Chapter 2

The Landscape of the Concrete Jungle

This jungle is organic—and so is the writing.

We discussed a number of metaphors while writing this book about differentiation and speedy strategic implementation. However, we would always return to a characterization of most peoples’ workplace lives as living in a jungle. We knew we were on the right track when we looked up the word jungle in the dictionary, because these six meanings are what we found:

So we continued with the concrete jungle metaphor—a place with which too many of us are familiar, and where too many people remain trapped. This is not the friendly or interesting jungle that we see in Disney movies or on the Discovery Channel. Rather, it’s a rough, brutal kind of jungle where the low-hanging fruit has been consumed, leaving only the high-hanging, hard-to-reach fruit that demands both effort and intelligence to attain. Make no mistake, though: you can be successful in the concrete jungle, and that’s what this book will help you do. But before you can find your way around, you must learn its landscape in order to navigate your way to success.

Let’s be clear: though it is concrete, this jungle is alive with activity (not to be confused with productivity), both in regards to its terrain and the creatures that inhabit it. The concrete jungle demands results forcing those who live in it to determine the highest value of their time in order to be truly productive. Understanding the highest value of your time, you may begin to ask yourself how many times you perform a certain activity each day, week, and month. For example, you may conclude that face-to-face meetings with those outside your tribe is the highest value of your time allowing you to get the results you desire. This revelation will make you ask, “how did I spend my time this week,” and “how do I want to spend my time next week”? Those creatures that understand the highest value of their time are the ones who are the most productive in the concrete jungle.

You will meet these creatures along the way, gain insight about how they arrived in the place they call home, and learn why they continue to stay in the landscape that is familiar to them. You will also be introduced to Zebras and Cheetahs Leaders who choose to view the landscape in its entirety, point to a place on the map and say, “This is the way”! The concrete jungle is an organic place where the winds of change, failure, success, and opportunity are always present and blow upon all of us. This chapter will be your lesson in organizational geography. So put on your wide-brim hat (preferably outfitted with some netting), fill your canteen, and lace up your hiking boots. We’re about to enter the concrete jungle!

The River of Change

One of the first obstacles we encounter in the concrete jungle is the river of change. For some tribes, this river will flow rapidly, bringing about radical differences over a short period. Management theorists describe this as a changing environment akin to whitewater rapids. Other tribes will see a more gradual flow, in which changes will extend over a longer period, what management theorists label the calm waters metaphor. Regardless of which environment surrounds an organization, change is one constant that we can see in the concrete jungle; tribes and businesses must realize that they will look totally different in 3, 5, and 10 years.

It’s important to understand that intentional change takes time and that is something we all wish we had. Be prepared for resistance to the change that is outlined in the Model. It’s just the nature of people and the will of the concrete jungle.

Accordingly, the tribes that understand change and become intentional about it will be the ones that will do more than survive; they will continue to grow and thrive. In order for them to do so, they must learn not only to anticipate but to evolve as well. Furthermore, they must learn not only to evolve, but how to evolve properly.

Survival in the concrete jungle is not simply based on might and evolution. Instead, the predominant idea of Darwin’s survival-of-the-fittest theory of natural selection has faced new levels of unnatural complexity in the office environment.

In the wild, certain tribes have attempted to thwart natural selection with artificial selection—that is, breeding for certain desired traits rather than those that are environmentally compatible for survival. This is similar to many organizations that have relied upon the latest technology alone in an attempt to find and fill their niches. This also includes attempts at conservation, or combined scientific, political, and social efforts to stabilize, protect, and preserve an environment despite its evolution or erosion Again, this is akin to the organizational tribes that the concrete jungle has protected, who fear that if the jungle collapses, they will, too. Look no further than the housing market to understand what happens when there is a collapse in the jungle. In the end, those that were left standing were those that were led by people that looked differently at the business and became agile by adjusting to the changing demands of the market.

One such Leader is John Floyd, founder of Ole South Properties, Tennessee’s largest independent homebuilder. Ole South had one of its best years in a decade in 2012 because of the way John led his company through the collapse. John fought with banks to reduce interest payments, refocused his product lines to meet the changing demands of home buyers, repositioned his company, and revamped his workforce in order to meet the change that was ahead of him.

