Leading by Example: Eight Lessons for Leaders Striving to Pull Their Companies Out of the Red

Though the forecast for the economy is starting to improve, the plight of recession-weary businesses is still difficult. If you’re struggling to find a way to motivate your employees when offering money isn’t an option, here’s some advice for you: Focus on becoming a great leader. There are few things your employees will appreciate more. 

By Charles Garcia 

After months of economic tough times, a glimmer of light is starting to appear at the end of the proverbial tunnel. Rather than being harbingers of doom, economic news stories are now starting to look ever so slightly brighter. This improved economic forecast will likely have many company leaders looking for ways to motivate their employees to keep up the hard work necessary for navigating their companies into calmer waters. Unfortunately, despite the recent economic uptick, most company leaders still can’t offer what they view as their greatest motivational bargaining chip with their employees—the almighty dollar.

Fear not. Money isn’t the only way to rally your troops and boost morale during this crucial time. In fact, positive, strong leadership can often garner far greater results than offering money or other perks ever could.

Too often businesses assume that offering more money is the only way to motivate employees. The reality is that employees value having strong leaders, who motivate them to do their best, just as much if not more. And there’s no greater defense against a tough economy than a workforce motivated to do their absolute best.

As an alum of the White House Fellowship program, one of the most prestigious leadership programs in the country, I know the value of quality leadership.

There’s never been a more appropriate time for the rest of us to look to great leaders for inspiration. The lessons that can be learned from the White House Fellows mentors are universal and absolutely invaluable to any business leader smart enough to heed them.

Remember, all the money in the world won’t keep a hardworking but unhappy employee with your company. But follow the leadership principles that help you better motivate and encourage that employee and she will be just as invested in making your company a success as you are.

Using insightful, firsthand accounts from past program participants, my new book, Leadership Lessons of the White House Fellows: Learn How to Inspire Others, Achieve Greatness, and Find Success in Any Organization (McGraw-Hill, 2009, ISBN: 978-0-07-159848-4, $24.95), explores the leadership lessons that former White House Fellows said they took away from their year working under some of the best of the best in Washington, D.C.

Leadership Lessons of the White House Fellows includes twenty timeless tenets of successful leadership, each illustrated by multiple inspiring anecdotes. Here are eight lessons from some of the nation’s greatest leaders:

LEADERSHIP LESSON #1: Energize your people. Your employees have just helped you pull your company through one of the nation’s worst economic periods. They’ve been constantly bombarded with bad news in their own lives and in their work lives. It’s time they had a source of positive energy. Who better for them to turn to for that kind of encouragement than you, their leader? Instead of being the type of leader who sucks the energy away from others, resolve to be the kind of leader who strives to bring passion and positive energy to the workplace every day.

 

THE STORY BEHIND THE LESSON: John Patrick Gallagher

U.S. Major John Patrick Gallagher (WHF 07-08) learned about leadership from General David Petraeus. General Petraeus was a colonel in the 82nd Airborne Division at the same time Gallagher was assigned to the division as a second lieutenant. One day Petraeus called his brigade together and asked them who could tell him the number one leadership priority of the brigade. The answers ranged from integrity to professional and tactical competence to marksmanship until finally someone hit the nail on the head. The answer? Physical fitness.

“We all thought he was kidding, and we couldn’t for the life of us figure out how that could be the number one priority in the brigade,” recalled Gallagher. “But we learned later that he was right. Self-discipline and being able to perform under pressure and exist outside our comfort zone would be the key that unlocked our success.”

Petraeus began leading his troops through seventy-five minutes of intense exercise every morning. And with every pull-up, push-up, and sprint, the brigade became more alert, had more physical and mental energy, and more individual and team pride.

