May 2010

This Month's Features

+	Leadership Book Series
+	FMI's 360 Feedback
Leadership Videos Online
+	Introduction to the Leadership Institute
+	An In-depth Look at the Leadership Institute
+	Leadership Institute Testimonials

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FMI's Executive Coaching

Just as the best athletes have coaches, strong leaders often have coaches as well. In tough times, the need for coaching is even greater. Our FMI coaches bring more than 100 years of combined coaching experience, coupled with specialized industry knowledge, that can help you through these turbulent times.

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What FMI Executive Coaching clients are saying:

• "When you have the ability to make change and improvement to someone who affects your business, affects the growth of team members and affects your image – can you afford not to complete something like this? My answer is no!"

• "I already have made a greater contribution to this company as a result of coaching – both from a performance and a supervisory standpoint. In working with my group of a dozen people, they have their subordinates as well; I think it’s important how the impact transcends my group."

The "Practical Tools for Exceptional Leaders" booklet series is designed to help you learn and apply best-of-class leadership principles in your life and within your organization.
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A Letter From Ron Magnus, Managing Director

High-performing organizations have many things in common, such as engaged people, strong operations and deep positioning in the marketplace. One factor the best companies also have that is just as important but much more difficult to quantify is a healthy culture. One successful model of a great culture lies just west of Raleigh, N.C. in the small town of Cary. Cary is headquarters to SAS, the largest privately held software company in the world with annual revenues more than $2 billion. It employs more than 10,000 employees worldwide and serves 98 percent of the Fortune 100.

As you enter the SAS campus, it is obvious something is different about the company. The corporate office looks more like a small town than a corporate office park. Employees enjoy a gourmet cafeteria, on-site child care and a 10,000-square-foot workout facility. In addition, the gates at SAS close by 6 p.m. every night. James Goodnight, the billionaire CEO and founder of SAS, believes in leaving the office at 5 p.m. every night saying, “Dinner should be spent with your family, not at your desk.”

You may wonder how SAS competes in the fierce business of corporate software against Silicon Valley titans Oracle and PeopleSoft. SAS has experienced double-digit profit growth and a consistent 30 percent profit margin every year since its inception in 1976. In a sector where 25 percent turnover rates are common, SAS has never suffered turnover greater than five percent. Conservative estimates show the company saves between $70 million and $100 million per year through its low turnover rate. And while SAS offers exceptional perks, they are all highly intentional drivers of culture and ultimately performance.

Leaders at SAS know that their culture is a sustainable competitive advantage that cannot be duplicated by the competition. This issue of the Leadership E-News takes a deeper look at organizational culture.

Ron Magnus

Quarterly Interview: Building Great Things

Ron Magnus and Kelley Chisholm

“The most powerful way to shape your brand image is not through smoke and mirrors, but through authenticity and consistency.” —Jay Leopold, DPR Construction

In the new economy, construction companies are rethinking their place and pace in their markets. Leaders across all industries are having their values challenged, tried in the public eye and tested in the competitive environment of construction. DPR Construction, a national commercial general contractor and construction manager, “exists to build great things” and is forging into this new economy with the help and input from strong senior leaders like Jay Leopold. In this interview, you will read about how this firm continues to win national awards such as Fortune Magazine’s 2010 “100 Best Companies to Work For” and ASTD’s 2009 “Best Award” and regional awards such as "Best Place to Work in San Diego.” Jay is one of the senior leaders in this firm that does not rely on titles for influence —but on character, vision, values and results.

FMI Quarterly: Tell us about the overall culture at DPR.

Leopold: It is very well-defined and has been since the company’s inception. It is ultimately what people hold nearest and dearest to their hearts. There are many different ways to describe it, but most simply to me, as you peel the onion, it is an environment built on empowerment and trusting our people to do the right thing. Since it is built on empowerment, that suggests freedom and trust in our employees. This is an industry that, by and large, is not very trusting of anything or anyone, including a company’s own employees. It is built more around distrust instead of trust. So for our company, where there is an environment where you are free and not micromanaged, employees are free to do what they do best and trusted to do it well. There’s a lot of underpinning to protect that culture. Ultimately, that’s the bottom-line differentiator in my view of DPR to other companies.

Read on to learn how DPR has developed a culture of trust and empowerment for its employees.