Sink or Swim

Over its 25-year history, Nashville-based Ole South Properties has seen many changes: changes in costs, pricing structure, building methods, customer demands, and the size of its bottom line. In 2010, after hearing Coach Burt speak, John Floyd, decided to make changes inside his organization and asked Coach Burt if he could help.

For many years, Floyd found a way for Ole South to grow its profits, its holdings, and its assets. With a cost-effective building method and homes that suited buyers in all price ranges, Ole South became one of the top builders in middle Tennessee and of the top 100 builders in the nation. In recent times, many homebuilders could not adjust to the new economic reality and decided to exit. Floyd felt the impact as well, but he ultimately decided to confront the new reality head-on.

It was clear to us that from the outset Floyd had a deep desire to own the concrete jungle, much like a coach has a deep desire to win a championship. A championship in sports is easily identifiable: look for the head coach and star athlete holding the trophy at the end of the game. During our time together we constantly asked ourselves what does a championship look like in the concrete jungle?

In this case, a championship was defined using the Z&C Model: a dominant aspiration with an emotional pull. The Model helped define the dominant aspiration, create emotion resulting in a tangible outcome so that everyone could see and know what part they would play in driving toward its fulfillment.

The emotional pull was created through internal and external marketing strategies that released the emotion of the organization. Once the championship level of performance was defined, quarterly campaigns were then created to help everyone stay focused and know their roles on the team.

During our time together, we worked with Ole South on building an aggressive strategy that challenged Floyd on everything from strategy to personnel. The shift in mindset included reframing negative events into trigger events (or events that triggered action into the organization) by using adversity to accelerate the growth of the company and a scoreboard that measured success.

At the conclusion of the first year, Ole South saw the realization of over 300 homes sold in one of the most difficult economic climates in U.S. history. We then shifted our focus to positioning Ole South so that they could compete on their unique perspective and rich history in the middle Tennessee region. Ultimately Ole South survived because of Floyd’s ability to change.

Without question, the concrete jungle presents a new selective environment that will lead certain tribes to become extinct because of their refusal to change. Other groups that are ready to claim another’s territory at any cost will become predators; and still others will merge into uneasy, unfounded alliances with one another in attempts to become more forceful in the business environment.

Regardless of their approach and efforts to thwart the lightning-fast modern pace of natural selection’s brutal forces, an increasing number of organizations will find themselves inevitably swimming in the turbulent rapids of the river of change that flows through the concrete jungle. More specifically, they are feeling the grip of the current of the urgent that we first mentioned in Chapter 1 and will describe in more detail here.

The Current of the Urgent 

The current of the urgent is the speed at which people can make decisions and the way work flows within an organization. The current is a powerful force that controls much of what receives attention, dictates the tribe’s focus, and varies in its pull. It can cause complacency or incite a heightened sense of immediacy in dealing with whatever conditions into which it has pushed tribal members. All living, breathing things in the concrete jungle are connected to the current of the urgent in some way.

There are those who are swimming against the current, those who are floating along in it but with no direction of their own, and sadly, those overwhelmed souls who are about to drown in it. Those swimming against it find that they have the wrong people in their tribe; they go after the wrong relationships, don’t understand the concrete jungle’s landscape, and are constantly asking, “Why is life in the jungle so hard?” The floaters do all right for themselves, but only for a while. They’re really only capable of creating temporary competitive advantages, and they find themselves ill equipped to change when the current pushes them in a new direction or against an obstacle. (These are also the ones who thought a college degree was all they’d ever need, who have failed to become continuous learners, and who found immediate success with no real comprehension of how it happened. Essentially, they’re poor environmental analysts.). Sooner or later, these two kinds of people join the drowning individuals described in Chapter 1. They become overwhelmed with the number of phone calls, e-mails, texts, and so forth to the point of paralysis.

Thankfully, though, you and those around you don’t have to drown in the river of change or become a victim of the current of the urgent. Those swimming with the current are able to recognize opportunities as they become available. And upon doing so, they can immediately articulate their value to others in the current, which is often the only life vest their fellow swimmers can grab. In other words, if you can’t immediately show people how the current of the urgent can work in their favor, they likely won’t accept your offer to help them swim with it.