“All those other things we wanted to do well got better, whether it was marksmanship or vehicle maintenance or soldiers going on leave and not getting arrested for DUI,” Gallagher said. “All these other indicators went up when Petraeus created this climate of self-discipline. He boiled down his leadership approach to this: Am I giving my subordinates energy or am I taking it away? Put another way, am I leading in a way that causes my subordinates to be more enthusiastic and creative about doing their jobs—to believe more deeply in what they are doing and why they are doing it—or am I leading in such a way that it is stifling growth and enthusiasm? If the latter is true, the job may still get done by the sheer force of your legitimacy or presence, but it doesn’t get done as well and it doesn’t last after you’re gone. Petraeus knows how to lead in such a way that it gives his subordinates energy. That’s an incredibly powerful leadership tool.”

Since leaving his Fellowship, Gallagher has been using that tool daily in his role as Director for the War of Ideas and Strategic Communications at the National Security Council’s Office of Iraq and Afghanistan Affairs. 

LEADERSHIP LESSON #2: There’s more to life than work. Great leaders have deep reserves of physical, spiritual, and emotional energy, and that energy is usually fueled by a strong and supportive relationship with the people they love, regular exercise, a healthy lifestyle, and setting aside time for reflection. 

Sure, you want your employees to stay focused on moving your company forward, and you might feel like it’s important to keep everyone’s noses (including your own!) to the grindstone right now, but it’s also summer time. There are barbecues and baseball games to attend, warm days to be spent at the park or by the pool, and much-earned vacation time waiting to be used! Encourage your employees to spend time with their families, whether it results from taking an afternoon off or going on a week-long vacation. Doing so will help them power up for the difficult work to come. And remember to give yourself the same respect! 

THE STORY BEHIND THE LESSON: Doris Kearns Goodwin

At 6:00 a.m. on a cold January morning in 1973, presidential historian, Pulitzer Prize-winning author, and NBC news analyst Doris Kearns Goodwin (WHF 67-68) received a call from former President Lyndon B. Johnson, with whom she had become a trusted confidante while working on his memoirs.

“He told me to get married, have children, and spend time with them,” Goodwin said. “He talked about how he should have spent more time with his family, because that’s a different and more worthy kind of posterity than the public one that he had been seeking throughout his entire political career. That would be our last conversation, because he died of a heart attack two days later—but what a wonderful thing to leave me with.”

Goodwin heeded Johnson’s words. For example, she turned down the chance to be considered for the position of head of the Peace Corps during the Carter administration because she knew it would re
quire her to travel often and be away from her young children. Over the years she’s concluded that those who live the richest lives manage to achieve a healthy balance of work, love, and play.

“To commit yourself to just one of those spheres without the others is to leave open an older age filled with sadness, because once the work is gone, you have nothing left—no hobbies, no sports,” Goodwin said. “Your family may love you, but they are not in the center of your life as they might have been had you paid attention to them all the way through. And I always argue that the ability to relax and replenish your energy is absolutely essential.”

 

LEADERSHIP LESSON #3: Put your people first. No organization is better than the people who run it. The fact is that you are in the people business—the business of hiring, training, and managing people to deliver the product or service you provide. If the people are the engine of your success, to be a great leader you need to attend to your people with a laserlike focus.

 

THE STORY BEHIND THE LESSON: Mitchell Reiss

Mitchell Reiss (WHF 88-89) has seen firsthand that a leader’s focus on his or her people is an incredibly powerful tool. He learned that valuable lesson during his White House Fellowship from his principal, the National Security Advisor and former Secretary of State and former White House Fellow Colin Powell.

“Two weeks after I started my Fellowship, there was a picnic over the weekend for the National Security Council staff and their families,” Reiss recalled. “We got there promptly, but General Powell was already there helping set up, helping cook the burgers and hot dogs, and personally greeting every single person, not just on the staff but their families. He came over to me and knew not only my name but introduced himself to my wife, Elisabeth, and thanked her for allowing me to work the hours that I worked at the NSC. He told her she should feel that she is part of the NSC family as well.

