American Electric Powers’ (AEP) Pirkey Power Plant in Hallsville, Texas, has been providing low-cost power to its customers since 1985. The plant is part of a division of AEP called Southwestern Electric Power (SWEPCO), which is composed of eleven plants over a three-state region that includes parts of Texas, Louisiana, and Arkansas.

The Kiolbassa Provision Company is a 65-year-old family-owned manufacturer of handcrafted sausage based in San Antonio, Texas. Originally started as more of a pork and beef processor, the company shifted into making sausage fulltime under the guidance of president Michael Kiolbassa, whose grandfather started the company. The company’s sausages will soon be sold in all 50 states and in Mexico.

We are always expending energy. The energy we use either hurts us or helps us, moving us backward or forward. Throughout the day, we navigate events using our focus. As our energy follows that focus, we are always headed in one direction or the other on what is called the Energy Map. People who know how to direct energy, both within themselves and others, have a distinct advantage in and out of the workplace. They create greater results.

Have you ever considered how open-book management can make the process of attracting top talent into your organization easier? What about employee retention? My company – Netmail, a 100+ employee company – has been practicing open-book for the better part of a decade. During that time, I’ve found that leveraging our transparent culture has significantly increased our ability to attract, acquire and retain top talent in our organization.

Greene County, MO is the first county government organization to attempt to apply the theories of the Great Game of Business to their organizational culture. Unfortunately, this does not come without some new barriers. Being a government organization, Greene County cannot give out bonuses or gain buy-in through equity. How does Greene County expect to move forward in The Great Game without one of its key components?

Extraordinary always stands out in a sea of ordinary. Where ordinary requires minimal commitment, achieving extraordinary demands 100% dedication to doing whatever it takes to get to the top. Many people, and companies, are OK with being ordinary and performing just good enough to get by. In business, achieving extraordinary is one thing – but maintaining it is where the real work of leadership, accountability, systems, culture building, and refinement are put to the test. It's comparable to an Olympic athlete who trains for years to achieve peak performance for that one moment on the world stage. Once training stops, peak performance diminishes. Being the best and staying the best demands discipline, commitment, and tenacity.

My involvement with the concept of creating a culture of character and competence began with a discussion with Tom Hill, the CEO and Chairman of Kimray, Inc. and founder of Character First. Kimray is an Oklahoma City based manufacturer of oil and gas control valves. Founded in 1948, they continue to be a leader in their industry and are a profitable and generous company. At the time, I was the vice-president of a local university and was trying to understand how to motivate my team to consider a new approach to some of the challenges we were facing. Tom listened to some of my concerns and then asked an important question. He said, “When you look back over the past year, how many of the challenges you had with your team were character based and how many were competency based?”

When I think about all of the times I’ve been hired for various jobs over the course of my life, I have the benefit of 20-20 hindsight to see the enormous impact that training had on my success (or failure) in each job. Although I’ve now worked for Zingerman’s almost seven years, I still remember going through the hiring and orientation process, most particularly as a seasonal, temporary employee at Zingerman’s Mail Order. In fact, my experience at Mail Order is a big part of the reason that I wanted to stick around after that fast-paced, fun, and all-too-brief holiday season!

Every company makes mistakes. That's one thing all businesses have in common. That said, each mistake is an opportunity - especially if the error affects a customer. Some companies blame anyone or anything but themselves. They may or may not correct it. They may or may not apologize. Some act like they’re doing you a favor if you ask them to correct their own goof-up. A culture of blame exists in these firms. Their mantra is “It’s not my fault."

In a previous column titled Great Expectations, I urged business owners to have realistic expectations for their employees. Now let's build on that message: Define your expectations. In my role as a business coach, most of the issues I hear about are related to employees. And more often than not, a lack of clear expectations is at the root of the problem. We usually let our people know how to do a job. "Open the software. Click the blue icon. Use the menu to find the customer ..."