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My name is David and I am a BlackBerry addict. I get up every morning to the alarm set on my BlackBerry 8800 and start the day in bed, checking for messages, news, and updates on the weather. I work out to MP3 files of executive book summaries and music, all stored on my BlackBerry, and spend the rest of the day obsessively “checking” for new messages every five minutes. And I am not alone – I have seen you doing it, too. In the car, on the runway, in the elevator, and even in the grocery store aisles. Some of you – and you know who you are – are even doing it while on vacation at Walt Disney World, standing in line to meet Pooh.

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What About Reverse Mentoring? - You’re never too young or too old to have or become a mentor. Many companies have traditional, even sophisticated mentoring programs.  What about reverse mentoring? Is there anything that more seasoned company executives or board members, who have been doing the same work the same way for the past 30 years, could learn from the new generation?  Could 20 and 30-somethings entering the workforce help the senior leaders become more receptive to innovation?  Could your company benefit from reverse mentors? Click here to read this month’s newsletter – BTW, click here to subscribe and not miss future issues…

IN THIS ISSUE:

When You Damage Relationships
Peter got back to the office and there it was – a strange, rather cold e-mail from an otherwise warm, friendly and favorite client that says something to the effect of, “we need to talk!”  It turns out that “undeniable facts” were completely misconstrued, misunderstood, and mistaken for a direct insult to the sanctity of the project, the organization, and most importantly, the sacred trust they had placed in Peter and his organization in sharing confidential information about an upcoming product launch, board meeting, or M&A event.  Now what?  Read about a few practical steps…

Flight Risk - Top Talent Exodus
Beyond the global war on terror, there is a global war for talent and it encompasses the enormous acquisition and replacement cost of a bad hire.  Effective recruiting requires extensive search, diligent assessment, optimized on-boarding, coaching, mentoring, training and development, and ongoing candid and pragmatic organizational alignment. And, unfortunately, when the fit isn’t right, outplacement with the least amount of disruption to the business. The developmental value and ROI of an organization’s human capital heavily depends on not only these critical components, but also the presence of high performers, as well as high potentials. Drop the ball on any of those and your most valuable asset will walk out the door in the next 12 months.

Losing Your Sight
This past month, I opted to shed a 20-plus year dependency on glasses, contacts, and an assortment of other painful supplies that go along with that regime. For the first two days, I could not open my eyes. I had to sleep with shields taped on both eyes at night and, for the first time, I truly gained an appreciation for vision. The experience made me think about organizations that are visionless and have lost their sight. How can you possibly know where the ship is headed without a compass, a captain, and the wind in your sails?

SIDEBAR:

Bridge Soccer for Success
In the February 2007 newsletter, I asked the question, “What Are You Working on BIG?” Many have replied asking about my efforts to change the lives of 5000 kids over the next 10 years.  At The Nour Group, we’re focusing our time and efforts on The Bridge Soccer for Success program – working with kids who are without role models, direction, or hope.  Click here to learn more about how you can help make a difference in the lives of these kids!

TAMY Awards - May 17^th
Each year, TAMY awards will be given to one emerging firm and one large company in several categories.  You don’t want to miss David Nour’s keynote on Thursday, May 17th on Marketing Enablers for Strategic Relationship Success at the 2007 TAMY Awards.  Click here to register.  You can’t make the event or want a copy of the presentation material?  Click here for the DVD, Booklet or Streaming Video.

Practical Tip: Google Searches
I’ve always appreciated practical newsletters vs. the self-promotional ones.  Get to the Point! (love the name) is one of those.  This past week, they highlighted two practical tips on improving your Google Searches.
1.       Tighten Up Your Search Terms
2.       Put them in Quotations
Simple, practical, applicable.  Why can’t others do the same?

Jane’s Weekend Happenings
Three quick questions of you:
1.       Do you often find yourself scrambling in various newspapers and online resources for what to do this weekend?�
2.       When was the last time you received something practical from your banker?
3.       What are you doing to elevate yourself from all of the market noise that’s competing for mindshare and walletshare amongst your current and prospective clients?�
Well, if you’re Jane Mahoney of the Georgian Bank, you’ve got most people you know looking forward to receiving an email from you on Friday afternoons!  That’s because Jane and the creative folks her bank have come up with their “Weekend Happenings” – a great summary of what’s happening around town which she emails out to her friends on Friday afternoon.

