Move Your Bus

An Extraordinary New Approach to Accelerating Success

Ron Clark

• Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK
• Year: 2015
• Print ISBN: 9781471151682
• eBook ISBN: 9781471151705
• Topic: Negocios y empresa
• Subtopic: Negocios en general

Picture a corporation, business, school or team as a bus. The distance the bus travels represents the goals and progress of the organisation. The bus itself has no gas, and it is dependent upon the people within to provide the energy to move. Imagine there are holes in the bottom of the bus and that everyone must move the bus with their legs. The people on the bus can be divided into groups according to how fast and how far they push the bus. Runners - These individuals are running as hard as possible and are basically carrying the bus. They come early and they stay late. They never complain and their work ethic is strong. They are the reason for the success of an organisation. Joggers - They do their job, and have marginal success. They try to keep up, occasionally sprint, but don't maintain a strong level of effort. They seek to draw attention to themselves as a form of self-validation. Walkers - These individuals are being pulled by the bus, tripping over their feet and complaining, 'Why are we going so fast?' They talk negatively about the business and spread bad energy. Riders - They are dead weight, and cause constant issues. They don't care about overall or personal success. Drivers - The job of the driver is paramount. The driver must steer the bus to the appropriate destination and ensure that all of the passengers are pushing themselves accordingly. Ron Clark draws on his educational experience to show how leaders in all professions can foster the spirit of the runners to allow them to guide the bus, ultimately pushing it as quickly and efficiently towards success as possible.

PART I

Get on the Bus

When I first started teaching, I noticed that some teachers chose to sit at their desks all day while they were teaching. I also saw how the life was sucked out of those classrooms, as the students responded to the lack of movement, energy, and passion. They were like little desk-bound lumps of clay themselves, admonished not to leave their seats or fidget. Other teachers would get up, move around the classroom, and put in a little bit more effort to make their lessons more dynamic. Then there was another whole category of teachers who never slowed down, who had a real pep to their steps. They would be on their feet all day long, bringing a rush of energy to the classroom, flying around the school, dashing to the cafeteria at the end of lunchtime to pick up their students in a fast, up-tempo fashion. Those were the teachers who never seemed tired by dismissal time; they were the ones who were at the school the longest part of the day. They arrived first, and they stayed late for after-school programs. In contrast, the teachers who sat all day would leave at 3:30, as soon as they could. And I gradually came to recognize that the success of the students in each class had a direct correlation to the characteristics of the teacher that they were spending their time with. Energetic teachers were inspiring energetic learners.

So, in my mind, it became almost as if I were in a race. With everything I do, I want it to be different and magical. I’m constantly pushing myself to be the best. I firmly believed that the more energy I brought to the classroom, the more successful my students would be. That notion of a race somehow evolved, in my mind, to the mental image of a long yellow school bus being pushed along by the foot power of the teachers, administrators, and staff. And I started to wonder what would happen if everyone on that bus were running as fast as they could. Surely, not only our students, but also our communities and the entire world would benefit if we could move at top speed to inspire our young people and get them tapped into their own potential.

I’m inviting you to imagine your own bus in any size, shape, or color that works for you. Maybe it’s not a yellow school bus at all. Maybe it’s a long, sleek touring bus with tinted windows that cut the glare or a bright red city trolley with a clanging bell. Maybe it’s a double-decker bus that gives you an elevated view of the road in front of you, or an armored bus, or a party bus, or a campaign bus.

Remember, the bus represents your goals and achievements as an organization, which could be anything from your business to your family unit to the committee you chair for your neighborhood association. And don’t forget that your bus has no gas tank and is therefore not self-propelled—you’re going to pull it along solely with people power.

Are you ready to meet some of the people who might be with you on that bus? Let’s go!

1

Runners need support

Rufus is one of the many people pulling that bus. Every day he arrives at the bus depot bright and early, ready to shift into high gear and run like the wind to keep the bus moving forward. As one of those people with a real need for speed, Rufus loves the momentum, the exhilaration of the wind on his face, and the thrill of passing every other bus on the road. Yet, it isn’t so much that he wants to cross the finish line first or beat his own personal best. It is more that Rufus longs to be part of something really special, something out of the ordinary—a bus that could fly, perhaps. Oh, it may sound farfetched to you! But Rufus has plenty of ideas about how to make that happen, and he’s well known on this bus for his passion. Rufus can make things happen, and he has a way to get things done!

