The View From Pete Berol's Office At Eastern University

Pete Berol is the Executive Director of Direct Marketing at Eastern University.  Husband, Dad, Marketing Guy who does all his own stunts. Aikido student, speaker, cooking enthusiast, occasional consultant and life long learner. 

What Is Your Leadership Style? 

I am all about The Team.  I hire people who don’t want bosses. If you need me to be your boss, you probably don’t want to work for me, because I will make you nuts.  Someone that needs high level of direction probably isn’t for me.  I basically lead a Creative Idea Factory Implementation Structure.  I am a marketing guy at my core, even though I am an operations guy who loves leadership.  Those are the three things that I truly love.  I want to be able to say “…here is the idea, it lines up with the company’s goals, with our mission, it supports the mission, now how do we get there.”  I have some ideas, but I don’t ever want to be so in love with my ideas that I don’t hear well. So for me to have to hire somebody who needs me to lay it out from A to Z, than I’d rather either to do it myself, or better yet hire someone who is more than willing to take the framework, and fill it in with their own passion and skill set.  

You Stated, As A Leader, You Need To Hear Well.  What Does That Mean? 

You have to be very very comfortable with expensive mistakes – not company killing mistakes.  Last time I checked, I’m really really sure I am not perfect.  I’ve made some mistakes.  The vast majority of the mistakes are meaningful mistakes.  Well supported, well thought out – STINKERS!  Mistakes are all about learning.  Mistakes are kids learning how to walk – they fall down a lot.  And if you have a young staff, as I do, they really don’t want me to be their boss, they want me to be their coach.  The only time they want a boss is when they are in trouble.  Not career trouble – not HR trouble.  More like, I am in the weeds in this project and I need some guidance.  Our staff meetings (at Eastern University) are about challenges.  Somebody has a problem, and the group is there to help.  The meetings are not the “rah rah” type.   

What Frustrates You About The Way Some Leaders Go About Their Business?

This tension between Law and Mercy. There is the law and there is grace.  Sometimes the danger that I found is that nice gets confused for good.  There are times in business where standing up and firmly, respectively and ruthlessly, and when I say ruthlessly, I mean in the nicest way... saying NO is the greatest gift an organization can get.  It’s when you get the AHHHH – I don’t know.  When you get a leader that is comfortable with ambiguity is when an organization suffers.  My frustration with some leaders is indecision - just make a decision.  We are going to go this way.  I maybe 80% sure of this route, and we will course correct as we go, but don't stay in the harbor waiting for the perfect time to move. 

Leadership is not about what you do with leadership theory.  Leadership is basically blocking and tackling.  Every leader we know has done basically the same things - passion, direction, creativity – those things really drive organizations. Looking at the companies many of us admire and see what drives them.  I am sure you will see consistency in how their leadership acts and what they promote inside the organization.  

How Did You Develop Your Leadership Style?

Painfully!!!  I still yell too much.  My mom was a passionate Irish Catholic woman.  Three or four major influences in my life.  Starting w/my dad who was a military officer for half of his adult life, and the other half was a banker.  Here is a guy who literally led people to battle.  One of his hallmarks was how much fun he had with his folks at work.  This focus on team came from my dad’s understanding that Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, and John Wayne only work in the movies.  In the real world, this movie stuff doesn’t survive. My mom’s passion –the idea of the intersection of creativity and passion.  I mean how do you separate yourself from your family.  I had a long time friend whose father was a business executive who was a mentor to me.  Watching him run the Hearst Tool Division.  I learned a lot.  I did my graduate studies in counseling and my clinical training in a psychiatric hospital.  The best business training I did was doing 400 hours of counseling in a psychiatric hospital.  It teaches you that everyone is nuts - some of us are just more so than others.  In fact, some of the craziest people were the ones doing the training!  If you realize that everyone has their quirks –  their moments of craziness - you get a little more relaxed when leading them.

What Have You Learned Along The Way In Regards To Leadership? 

I think anyone can read a balance sheet – at least you can be taught to read a balance sheet.  I think business in general has made the mistake in saying “you know what we need here is another accountant.”  Don’t get me wrong, I am not knocking accountants – I depend on good accountants.  But I think we need to put more value in being able to understand people.  You’ve got to understand people.  Your “to do list” and your financial balance sheet doesn’t mean a thing when the person sitting across from you tells you that they have cancer.  You cannot replicate a person’s brain or their heart.  At least I don’t think we will be able to for quite some time.  Organizations run on people.

How Do You Keep Your Team Engaged?
I am always asking my staff… “What do you want to do next?”  As a leader if you’re not helping your folks become what’s next, then you’re not doing your part as their leader.  “What’s Next” becomes part of their annual review, you know what, “What’s Next” becomes part of their hiring!  If I can find the way to give them the time, the head space to think about what’s next…to borrow the computer for the weekend… to help them grow in that direction…you want to talk about loyalty.  You’ll get loyalty without a doubt.  My team has four hours of week of what I call Blue Sky time – work on whatever you want – it doesn’t have to be work related.  Most times, it is and you would be surprised what comes back to the group.  The questions on our wall are always “what’s next next”…what’s the “thing” coming down the road that people are just starting to talk about…it doesn’t always have value, but the fastest way to hell is top be in love with your own process, your own methodology. 

What Other Questions Do You Ask Your Team?

I also ask the staff the question… “To what end?”  How does what we are talking about support the business goals…the business mission…if we can’t tie those things together than we have to ask ourselves does it make sense.  On my team, I’m the crazy idea guy.  I come into the office and I start talking about my latest idea that I came up with while driving in and my staff looks at me and says… “Okay Pete, that’s great, but how does that support the vision?”  Sometimes, it maybe an idea whose time has not come yet.

Another question that we ask ourselves is one I got from a mentor of mine, Howard Harold – a history professor with a futuristic view.  He actually started my division.  On his desk, he had a triangle metal sign that stated, “What Do You Suggest?”   I have since then added “Don’t Bring Me The Problem!” Anybody can bring the problem.   How you bring value is bringing the solution.  We hear problems all day long – what companies need are solutions.

What Advice Would You Give Business Leaders Today?  

First thing that comes to mind is leadership requires a bit of pathological optimism.  Otherwise, you would look at economy, and you would say, why bother!  Don’t fall into the “Magic Thinking” mode.  Magic thinking – someday my prince will come, some day the economy will turn around, some day the business will come back.   Organizations that have not returned to discipline of the market place make switches in panic.  It’s that old Vince Lombardi story…Coach Lombardi would start every season with, “Gentleman this is a FOOTBALL” – every first practice, every year.  No matter how many years you played for Lombardi, you heard that point at the beginning of the season.  Submit yourself to the discipline of the marketplace. 

Focus on where you want to go – the mission is timeless – the vision, the direction is time bound – have the ability to say that is not what we do. The gift of giving NO to the organization.  It maybe great idea, but it is not what we do.  It is not lined up with our vision, our goals.  That ability to say no – that’s where ruthless comes in – is so important to an organization.  I think when people and businesses panic, the money trail becomes very attractive.  

Listen, everybody knows how to lose weight – eat right – eat less – exercise.  Yet it’s a 3 billion dollar business. There is only one way to do it – and it starts with discipline.

Eastern University is a Christian University dedicated to the preparation of undergraduate, theological and graduate students for thoughtful and productive lives of Christian faith, leadership and service.  The University’s vision is dedicated to ideas, inquiry and the development of people of faith who will enhance the quality of society and the church