“That very brief but very personal interaction with Powell had an extraordinary impact on her. After he left, she turned to me and said, ‘You better do a good job for that man. If you need to stay late at work, I will never complain.’ That’s the sort of transformative impact that leadership can have, and I was able to see it up close and personal with Colin Powell. This lesson was invaluable when I later worked at the State Department, where I tried to replicate this sense of teamwork and compassion.”

 

LEADERSHIP LESSON #4: Act with integrity. In a time when news reports are filled with the stories of private and public leaders who’ve acted inappropriately and have gone against the best interests of their employees or constituents, showing your employees that you value integrity can help motivate them and create a sense of pride for your organization.

 

Remember, the actions of great leaders are consistent with their words. Saying the right thing doesn’t mean much. Doing the right thing means everything when you want people to follow you passionately. By acting with honor and integrity, you build trust with your followers.

 

THE STORY BEHIND THE LESSON: Dennis Blair

During his Fellowship, Dennis Blair (WHF 75-76)—current Director of National Intelligence, former Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, retired four-star navy admiral, and former Rhodes Scholar—was one of a group of special assistants to Housing and Urban Development Secretary Carla Hills. He witnessed how Secretary Hills fought to maintain an honest, aboveboard environment despite ample opportunities for duplicity.

“The Department of Housing and Urban Development has been rocked by one scandal after another over the years,” Blair explained. “It moves a lot of money around and sends it down to the local level, where things can get pretty raw…There’s just a lot of potential for corruption, but one of the leadership lessons I took away from that assignment was from the tone that Carla Hills set. She was fiercely, unflinchingly determined to do the right thing and never batted an eye about it. Whenever misconduct came to light, she dealt with it quickly and effectively, firing people if necessary and then moving on.”

During Blair’s year in Washington, President Ford was up for reelection. The president and his cabinet, including Hills, were under intense pressure to run a winning campaign. Although everyone’s job was at stake, Blair saw no one abuse his or her power or resort to cheap tactics to influence the election.

“Carla Hills never came in and said, ‘We’re in trouble in Ohio. I want to push some Section 8 money toward Ohio, and I want a big publicity drive so we can turn out a lot of votes there.’” Blair said. “There was none of that. They played by the rules and fought fair and always tried to do the right thing.”

During his own career, Blair had several opportunities to “shade his principles” for his own benefit, but chose not to. On at least one occasion, doing the right thing cost him dearly. Although he couldn’t provide details, he did reveal that because of his leadership role he had a shot at becoming vice chairman or even chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. To be considered for one of those jobs, he would have had to modify his philosophy and change his leadership style to please a new administration. He chose to stick with the methods and values he had developed throughout his career.

“It wasn’t that difficult a decision,” he said. “Certainly I would have relished the chance to make more of a difference in that higher position, but I was not willing to change my philosophy or my style. I had too much confidence in my approach to change it even though I knew that meant I wasn’t going to move up further in the organization.”

 

LEADERSHIP LESSON #5: Be a great communicator. If your employees aren’t heeding your advice or company protocols, the problem likely lies with you, not them. Are you using the methods of communication they prefer? Are your messages clear and easy to understand? Leadership is about influencing others, and this cannot be achieved without the ability to communicate. If you’re struggling with communicating to your employees, first work on your ability to influence individuals by choosing words that are impactful to carry your message. Then you need to figure out how to communicate to a larger audience.

 

Remember to be open and honest with your employees. Communicate to them how the economy is affecting the company and where you would like to take it in the future. And always keep in mind that your actions truly speak louder than your words.

 

THE STORY BEHIND THE LESSON: Marsha “Marty” Evans

After learning the value of quality communication from her Fellowship principal, U.S. Treasury Secretary William “Bill” Miller, Marsha “Marty” Evans (WHF 79-80) carried on the tradition in her work with the Navy.