So how exactly can you help show others immediate value? You must contrive the specifics for yourself and your organization, but the general principles are these:

First and foremost, make sure you’re offering a life vest to someone who can, and wants to be, saved. Most good Leaders want to save everyone, and though a noble sentiment, it is simply not a realistic expectation. You can offer to help all, but realize that not everyone will, or can, accept it.

Second, if you learn to embrace the opportunities change can bring, you can harness the power of the current and swim with it, which transforms it into a tool that will do work for you. In short, let the environment around your organization speak to you! It will provide clues about where you can uncover fertile soil and fruitful vineyards. However, you must learn to systematically analyze it as well.

The third point is: be a continuous learner. And realize that formal education is only the beginning. The rest, and by far the most important part, of your education begins after the coursework ends. Fourth, set up effective communications systems for your organization. Most people would probably say that they possess good communications skills but doubt that others around them are quite as capable in that regard. The fact of the matter is that all of us could probably improve in this area. Libraries are filled with reams of information about better communications practices, so avail yourself of them and never be satisfied with the quality of communications levels in your organization; seek to improve it regularly. And fifth, find ways to eliminate wastes: time, money, effort, thought, energy—all these things can always be managed more efficiently. What’s the connection between eliminating waste and showing immediate value? Very simply: if we eliminate wasteful distractions, suddenly the important things can move more clearly into focus. We will discuss these in greater detail as we continue on our journey.

We’ve occasionally found in the beginning of any great endeavor that Leaders must actively provide every possible opportunity for their tribes to grab the vision of immediate value. They do this by managing in ways that amount to holding each team member’s hand. Yes, it’s hard work. Yes, it’s time- and effort-consuming. And no, you cannot sustain it indefinitely. But no matter how much of an independent-minded person you may be, wouldn’t you want a reliable hand to hold until you could pull yourself to safety if you were the one who was drowning? Many times in the workplace employees drown in the details of things that don’t help them or the organization become better. The hand that is extended from the Leader is a hand that allows employees to know their role and know what they should focus on. The Zebras and Cheetahs Leader understands when the water is too deep and uses the dominant focus to pull them from the deep water and to a place that allows them to regain confidence and begin swimming again.

However, even once you’re out of the water, you’re still not out of the woods. If you thought the current of the urgent was a challenge, wait until you confront some of the beasts that roam the landscape of the concrete jungle.

Wild Kingdom: Creatures of the Concrete Jungle 

The concrete jungle is filled with those who have refused to adapt to the ever-changing landscape of reality. They have laid claim to their territories, and will fight to defend their way of thinking. They prevent best-practice ideas from getting to decision-makers, and they rarely align performances with expectations. They pass blame from one person to the next, to circumstances, or to sheer bad luck. You cannot miss these creatures; you will see them and notice the unique characteristics that define how they interact with others. During any given day in the office, you may see:

And Then . . . There’s the 10,000-Pound Gorilla

You’ve smelled him. You’ve heard him screech. You’ve probably dodged a few things he’s thrown at you, and you likely have even felt him jump on your back. We’re talking about the concrete jungle’s biggest brute—the 10,000-pound gorilla named culture who will destroy anything in his path, including all of the great ideas that you and your tribe have.

Before we speak further about the concept of organizational culture using this slew-footed metaphor, let’s examine some biological characteristics that gorillas possess. In fact, we’re betting you’ll catch the symbolism from a mile away before we even get to the metaphor’s interpretation. Keep a count of how many parallels you find in the next four paragraphs.

Gorillas are extremely intelligent beings who can learn very complex tasks. Humans have successfully taught sign language to some gorillas in captivity, while others have learned how to form simple sentences and communicate with people. Trainers have occasionally observed these creatures using objects such as rocks as primitive tools in the wild, and they have also learned to use various tools in captivity.

Though gorillas are frequently portrayed as destructive, dangerous killers, they are actually shy, passive vegetarians. They live in small groups (or bands) of six or seven individuals. When young gorillas mature, they leave their native band and either join or form another band. Generally, gorillas are quiet animals that communicate with each other using many complicated gestures and sounds. They aren’t aggressive. They may make a lot of noise when an intruder disturbs them, but rarely will they confront another animal. And while they can climb trees, they rarely do. Gorillas cannot swim but spend lots of time grooming (cleaning the hair) of other gorillas in the band.

