TGIF: A leftover sensation

Our family eats a lot of chicken. It’s healthy.
One of our favorites is roast chicken.
But what do you do with the leftovers. That’s easy.
You turn them into a gourmet meal. Try this.
Chicken and rice (for 4)
1 lb cooked leftover chicken, chopped
1/4 cup butter
1 lb sliced mushrooms
6 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup half and half
1/2 cup frozen green peas, thawed
2 tbsp chopped pimientos, drained
1 cup rice
2 cups water
In a large pot, boil lightly salted water, lower heat and cook rice 20 minutes. Pull meat from chicken bones and chop. In a large skillet, melt 2 tbsp butter and saute mushrooms for 5-6 minutes. Remove mushrooms from skillet and add remaining butter and melt, whisking in flour, salt, and pepper to make a gravy. Slowly add chicken broth and half and half, whisking until smooth and thickened. Add peas, pimientos, chopped chicken and mushrooms. Turn down heat to lowest setting and cover skillet. Serve over rice. Open chilled bottle of white wine. Enjoy.
Next week: Cutting costs without cutting your throat.

A test of faith at the Hanoi Hilton

Yesterday we talked about a modest Level 5 leader.
Today we’ll talk about a POW and his test of faith.
Admiral Jim Stockdale was shot down in Vietnam.
He was held eight years in the Hanoi Hilton.
He was tortured more than 20 times.
He lived day to day, believing he would see his family again.
He didn’t despair. He shouldered command.
He did everything he could to help others survive the horror.
His captors wanted to videotape him as a "well-treated prisoner."
So he slashed his face with a razor to disfigure himself.
He exchanged intelligence with his wife through their letters.
He set rules to help other prisoners deal with torture.
His communications system helped others endure their isolation
Which prisoners did not survive?
"The optimists," Stockdale said.
They said, "We’ll be out by Christmas."
But Christmas came and went.
They said, "We’ll be out by Easter."
But Easter came and went.
After a while, the optimists lost hope and gave up.
Stockdale survived with this philosophy:
You must have faith that you will prevail in the end.
Yet you must face the brutal facts of your daily reality.
With that faith, Jim Stockdale found a great purpose:
To survive his captors and see his family again.
Tomorrow we’ll take a break for some TGIF fun.
For more on your own great purpose, click here.

Always put your customers’ interests first

Yesterday we talked about a great turnaround.
How Kimberly-Clark became a first class papermaker.
Today I want to share with you a personal story.
One of my heroes was a Level 5 leader in Congress.
The late Floyd Spence was our South Carolina neighbor.
He was a retired Navy captain and 16-term U.S. Congressman.
He chaired the House National Security Committee.
He had been a high school and college star athlete.
He had edited the law journal in law school.
Yet he was one of the most modest men I’ve ever known.
In running for re-election, Floyd didn’t talk about himself.
He didn’t talk about what he was doing for the voters.
Floyd was interested in what was on his constituents’ minds.
He wanted to know their needs and concerns.
He was committed to constituent service.
He survived a double lung transplant.
It gave him 10 more years of a life of service.
Thousands came to pay their respects to his family
Thousands more attended his funeral.
He always put his constituents’ interests before his own.
Always put your loved ones’ and customers’ interests first.
Tomorrow we’ll talk about a test of faith in a POW camp.
For more on leadership, click here.

The rest of the story

Yesterday we told you about Darwin Smith.
Darwin was the CEO of Kimberly-Clark.
The paper company had become stodgy.
Its stock value was falling.
On top of that, Darwin had cancer.
His doctors gave him a year to live.
He flew weekly to Houston for therapy.
Then he and his team took on Procter & Gamble.
They sold their core business, coated paper mills.
They believed consumer paper products were their future.
They welcomed the challenge of the competition.
They felt it would make them better. And it did.
It took them 20 years but they won.
The company leads the world in consumer paper products.
Their stock rose four times faster than the rest of the market.
They beat their chief rival, Procter & Gamble.
And they acquired their other major rival, Scott Paper.
Darwin Smith lived 25 more years. He was a role model.
Do you know a Level 5 leader? Tell me about him
Please leave a comment on my blog.
Tomorrow we’ll talk about a personal Level 5 leader.
For more on leadership, click here.

An unorthodox Level 5 leader

Last week we talked about leadership’s five levels.
Today, we’ll talk about a true Level 5 leader.
Darwin Smith may not be a familiar name.
He may not even look like a Level 5 leader.
Darwin was a mild-mannered in-house lawyer.
Then he was elevated to CEO of Kimberly-Clark.
Kimberly-Clark was a stodgy paper company.
Its stock had dropped 36% behind the market.
His board had misgivings about their choice.
Darwin Smith had misgivings, too.
Darwin was modest. He praised his people.
He accepted the blame if things went wrong.
Why was Darwin a Level 5 leader?
Because he was willing to accept challenges.
He took on one of the nation’s largest companies.
His competitor was giant Procter & Gamble.
Then he was diagnosed with nose and throat cancer.
His doctors gave him a year to live.
When he told his board, he said he had a plan.
He flew weekly from Wisconsin to Houston for therapy.
He kept up a demanding work schedule.
Then he and his team took a huge gamble.
Tomorrow, I’ll tell you the rest of Darwin Smith’s story.
For more on leadership, click here.