In 1986, former Fellow and Naval Academy Superintendent Chuck Larson (WHF 68-69) tapped Evans to be one of six battalion officers at the Naval Academy—the first female battalion officer in Navy history—placing her in charge of the training and well-being of hundreds of midshipmen. The academy was meant to be a place of discipline and decorum, but occasionally a lower classman would slip up by wearing nonregulation clothing. When Evans saw a third classman in a Budweiser t-shirt one day, she assumed there had been a breakdown in communication.

“I remember the lecture so well,” Evans recalled. “I said, ‘You know, my own basic leadership belief is that people generally want to do the right thing, and if they’re not doing the right thing it’s because they haven’t been trained properly. They haven’t somehow had the be
nefit of the teaching and the leadership of their seniors. So, I can only come to the conclusion that this youngster is wearing this t-shirt because he has suffered from faulty communication by his midshipman chain of command.’ Each person in the third classman’s chain of command was held accountable and punished.”

Evans’s commonsense approach to encouraging better communication in her organization helped her create a more cohesive team and also garnered the Navy’s attention. She was promoted steadily throughout her thirty-year career and retired as a two-star rear admiral, one of only a few women to attain the rank. Since leaving the military, Evans has used her outstanding communication skills in her roles as director of the Girl Scouts of the USA and president and CEO of the American Red Cross.

 

LEADERSHIP LESSON #6: Be a great listener. The most effective leaders are the ones who take the time to listen not just to their team members’ words but to the priceless hidden meaning beneath them. Remember that during good times and bad, sometimes your employees just need someone to talk to. Communicate to them that you are always waiting with open ears.

 

THE STORY BEHIND THE LESSON: Cesar Aristeiguieta

Cesar Aristeiguieta (WHF 02-03) was assigned to work with Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson during his Fellowship. It wasn’t long before the young White House Fellow noticed an important leadership trait in his principal that he hoped to nurture in himself: Secretary Thompson was an outstanding listener.

One example of this came during a meeting with food industry executives who were brought in by Secretary Thompson to discuss their role in the rise in childhood obesity. The executives essentially told Thompson that the government should stay out of their business.

After listening to them for almost an hour, Aristeiguieta recalls that Thompson responded with the following: “‘I’ve heard you. I understand your concerns. Now I need you to tell me how you, as an industry, can help address this public health issue.’ Then he just sat back and listened again. Pretty soon they were talking about how they could step up and participate without being forced into it—how they could begin putting more healthy food choices on their menus and those kinds of things—and by the end of the meeting the tone had changed dramatically. They weren’t attacking the secretary anymore. They were actually pleased, and they felt that they were part of the dialogue, and in fact, they probably went further than the secretary really expected them to go at that point.

“From that meeting I learned the value of listening. I’ve tried to incorporate that into my own leadership style in my work as director of emergency medical services and disaster preparedness for Emergent Medical Associates and also in my role as an assistant professor in emergency medicine at the University of California-Davis.”

 

LEADERSHIP LESSON #7: Be a problem solver. Several years ago I returned from a business trip to find that my assistant had hung a gigantic fifteen-foot-long wooden sign above his office door. The sign reads, “Don’t Bring Me Problems. Bring Me Solutions.”

 

I suggest that you post a similar sign and then set about the task of guiding each person on your team toward the goal of becoming a top-notch problem solver during this crucial period. Sure, it takes time and effort to teach problem-solving strategies to your people, but when you experience the payoff, you’ll know it was an investment worth making.

 

THE STORY BEHIND THE LESSON: Julia Vadala Taft

In 1975, President Gerald Ford chose former White House Fellow Julia Vadala Taft (WHF 70-71) to direct the resettlement of refugees from Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos after the collapse of Saigon. The resettlement program brought 131,000 refugees to the U.S. in six months. There was no template and no time plan. The work just had to get done, and Taft directed it all with humor, grace, and a backbone of steel.