Ask David Nour: Executive Compensation – No Longer Working For Money
Q - What’s Your Perspective on Executive Compensation?
A – It absolutely should be performance-based!  There is certainly something to be said for relevancy of the executive’s experience, particularly given the organization’s requirements both today and in the future.  There is a also a good deal outside of an executives’ control, but a visionary leader who is focused on moving the organization forward should be compensated as much as they can earn.  Here is an interesting perspective - a CEO who is no longer interested in working for money!

Tags: value of relationships, LinkedIn, business relationships, Reputation Capital, relationship currency, collaborate, trust centered relationship, Sales Growth, Co-Opetition, social networking

Q - What’s Your Perspective on Executive Compensation?

A – It absolutely should be performance-based! There is certainly something to be said for relevancy of the executive’s experience, particularly given the organization’s requirements both today and in the future. There is a also a good deal outside of an executives’ control, but a visionary leader who is focused on moving the organization forward should be compensated as much as they can earn.

On that topic, I found it incredibly refreshing to read the letter below last fall, sent to the employees of Whole Foods Market by CEO John Mackey, simply entitled, “I no longer want to work for money.”

To all team members,

I want to announce a couple of significant changes regarding compensation at Whole Foods Market.

First, as you know, we have a salary-cap policy, which limits the total cash compensation that can be paid to any team member. The board of directors has voted to raise the salary cap from 14 times the average pay to 19 times the average pay, effective immediately . . . We are raising the salary cap for one reason only – to make the compensation to our executives more competitive in the marketplace . . . Everyone on the Whole Foods leadership team (except for me) has been approached multiple times by “headhunters” with job offers to leave Whole Foods and go to work for our competitors. Raising the salary cap has become necessary to help ensure the retention of our key leadership . . . This increase to 19 times the average pay remains far, far below what the typical Fortune 500 company pays its executives . . . The average CEO received 431 times as much as their average employee received in 2004, while Whole Foods’ CEO (me) received only 14 times the average employee pay in cash compensation.

Most large companies also pay their executives large amounts of stock options in addition to large salaries and cash bonuses. The average corporation in the United States distributes 75% of their total stock options to only 5 top executives . . . At Whole Foods, the exact opposite is true: The top 16 executives have received 7% of all the options granted while the other 93% of the options have been distributed throughout the entire company.

The second part of today’s announcement has to do with my own compensation . . . The tremendous success for Whole Foods Market has provided me with far more money that I ever dreamed I’d have and far more than is necessary for either my financial security or personal happiness . . . I am now 53 years old and I have reached a place in my life where I no longer want to work for money, but simply for the joy of the work itself and to better answer the call to service that I feel so clearly in my own heart. Beginning on January 1, 2007, my salary will be reduced to $1, and I will no longer take any other cash compensation . . . The intention of the board of directors is for Whole Foods Market to donate all future stock options I would be eligible to receive to our two company foundations.

One other important item to communicate to you is, in light of my decision to forego any future [pay], our board of directors has decided that Whole Foods Market will contribute $100,000 annually to a new Global Team Member Emergency Fund. This money will be distributed to team members throughout the company based on need . . . The first $100,000 will be deposited on January 1, 2007 and requests will be considered after that date.

With much love,
John Mackey

Tags: Keynote Speaker, Reputation Capital, collaborate, Sales Growth, social networking, LinkedIn, Co-Opetition, business relationships, Leadership Development, trust centered relationship

Finding Those Special Someones Takes Time, Effort

By Theresa Minton-Eversole

NEW ORLEANS—Knowledgeable people know a lot of facts and possess a lot of information, but the most successful and prosperous ones also know a lot of people. They identify, build, nurture and leverage relationships to get things done.

It’s called networking, right? Wrong, said David Nour, a consultant who helped kick off the 2007 Society for Human Resource Management’s Staffing Management Conference here on April 23. It’s called relationship economics.

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