| By Donna Goss & Don Robertson
Co-Directors, Leadership Development Institute
(Continued from Front Page)
Well there are a number of things but we are going to focus on Jim's ability to build relationships:
Jim Press goes out of his way to make the people around him feel important; both because he is a nice guy and because it helps him get better performance from his team. Press said in an interview with USA Today, "I respect the people I work with to the point my job is to help them understand the vision and direction we all want to move" and then he 'serves' them in their efforts to make the vision a reality. Most people reciprocate; they will respond to indifference with indifference and they will respond to genuine attention to them with their attention to the organization. The simple fact is, people perform at higher levels when they feel connected to a leader or an organization. Jim Press connects with people.
In the Sunday March 19, 2006 Express Times, there was a story on another outstanding executive, a local businessman. The article, Relationships Equal Success, highlights Mike Caruso, founder and president of Caruso Benefits Group Inc. Mike is well known in the Lehigh Valley for his wrestling career at Lehigh University and his reputation for serving businesses with expertise on employee benefits. In the article Mike is quoted as saying, "At the end of the day, people do business with people they like and they trust, and the second is more important than the first." Yes, relationships matter!
Building relationships is not a special skill; we all know how to do that. Jim Press does it by doing simple things. He has a real talent to truly listen to others and see things from their perspective. He also demonstrates in a genuine manner an interest in what others have to offer. He is still energetic and ambitious, but it is directed at the business, not himself. Press loves the car business. People describe him as humble, polite and someone who tries to show concern for everyone. We would guarantee people would say similar things about Mike Caruso.
It is so refreshing to see success driven by the attributes we all look for in others, attributes that all of us are capable of demonstrating. Relationships do make a difference; make the effort to build them.
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