During her career as a public servant, Taft helped reshape the Refugee Act of 1980, and helped organize relief for the people of war-torn and disaster-ridden countries throughout the world, including 25 million flood victims left homeless in Bangladesh, displaced people in Burundi, victims of a poison gas incident in Cameroon, the people of the Sahel and Ethiopia who were suffering from a widespread famine after a locust plague, and 800,000 refugees driven from Kosovo.

When she died from colon cancer in 2008, former White House Fellow and longtime friend Colin Powell was quoted in the New York Times obituary section as saying that Julia Taft “was an image of American openness and generosity. Her professional life was committed to people trying to get by on a dollar a day, those who are hungry, without clean water, without medicine, without homes.”

Taft’s obituary in the Washington Post on March 19 stated, “It was her ability to bring order to chaos—plus her willingness to get on a plane, helicopter, jeep, or riverboat to go almost anywhere that enabled her to make a difference. Whether in the White House, a refugee camp, or meeting with government and [nongovernmental organization] officials, she knew how to get people moving.”

 

LEADERSHIP LESSON #8: Lead through experience and competence, not through title or position. For more than four decades, by pairing young people with established leaders, the White House Fellows program has given hundreds of young Americans the tools, experiences, and mentors necessary for them to become confident, well-prepared problem solvers and leaders.

 

And if you want to survive the tough economy, that’s exactly the kind of leadership motif you’ll adopt for your organization. Mentor your employees, encourage them, make partners out of them, and your organization is sure to benefit.

 

THE STORY BEHIND THE LESSON: Arthur “Gene” Dewey

The ability to help propelled Arthur “Gene” Dewey (WHF 68-69) from his post as assistant to a high-ranking military officer into a White House Fellowship at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). Dewey’s principal at USAID, Bill Gaud, put him right to work. He sent Dewey to Nigeria where USAID was spending a great deal of money supporting those caught up in the Nigerian-Biafran war, and Gaud wanted to make sure all of the supplies were getting through.

Dewey found that the Nigerian Air Force was shooting down relief planes during the night airlifts, and so he hatched a plan to get food in by using a combination of sealift and riverboats. He presented the idea to Clyde Ferguson, President Nixon’s special representative for Nigeria-Biafra at the State Department. Ferguson asked him to come work for him for a couple of weeks on what was dubbed the Cross River Scheme.

With no previous experience coordinating large-scale relief efforts, Dewey set about the task of making the project safer and more efficient. As the efforts to bring relief to the people of Biafra—just over 3 million people fell under the plan—continued, Dewey became more involved in the diplomacy required to set up a formal, enduring procedure for getting food and other supplies to the Biafrans. Unfortunately, the Biafran leader, Governor Ojukwu, refused to accept the plan even though it was clearly designed to benefit his people. Ferguson and Dewey were heartbroken.

Then Dewey had a fateful meeting with an initially very negative Catholic bishop on the island. The bishop complained that the U.S. was not doing enough to help the Biafrans. Dewey informed him that Ojukwu was the one holding up the agreement while his people suffered. He then explained the Cross River plan to the bishop, whose attitude gradually softened. The conve
rsation closed with the bishop promising that when Ojukwu came to confession later that week, he would have a talk with him and get him to change his mind.

Dewey was skeptical. But just a couple of days later, after he had arrived back in New York, he received a call telling him that General Ojukwu would accept the proposal.

Dewey says that the greatest leadership lesson he learned from his White House Fellowship was the necessity of being prepared and becoming an expert. His title as a White House Fellow meant virtually nothing as he designed and tried to execute the Cross River plan in Nigeria. What counted were his expertise and his attitude.

 

Just because the economy has been slow and businesses have experienced set-backs, does not mean the fundamentals of leadership need to change. The leadership qualities espoused by mentors in the White House Fellows program translate perfectly to the workplaces and the government offices of 2009 America. Decide today to start motivating your employees by being the best leader you can be and you’ll all go far, despite the bad economy.

