the day it appears is the day that you needed reinforcement?

Well, that happened to me this week when an email called “Zen Habits” arrived. Maybe some of it has meaning for you too.  

1. Surround yourself with passionate people.

2. Create space. If you don’t give big ideas room, they’ll never show up.

3. Help someone in a way only you can.

4. Keep a journal of what inspires and excites you.

5. Challenge the norm.

6. Scare yourself – live outside your comfort zone.

7. Find the right reasons:  You can’t control what happens, but you can control your reaction to it. What challenges have come up today? How could you reframe them? The juiciest possibilities often have the best disguises. notice them.

8. Learn something new.

9. The point is to constantly fuel something that interests you.

“Above all, be true to yourself, and if you cannot put your heart in it, take yourself out of it.” Hardy D. Jackson

“Life is all about trying-trying new things, not being afraid to try...."

~~

10 Small Ways to Boost Your Happiness This Year

A simple mindset shift can go a long way.

Below are the habits of happy people.

1. Maintain a positive and optimistic outlook. 

2.Focus on what you can control. 

3. Surround yourself with happy people. 

4. Enjoy your work. 

5. Have a life outside of work and change how you view money. 

6. Be flexible. 

7. Sleep healthy, eat healthy and move. 

8. Let go of grudges. 

9. Cultivate and nurture social relationships. 

10. Experience life.