Within every type of organization, it is the Runners, like Rufus, who provide the locomotion. These individuals are working as hard as possible, and they essentially carry the load of the bus. They come early or they stay late. They never complain, and they provide a positive spirit. Their work ethic is strong, and their attention to detail is spot on. They are the strongest members of the team, and they are the driving force behind the success of the organization.

Runners are driven by the goal of professional excellence, and they take pride in contributing to a movement or an entity that is top-notch. Their impetus to work hard is often less about their personal accomplishments and more about the good of the organization as a whole. They truly want to see system-wide success, rather than merely reaping individual accolades, raises, promotions, or awards.

Runners don’t let their egos keep them from tackling the task at hand. They just have an attitude of It has to be done, let’s knock it out, let’s do it. I witness this at RCA all the time. For example, recently we were preparing for a big event—a sneak peek of a beautiful new addition to our school. The brand-new women’s restroom in the newly constructed wing was on display and part of the tour we were conducting; it was gorgeously decorated and sparkling clean, so we didn’t want it to be used. But how were we going to make it clear to our guests that the restroom was for viewing only? The easiest way was to make sure all the stalls were locked. One of our teachers, Wade King, said, “I got you.” He’s a phenomenal educator, he’s widely respected, he has been recognized as a District Choice Teacher and Teacher of the Year during his career—and yet he dropped to the floor and was crawling around under all the bathroom stalls to lock the stall doors from the inside. And he was happy to do it! So Runners don’t make excuses, and they don’t feel above basic tasks. They just want things to get done right.

I spend a lot of time in meetings with corporate executives, including our board members and the corporate sponsors who support RCA. Sometimes I sit back and watch, and I notice a certain way that Runners act in meetings—how they make eye contact with the room, how they don’t talk over others. There are some people who know how to lead a meeting so it keeps progressing, and then there are other people who run over other people’s ideas and don’t add anything of value. Runners have a knack of keeping the meetings moving without missing opportunities. They keep it going, keep it focused, and they recognize the good ideas. And when a Runner is attending a meeting without leading it, he doesn’t get in the way of the meeting’s forward momentum.

In any organization, the Runners usually prove themselves quickly, so they tend to move up in whatever hierarchy exists in that particular organization. In the corporate world, a top performer is often asked to supervise—and, hopefully, motivate—others, as a first step up the ladder. It’s an added responsibility, an added chance to shine by helping others boost their own performance. Big corporations tend to have a clearly defined progression with titles that range from supervisor to department manager to director to vice president. And Runners tend to recognize what they need to do to move up to each level. They’re focused, they’re driven, but they’re also able to stand back and observe, to figure out what it takes to move up.

At our school, it works like this. Every week, hundreds of educators come to watch our teachers in action. We are like the circus, where the greatest act gets the biggest tent. We send visiting teachers to the best spots, the most dynamic classrooms. So when you first start out as a teacher at RCA, you have to prove yourself before you’re going to be observed by visitors, or conduct a workshop, or hold court. Our teachers all want those visitors in their classrooms. They are pretty much rabid to have more time with the visiting educators because we all share the goal of making a difference in the lives of others. And the Runners figure out what it will take to make that happen.

Unfortunately, Runners tend to devote so much time to their job that they often neglect their personal lives. It’s important for leaders to keep in mind that even when their Runners seem happy and appear to be thriving at work, they may be dealing with difficult circumstances at home. If you can tell that your Runners are putting their jobs first, then you need to realize that someone else is most certainly being put second—possibly the Runner’s spouse, his friends, or even his children. I have often heard Runners say they feel guilty about spending less time with their own kids in order to contribute to the organization; yet they continue to make the same choice to put their job first. I have also seen Runners neglect their health in their zeal to put the organization first. They eat on the run, go without enough sleep, and often skip their gym appointments in order to sustain their strong work ethic.