# # #

 

About the Author:

Charles P. Garcia is a former White House Fellow, graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy, Columbia Law School graduate, and best-selling author. In 2006, he sold his investment banking firm, which grew from three people to sixty offices in seven countries; Inc. magazine identified it as one of the top ten fastest-growing privately held companies in the United States. Garcia was named entrepreneur of the year by three national organizations. He is on the board of Fortune 500 companies and serves as the chairman of the Board of Visitors of the U.S. Air Force Academy.

 

For more information about him, please visit www.charlespgarcia.com.

 

About the Book:

Leadership Lessons of the White House Fellows: Learn How to Inspire Others, Achieve Greatness, and Find Success in Any Organization (McGraw-Hill, 2009, ISBN: 978-0-07-159848-4, $24.95) is available at bookstores nationwide and all major online booksellers.

I was introduced to a real stress-reliever while in Thailand; a most amazing practice, and one that all new expats come to love. It was the wonderful Thai massage. It is usually performed by strong young girls, however I did notice a few males in the trade. One hour of this relaxing massage and most women would be able to negotiate with a terrorist. What a warm and muscle-stimulating practice it is – for most people. I have a problem with pain. I admit it. I have no tolerance for pain and don’t try to hide it.

After a few trips to the massage parlors around town, I’d earned a reputation as Madame Ow-Ow. The tiny massage girls all seemed to be amazed that I could be so sensitive. As soon as I appeared in the waiting room, I’d hear the giggles start. Fine, giggle all you want – just don’t hurt my body. Like it or not, they had to use a little less muscle with me. One of the little power-houses literally left her fingerprints on my arms and legs in the form of purple circles. I warned her about my condition before she started on me; in fact, I showed her some old bruises that the last girl had left on my rump. She obviously had no clue why I was pointing to four round dots on my butt, but as was the norm in this land of smiles, she giggled and began leaving her own marks. Giggling I later learned, can also be the Thai way of hiding embarrassment. Bruises or no, I kept going back – possibly because it felt so good when they stopped. Okay, I admit it, I’m a masochist.

Seeing all the massage parlors in town brought back memories of an earlier visit to Thailand. I had to laugh as I remembered being introduced to the words: “Physical Massage.” It was in the 70s and we were expats living in Iran. My husband, feeling we had earned this treat just by living in that hotbed, had surprised us with a week of R&R at Pattaya Beach. On our first day there we decided to let the kids enjoy the pool while we read and soaked up the sun. We were half asleep when my youngest son, about ten years old at the time, came running up to us. “Dad! Can I have ten bucks?”

“Whaa for?” my half-asleep husband asked.

“That lady over there said to bring ten bucks and she’d give me a good massage.”

At these not so soft-spoken words, we both sat up – as well as most of the people around the pool – and looked in the direction my son pointed. And there she was, a beautiful Thai girl who looked to be no more than sixteen, standing in her shimmering red gown, leaning seductively against the massage parlor door, smiling the sweet Thai smile and motioning for my son to come to her.

“Uh, I think not, son,” I said.

“But, why?” he whined in his usual “you love her more than me” voice while pointing to his sister. “You give her money all the time. Can’t I just have ten bucks?”

Honey,” I whispered, “she’s not a nice lady. She’ll take your money and God knows what she’ll do to you. Besides, massages are for grown-ups. Wait until you’re older, then you can pay for it.”

“Paaaleeez,” he cried plaintively.

By now the male population around the pool was sitting upright, awaiting our decision.

“No! And that’s final,” said my husband in a not-so-final voice. This was not the answer my son wanted to hear. He was the kind of kid who never would accept the word “No” and could argue you to the ground until you cried “Uncle!”

“She said it was good for me,” he yelled in his outdoor voice. “How could she hurt me, Mom? Dad could go along with me to make sure I got my ten bucks’ worth.”