Male gorillas that dominate and lead the groups are called silverbacks because of the distinctive ridge of silver fur on their backs. If challenged by a younger or an outsider male, silverbacks will scream, beat their chests, break branches, bare their teeth, then charge forward. A group whose Leader is killed will split and disperse to look for a new protective male, despite the threat that the new males will kill the dead silverback’s infants.

Each evening, gorillas construct a nest where they curl up and sleep during the night. They make these bowl-shaped nests from leaves and other plant materials. Only mother and nursing offspring share nests; all other gorillas have their own.

Okay, how many did you count? You probably beat us to the punch, but let’s analyze each gorilla characteristic as related to organizational culture, beginning where we ended—with the nesting concept.

Some members of an organization will wonder if culture actually exists at all, because it’s often a very covert thing. Some places seldom discuss it directly, because it’s not necessarily qualified or quantified; it exists instead as the hefty part of an organization that seemingly hides in plain sight. Yet ironically, if you disturb its nest, the 10,000-pound gorilla called culture will create enough noise that you’ll clearly know you’ve crossed its boundaries against its will, and everyone else will know it, too. Typically this is seen in the rising star within the tribe. This person knows what they can be the best at and how to outperform others with more years of experience. But, because of culture, they assume a lower position in the tribe with a designation of “associate,” “junior,” or “assistant.”

When it becomes negative, an organization’s culture emits a stale odor (much like an animal’s nest). This is one of the first signs that a tribe may have culture-related problems. Progress has come to a stalemate, employees don’t want to leave the comfort of familiar surroundings, and they certainly don’t want to share their space with ­anyone. They actively resist the efforts of those change-brokers who invade the nests (often young and/or progressive-minded employees with positive outlooks and plenty of motivation), and reject their insights. This prompts them to persecute those would-be change-brokers and squash their ideas (For instance, when describing one particularly unsavory cultural group, a colleague of one of ours furiously observed, “They get somewhere, and they just nest”! Well stated, because that’s exactly what happens). Instead of embracing change and forging ahead into new territories, they’ll spend all their time telling each other how wonderful they are and heaping empty praise on others, who in return heap it back upon them. All this does is construct a smokescreen of irreproachability if either group is ever confronted about their lack of productivity.

Rarely will these cultural gorillas engage the difficulty of climbing a little higher than where they are to get a new perspective when they can simply enjoy the comfort of all things familiar on the ground. And forget about swimming in the river of change and figuring out how to harness the current of the urgent: these gorillas would perish if they tried, and they know it. But make no mistake: these are very intelligent people who (sadly) know exactly what they’re doing with their communications. They are especially talented at making things overly complex and complicated. We’ve had colleagues like this who’ll write reams of pages for policies and manuals, and who’ll noisily argue up one side of a discussion and back down another. It’s all an attempt to camouflage their true beliefs, confuse those around them, and/or scare away would-be challengers by sounding more intelligent than anyone else. However, when pressed to do so, they won’t take a solid stance on any issue. These are the same people who want to form committees to address every little thing that the organization encounters, and they love to fall back on concepts like shared governance to try to circumvent responsibility to superiors.

However, the saddest fact of all may be that, due to these aforementioned conditions, the organization’s culture collapses upon these individuals if their Leader is removed from the equation. This band of employees (notice we did not use the word tribe, which connotes a much more solid attachment to group ideals than the word band) scatters, and many probably won’t survive without their silverback cultural Leader to watch out for them.

Pretty pathetic, isn’t it? Yet all of us can likely at least point to a scenario like this one, and perhaps recall an experience with it, usually because we’ve been nose to nose with a cultural gorilla on one or two occasions.

You may have also met some of culture’s children, or what tribe members may call “the monkey on my back.” Look closely, though: these are not monkeys, but rather baby cultural gorillas that will wreak havoc on the tribe. Their names may be familiar, woefully screeching, and culturally shackling refrains such as “Lost,” “Hopeless,” “Going Nowhere,” or “Anywhere But Here.” They’ll build nests upon finding their way into the tribe, and then have difficulty uprooting them. Why? Culture has trained his offspring well. They won’t let go as they become entrenched, because they like to keep their leverage on tribes. And due to their relatively invisible nature, they know that tribe members can’t turn around and confront them directly. Instead, the tribe members continue to carry the cultural gorillas on their backs, which incites a great deal of stumbling and frustration. 