As a leader, when you are dealing with these high-achieving Runners, you have to keep in mind the sacrifices they are making. You also have to treat them with some amount of reverence—and by this I mean tempering your criticism and allowing some things to slide, because you don’t want to break the spirit of a Runner. If a Runner’s spirit is broken, he won’t run as fast and, in turn, you will be slowing the entire bus.

And while Runners are indeed the backbone of an organization, they still need support and direction in order to keep up their hectic pace. They may also need some guidance in terms of how to work well with others, particularly their slower colleagues, who may feel some resentment toward them. I have learned a lot about how to manage Runners effectively, and you’ll find strategies to do the same as you read on.

I once worked at a school with a teacher who was incredibly negative, even though her students always had extremely high test scores. She complained constantly and was always bad-mouthing the administration. When I developed the parable of the bus, I thought back to that teacher and wondered how to categorize her. She sure had good outcomes, but her demeanor was that of a pessimist; she certainly didn’t uplift anyone around her. So was she a Runner or a Walker? I finally decided that she was a Runner going in the wrong direction! If you have a high-performing negative force in your organization, that can be even worse than a having a Walker on your team, because that person may be forcing the bus to go backward.

It is very tempting just to let Runners do their thing and pay very little attention to them. After all, they do the most for the organization, they seem to be heading in the right direction, and it’s much more tempting to focus your energies on the problem areas, not the areas where you’re seeing success already. But this is actually not the best strategy for dealing with Runners, as we will find out just ahead.

2

Joggers want validation

Joan has a great job on the bus, and she just knows that she does it very well. She is steady and methodical. She pulls the bus along at a brisk yet carefully controlled pace; no one has to give her a boost! Joan knows every safety procedure on every checklist well—after all, that is part of her job description. Occasionally, the bus driver asks her to develop a new safety protocol, and she is okay with doing extra work like that because she always receives praise for it and, hey, it makes her look good! If there is one thing that rattles Joan just a tiny bit, it is that guy Rufus. When she arrives at the depot every morning, he is already there, flexing his muscles and doing something that seems a bit unnecessary, like polishing the bus. She likes and respects Rufus, but sometimes she wonders if he is a bit of a show-off.

In the big picture, Joggers aren’t really hurting anything. They are steady and dependable; they do their jobs and have some amount of success. They tend to be fairly punctual and conscientious about following the rules. Joggers really do try to keep up, and while they will occasionally break into a sprint, they simply don’t maintain that high level of effort over the long haul. They don’t slow the bus down, but they don’t make it fly either. They definitely contribute to the forward momentum of the bus—although at a slower pace than Runners do—and for that reason they are valuable to an organization.

Joggers will usually meet basic expectations about things like being on time, meeting deadlines, and being dressed appropriately for the occasion. They will often even rise to meet certain high expectations, like coordinating a special project in a stellar fashion. But they really do not exceed expectations on a regular basis. They simply aren’t going to blow your mind, day in and day out. And in some instances, that may be okay.

In education, there’s a certain stereotype about coaches that illustrates what I’m trying to say about Joggers. I don’t mean to throw coaches under the bus, but there’s a general perception among educators that not every high school basket ball or football coach is also the best educator, so he’s just kind of coasting along in his teaching duties—until it’s time for that big game. Then the coach is killing it, going for the win, screaming from the sidelines, finding ways to motivate his players and carry the team to victory. It’s always amazing to me when I see a coach inspire his players to improve or excel on the football field or the basketball court, but I’ll admit it’s rare that I see the same coach carry that sort of intensity over into his classroom.

So you’ve got people like this who can switch into high gear when they’re called upon to do so or when the stakes are high, but they don’t always perform at that level. That’s the hallmark of a Jogger. Often they do okay for themselves. In the business world, there are many job positions that can be filled quite adequately with Joggers who can accelerate as needed to close that big sale, pull off a spectacular fund-raising gala, or get the quarterly financial report written, designed, and printed on time. And let’s face it: there are times when a business leader might find that sort of trade-off acceptable or even advantageous in advancing certain organizational goals. To go back to my coaching analogy, if your school is already known around the world for academic excellence but you lack a championship-winning basketball team, who are you going to hire? And how will you evaluate that person’s job performance? It sometimes comes down to a balancing act, where you have to juggle competing interests. I wish everyone on my bus could be a Runner, but I know that isn’t realistic.