Tribes that want to find a way to tame culture—to make it productive and civilized (which fortunately can be done)—must first acknowledge that they helped feed, nourish, and allow the culture to grow and evolve to its present form. They need culture cultivators (those who are willing to embrace the challenge of capturing and taming the gorilla), who will then retrain, relearn, and activate a culture that gives birth to the potential of the tribe, but not enable culture’s offspring. They understand that a domesticated, civilized culture is one in which the tribe does its daily business effectively, even when managers are not around. And they take great pride doing so, because they share passion that keeps them from becoming complacent. They also understand that certain positive and negative organizational cultural elements exist, and they must systematically define those elements so that they can be managed and, in some cases, marketed,

Truett Cathy, founder of Chick-fil-A, is one of the best examples of how culture can be managed and marketed. If you eat fast food, do yourself a favor and go to a place that has a culture unlike any other fast food chain or fast casual dining anywhere. In Murfreesboro, Tennessee, during a Saturday there is a security guard that directs traffic in front of the local Chick-fil-A. They have employees standing before you in the drive-thru line using cell phones to call in orders so that they can extend past their capacity. Employees walk through the main floor offering mints, drink refills, and the chain routinely features family nights with specials that connect with the community. It never fails that children will ask their parents to take them to lunch at the eatery after church. And, every Sunday, disappointed children must choose to eat somewhere else. The culture is intentional; you can see it when you walk through the doors. Entering a Chick-fil-A is like entering a place that is sacred and protected by the culture. It’s clean, well lit, with visual cues that teach each customer how they should interact with the establishment. Signs like “Food Is Essential to Life; Therefore Make It Good” and “We Didn’t Invent the Chicken, Just the Chicken Sandwich.” They even know how to get to the heart of children by allowing them to exchange the books they get with the kids meal. This is a well-known secret inside most kids communities, and parents should be educated about their cost saving tactics as well.

At times, culture works behind the scenes as tribes develop products or services. Yet it simultaneously becomes the very thing that places a stranglehold on the tribe, keeping its rigidity in place and crushing the creativity and risk needed to grow. This rigidity is ultimately what holds the tribe back from becoming what it wants to become. And if the Leader does not take charge of culture, culture will take charge of the Leader! The dominant personalities within the tribe will win, and if these personalities are negative, culture will become negative. Tribes must cultivate exactly what they want to grow; if a 10,000-pound gorilla is left alone to figure it out for itself, the results will be pretty messy. Organizations must identify, define, and utilize culture in the concrete jungle, perhaps with regular sessions that allow the tribe to speak about the realities it faces before culture becomes an unmanageable size. And they must set and manage standards of organizational culture with scoreboard-like precision.

Chants, Dances, and Brands

Tribal Leaders may define culture as who we are and how we do things, which is sufficient for examining the organization from an internal perspective. Tribes operating within the concrete jungle must have strong cultures that reflect their differentiating points of view concerning their products or services. They must translate these traits through outward signs similar to tribal chants or dances, activities that answer why they matter and create meaning for tribe members on individual and collective levels.

However, these chants and dances not only carry meaning within the tribe; they also distinguish the tribe among others outside by effectively communicating the things that are important to the tribe (specifically, their values). For businesses, these outward signs are called brands. And while they certainly carry great internal meaning, it’s equally important for outsiders to understand an organization’s culture, because it affects their perceptions of it. In other words, culture becomes critical to positioning, which is a crucial part of any branding exercise.

Everyone involved in an organization contributes to the size and weight of culture. Help lines, customer assistance, field staffs, and those who influence marketing, public relations, and product development —all of these people have an impact. This is why tribes must first understand the meaning of their cultures, so that they can effectively communicate that meaning to others. Otherwise, customers will not be able to understand it, believe it, or connect with it, let alone form a relationship with it. If a tribe tries to answer the vital questions of “who are we?,” “what do we do?,” and “why do we matter?,” others in the concrete jungle will be just as ignorant about the tribe and its significance. They won’t be able to capitalize on investments in its people, and they cannot chant or dance with distinction. And like certain jungle animals, distinction is the whole concept behind the Z&C Leader.

Part Zebras. Part Cheetahs. All Leader.

With all the animals roaming the concrete jungle in their own indistinctive, counterproductive ways—and since the roaring lions no longer can or do rule the jungle—two questions emerge: first, can we find success at all in the concrete jungle? And if so, what kinds of Leaders are necessary to facilitate it?

The answers: yes, we can find success, and the Leaders we need must have the unique qualities to help the tribe look different, run faster, and be agile. To illustrate this metaphor, we researched various jungle animals. We wanted to uncover which ones had the characteristics analogous to that of the Leader whom modern organizations need. And, as you might have guessed by now, we found our Models in the zebras and the cheetahs.

The desired next-generation Leaders combine these two animals’ unique qualities—so we named them Zebras and Cheetahs Leaders. These unique qualities culminate in a set of differential advantages that offer different:

• Perspective and mindset (look different, like a zebra)
• Response (run faster, like a cheetah)
• Results (be agile, like both)

However, before we go into detail on how these three qualities emerge among successful modern organizational Leaders, let’s give you a quick synopsis of both animals’ characteristics. And again, we’re betting you’ll be able to see the parallels before we point them out later.

Meet the Zebras

Each zebras owns a unique striping pattern; this is what makes it outstanding to its peers, who use these individualized stripes to recognize each another. The stripes also act as a camouflage mechanism in several ways. First, the vertical striping patterns help the zebras hide in grass and deadwood forestry. Although grass and trees aren’t white or black, the zebra’s main predator, the lion, happens to be color blind, and therefore it cannot distinguish the zebras from the natural cover. And since a zebra typically roams with a herd of other zebras, the multiple stripe patterns confuse predators, since many zebras standing or moving closely together may appear as a single large animal, making it even more difficult for the colorblind lion to identify a single zebra to attack.

Zebras enjoy excellent eyesight, and some experts believe they can distinguish color. These eyes are strategically positioned on the sides of the head, which gives them a wide field of view. Though not as advanced as that of some animals, zebras also have night vision. They also have excellent hearing and can turn their ears in almost any direction, and are equipped as well with acute senses of smell and taste.

Since distance running is a major part of its nomadic grazing existence, zebras have incredible stamina. They’re adaptable grazers that can feed off the landscape of many different environments. Although their exact social structure depends on the particular species, zebras are highly social creatures that rely on the other members of the herd for protection.

Meet the Cheetahs

Cheetahs are relatively gentle creatures that will not fight or contest members of their own group. Cheetahs cannot roar but, as highly social creatures, they use other multiple, relatively advanced forms of verbal communication to communicate within the group. It is this ability to communicate that allows the cheetahs to be respected by the tribe. The cheetahs understands how to use its keen sense of composure in moments that matter most. It’s this composure or professional calm that allows them to socialize the tribe to their way of thinking.

Cheetahs don’t possess the physical prowess or build of stronger jungle cats; however, they are still successful hunters, because they hunt at different times. Though their lean, svelte physiques won’t win any grappling matches, cheetahs are built for generating incredible speed. They can run 70 to 75 miles per hour in short bursts and can accelerate from 0 to 64 miles per hour in a mere three seconds. However, their speed would be virtually worthless without feet and respiratory systems to accommodate it. In conjunction with their tails, cheetahs use semi-retractable, cleat-like claws to make sharp turns, which are necessary to out-maneuver predators and prey. Large nostrils and enlarged hearts and lungs work together inside cheetahs to use oxygen effectively and facilitate their blazing speed.

Cheetahs fur has a pattern that makes its spots look like vegetation and flowers to help them blend in until springing into action. They have dark streaks around their eyes that make them look like they’ve cried rivers of black tears; these tear streaks minimize the glare of sun, allowing cheetahs to stay visually focused while hunting during blinding circumstances.

Meet the Zebras and Cheetahs Leader

Even a casual glance at the characteristics of zebras and cheetahs clearly reveals that they are noticeably different from other animals around them, making them perfect paradigms for our Model.