One curious thing I’ve noticed about Joggers is that they honestly feel they are doing the best that could ever be expected of anyone, because they are fairly meticulous about performing the tasks they were hired to do. This might be because most Joggers are not inherently lazy, but rather lack a bit of confidence about their abilities—or perhaps tend to pour most of their energy into the tasks they’re already the most skilled at and confident about, while coasting through the others. It may also be that Joggers place a higher value than Runners do on work-life balance and are reluctant to let their personal lives slide in order to advance their organization. In many cases, however, and depending on the environment they work in, Joggers may fall just short of the desired performance because they don’t often go above and beyond the duties outlined in their job descriptions.

Yet, invariably, if you ask a Jogger where she fits into the organization, she will swear she is a Runner. Sometimes I’ll be doing a book signing after speaking to a group of educators, and a teacher will say to me, “Hey, you know that story you told about that bus? Well, I’m one of those Runners.” And I’ll think to myself, Hmm, Jogger. I’m not trying to be snarky here. I figure they’re Joggers because Runners don’t feel the need to let everyone know they’re top performers; Runners make their contributions to the organization because they want to improve the whole, not because they are looking for praise or attention. I’ve found that Joggers often desperately want to be recognized as Runners, even though they really aren’t. They tend to have a burning need for validation from others.

So, for example, RCA once hosted a major corporate event at our school in Atlanta. Attended by our current corporate sponsors and potential corporate supporters, it included business executives from all over the country. This event required months of planning and effort, in part because it was decorated so elaborately, and my entire staff worked exceedingly hard on this immense, ambitious project. At the event that evening, my Runners did a phenomenal job of mingling, talking with guests, making that emotional connection with people. I love my Runners because they’re good conversationalists who know how to listen and to say, “Tell me more about you.” But I also noticed a Jogger there, someone who had worked very hard on the event, and her conversations that evening were centered on the effort she had put into some specific aspects of the decorations. She was pointing out to the corporate sponsors what she had done. So for her, it wasn’t about the event or building strong relationships with corporate sponsors; it was more about “Let me tell you how hard it was to make this happen!”

Joggers often take on one large project every year, and while they are immersed in that project they very much want everyone to notice that they are doing something that requires special effort. They seek attention for that project not because it helps the organization but because they have a strong personal desire to be recognized for doing something above and beyond basic job requirements.

In the education world, there’s a running joke about these one-big-project-per-year teachers, who I think of as the Egg Hatchers. So, for instance, if you’re a third-grade teacher, every year your current students might do a science project that involves carefully incubating hen’s eggs until the chicks hatch and then caring for the chicks in the classroom. When that first little chicken starts pecking its way through the shell, it’s like everything else has to stop, becau...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half-title page
• ALSO BY RON CLARK
• Title page
• Copyright page
• Dedication page
• Contents
• Foreword by Sean Covey
• Introduction: What does a bus have to do with my business?
• Part I: Get on the Bus
• 1. Runners need support
• 2. Joggers want validation
• 3. Walkers lack motivation
• 4. Riders are dead weight
• 5. Drivers steer the organization
• Part II: How to Accelerate
• 6. Get there early
• 7. Wear your good clothes
• 8. Say hello
• 9. Sit with the Runners
• 10. Ask for help
• 11. Accept criticism
• 12. Clean the windshield
• 13. Take the hint
• 14. Listen more than you talk
• 15. Stay in your lane
• 16. Change the conversation to change the culture
• 17. Allow the Runners to reap the rewards
• 18. Exude a sense of urgency
• 19. Find solutions
• 20. Realize you are not entitled to this job
• 21. Be credible
• 22. Pay attention to details
• Part III: How to Map the Route
• 23. Allow Runners to shine
• 24. Help Joggers to be their best selves
• 25. Show Walkers how to improve
• 26. Equip people to meet your expectations
• 27. Go right to the source when there is a problem
• 28. Show appreciation
• 29. Enjoy the ride
• 30. Conclusion: Where do we go from here?
• Epilogue