From zebras origins, Z&C Leaders:

• Look different. Just as zebras stripes are distinctive but functional, the distinctive nature of Z&C Leaders will act as camouflage. It helps. The distinction of the stripes on Z&C Leaders in the concrete jungle serves as an identifying trait that allows Z&C Leaders to connect with each other.
• Stand together. And when they do so, they appear as one unified, strong organization that’s less vulnerable to attacks from competitors.
• Know the power their group possesses. When organizations move in a collective fashion, competitors have difficulties anticipating their next moves, which give them a clear advantage.
• See opportunities. This ability to see clearly and distinctly with unique perspectives and wide views of the world puts Z&C Leaders in positions to scan their environments for opportunities that others may not see.
• Can even see opportunities in dark conditions. The advantage of seeing opportunities even in the darkest of times and through the most difficult of circumstances will help Z&C Leaders gain competitive advantages until conditions improve.
• Clearly hear important messages above the din. Contrary to what some may say, we don’t live in the Information Age; we live in the Information Overload Age. It’s not just about information in the concrete jungle; it’s about finding the right information. Tuning your ears to the right information is a valuable skill.
• Use all senses and can therefore adapt more readily. There are times when intuition—or instincts based on past experience, feelings, and emotion—may be all that Z&C Leaders have to guide decision-making (much like the senses of smell and taste). While certainly not as solid and logic-driven as sight and hearing, these finer senses may be what separate Z&C Leaders from competitors when nothing else is available, or when everyone else has the same information. These secondary senses can also allow you to change more readily and comfortably according to surrounding conditions. Furthermore, thinking logically may be a mistake when negotiating a deal or formulating a strategy. Instead, sensing how or what the opposition thinks or wants may position Z&C Leaders better than using hard data or reason.

From cheetahs origins, Z&C Leaders:

• Use unique characteristics and even apparent disadvantages to create advantages among peers. While perhaps not as powerful or resource-rich as competitors, Z&C Leaders will create opportunities where none exist. They do this by using what’s at hand, in a different way than others use it, or in a way that has never been done.
• Don’t need to roar to command the attention of others. Because they are gifted communicators, Z&C Leaders can use emotional persuasion that’s rooted in collective passion that will eventually win over even the most difficult people. This allows communication to originate not from places of fear, but from a place that helps others clearly understand and form connections with them.
• Implement new strategies with blazing speed. Z&C Leaders are the first in the concrete jungle to seize the next great opportunity. They can use speed of integration as an advantage, primarily thanks to their superior knowledge of systems.
• Not blinded by distractions. Sometimes their hard-earned marks of tear streaks from past frustrations and failures can keep Z&C Leaders from becoming distracted by unimportant factors that can wreck long-term vision and short-term strategies. In essence, experience has made them able to keep a long-term view.
• Built for agility to seize advantages the landscape may offer. Z&C Leaders avoid over-committing to too many initiatives, or falling victim to escalated or failing ones. In this way, they’re able to nimbly outmaneuver their competition as the landscape and conditions of the concrete jungle may dictate.
• Use systems. No single element of the organization can exist in its own orbit, and no person is an island. Z&C Leaders design, develop, and implement systems that work to effectively and efficiently coordinate and integrate the inputs, throughputs, and outputs of the organization, and to put people in positions that meet their passions and talents. This systematic approach is the basis for the Z&C Model that we’ll discuss in great detail in Chapter 5.

Size Doesn’t Matter

The one variable that didn’t emerge as an important characteristic when researching animals for our Model was size. In fact, we found that other variables are much more important. So don’t worry; at no point in this book will we talk to you about upsizing your organization. The Z&C Model is for small organizations, large organizations, and all sizes in between.

However, we must provide caution about one thing: regardless of your organization’s size, you had better be armed before you enter the marketplace. After all, it’s a jungle out there—a concrete jungle! Preparing to venture into it should not be taken lightly, because one thing is clear in this environment: those who do so will need new skill sets and new tool sets to survive and eventually thrive. These new skills and tools that are developed during the implementation of the Model allow us to adapt to the changing landscapes. Whether its through sudden bursts of energy that awake the tribe, addressing levels of performance found in the tribe, providing systematic coaching for the tribe, and having a scoreboard that lets everyone in the tribe know where they stand, a dominant focus helps the tribe articulate its value in new ways, and align with new resources and tools we find in the jungle. But as you probably already know, few people, no matter how talented, can forge their own ways in the concrete jungle by themselves. They must have someone to help navigate through this jungle; they must select the right Leader. We trust that the information in this chapter has helped shape your thinking about general characteristics that will help you and your organization do that, and perhaps even help you make the shift to becoming one. We will further refine this concept as we move into other chapters, but before we do, let’s address some concepts about an effective Leader who’s built for today’s concrete jungle.

Looking different is about understanding your unique past, including unique experiences and education, then using that to answer the most important question: where is there a need in the world that only I (or my product or service) can fulfill? We call that unique value.

Look Different

Few companies have a challenge as difficult as TRICOR, a self-supported government agency located in Nashville, Tennessee. Led by savvy CEO Pat Weiland, TRICOR is focused on helping prisoners get out and stay out of prison. Using the acronym “GOSO,” the Get Out and Stay Out program focuses on a unique blend of personal ­development, coaching, job skills, and curriculum instruction to rehabilitate and decrease the recidivism rate. TRICOR was looking to build a culture with a systematic Model of growth and improvement, essentially turning managers and supervisors into coaches. This was a total shift in how TRICOR previously looked at management. Armed with the Z&C Model, each manager and supervisor began to look at their roles within the organization differently.

Here is what the process looked like:

• Create a dominant aspiration that was clear and bold, which was “Get Out and Stay Out,” or “GOSO.”
• Develop a theme that elicits an emotional pull. For TRICOR, that was to use the concept of GOSO to decrease the recidivism rate while also showing a profit for the “double bottom line” of their company since they were self-supporting.
• Start with a motivational rally to engage TRICOR’s people and get a buy-in to the coaching. This opens the minds and the hearts of the people and reengages the culture.
• Begin the coaching process on personal development, leadership, sales systems, and culture in a systematic way with a proven coach and a proven system.
• Create a scoreboard that tracks daily progress toward the dominant focus in sales. Place people in a high-value activity system that aligns their time with best strategies, thus eliminating the dreaded time-management issue.
• Coach the heck out of everybody with intensity, a focus, and a specific curriculum that develops all parts of each person’s nature: body, mind, heart, and spirit.
• Implant thunderbolts as needed. These sudden bolts of energy will keep people focused on the dominant aspiration.
• Become the change they seek by decreasing the GOSO rate and showing more financial profitability.

TRICOR is an example of an organization that adopted an entrepreneurial mindset and executed it. When focusing on results and not time, the potential of people can be multiplied. The TRICOR plan called for a multiyear process of engaging the hearts and minds of the employees (those that work with the offenders) in such a way that they become vested partners and coaches to those they are supervising. TRICOR replaced the old command-and-control mindset of supervision with one of growth and improvement of coaching and feedback by using the Model.

Choose Well

Like many people, you may frequently ask, “What exactly is great leadership, and why is it so difficult to lead today?” The bottom-line answer is this: people in organizations today have been turned loose to survive in organizational environments that are as wild as jungles. If someone doesn’t have the character and the competence to lead, the jungle will quickly reveal those weaknesses. Therefore, if your organization can’t find a guide who will provide the necessary leadership, you may consider arming yourself in other, more dangerous ways of self-protection. But what is your weapon of choice? Simply borrowing strength from a position of power will leave you in a very difficult place; like a gun, it can backfire or be used against you. The jungle is a place where big-barreled weapons won’t help you as much as you think.

The reason why is fairly simple: the concrete jungle doesn’t just require strength, or having a strong mindset (remember what we said earlier about the Darwinistic evolution of today in which the smart are taking from the strong); it’s about changing your mindset. Simply waving big weapons (or roaring like a lion) is not a viable, long-term solution. To see real change, you must remember that the concrete jungle rewards and celebrates uniqueness in tangible, recognizable ways, and that today’s marketplace climate demands it.

All things in this jungle gravitate toward the call of leadership. So be sure to choose well, since the concrete jungle is a place full of fear, change, and risk. However, it’s also a place that brings countless new opportunities for you and your team to experience defining moments—opportunities to look different, run faster, and become agile. This is the leadership imperative of the twenty-first century, and it happens because Leaders develop new perspectives that generate new mindsets.

In a few chapters, we will introduce you to the Z&C Model that will facilitate accountability and drive the results of your people and your organization. However, before we do, we need to rewire your thinking a bit to put you in a position to truly understand the Model.

So, as the sun sets on the concrete jungle, stop, reflect, and make a conscious decision to make the shift toward effective leadership, then remember its ingredients: new perspective first, then a new mindset.