“No.” I said, this time in my outdoor voice. “No more talk of massages.” I turned to my husband for reinforcement, but he was busy putting a bookmark in his novel. “Go back to sleep,” I said, “you’re not going anywhere either.”

One of the best massages I found was in an old run-down home outside of town. The Hilton Hotel Spa it was not, but you soon overlooked the lack of fluff for the wonderful treatment you received. The house was over 100 years old, with cracked windows, torn curtains, sagging sills, patches of linoleum missing here and there, and a musty smell that permeated the whole environment. The interior walls in the center of the house had been removed and the space had been converted to a large dormitory-type room, with mats laid out side-by-side on the floor. Much to my discomfort, air conditioning (or air-con as the Thais say) was sadly absent in this old house. The AC phenomenon was introduced to Thailand with the advent of the farangs invading their land. The Thais don’t seem to feel the heat as the farangs do. When the temperature drops to eighty-five degrees, it might move them to put on a sweater.

Now, I could handle everything else in this place, but when the weather was at its worst, the massage room became one huge sauna and bordered on feral. I tried to get there early before it became too warm. Warm, as in 100 degrees F. The place lacked the niceties of Muzak and ambiance, but it was home to some wonderful girls.

The Blind Student Massage School, appropriately named, was home to young girls who were clinically blind, but who gave wonderful massages. The girls were mainly from poor villages where their parents were unable to get help for them. They were brought to Bangkok by Good Samaritans and schooled in the art of Thai massage. Once trained, they were sent to Pattaya and other towns to live with their benefactors, working to earn their keep. The Thai couple who owned this establishment gave the girls a home to live in, in exchange for their massage work and a small salary. They did very well on their tips and always thanked us profusely. We did wonder how they knew how much we tipped.

The routine went something like this: After check-in, you were given a towel and a pair of cotton PJs – designed to fit a ten-year-old – then escorted to individual vapor steam rooms the size of a small shower, with a bench seat for snoozing. After disrobing, you’d be saturated in wonderful mystical aromas of incense, eucalyptus steam and various other herbal delights. It took me five minutes of this heaven before I would doze off and dream I was Eve, lolling about the Garden in my birthday suit. When you’d yell “Uncle” they’d scoop you out of the shower, help you on with your PJs, and lead you to the massage room and the assigned mat on the floor. What joy! You were clean, warm, snugly, and then the fun began.

The girls would first try to identify you – a game they all played with giggles and excitement. They’d begin by running their sensitive little fingers over your face and downward. By the time they reached your legs they could identify you. Of course, with me, as soon as I uttered “Ow-Ow” I was caught, and had to listen to a chorus of giggles wafting through the room. I still think it was unfair; when they couldn’t immediately identify me, they’d give a pinch to hear my Ow-Ow.

After one hour of this heaven you were escorted to the co-ed shower room where you’d find the usual male opportunists – showering, changing clothes, urinating, or sitting and watching you do the same. At first it was difficult, but over time I would envision myself as Raquel Welsh – loin cloth and all – and didn’t feel quite as modest.

At this same establishment they offered haircuts, facials, manicures and pedicures – I asked for the sighted girls for these jobs -’all for less than ten dollars. If you came in for a wash, you were put on what looked like a hospital gurney and rolled to the shampoo bowl. The first time I experienced this I was a tad apprehensive. Okay, where’s the operating room? But it turned out to be another treat for the pampered farang. They had a very inventive way of preparing you for the shampoo by slipping one end of a rubber tray under your neck, while the other end drained into the shampoo bowl. Why don’t we have this technique stateside? What a simple concept: the water doesn’t drain down your neck, leaving a soggy blouse; no wet towels to deal with, and no concrete slab for your arthritic neck to bala
nce on. You’re in a lying position and soon you’re fast asleep.

Along with these wonderful shampoos would come a head massage, neck and scalp massage, and anything else you wanted massaged. The shampoo was something all the expat ladies looked forward to; three washes, three rinses, and a twenty-minute head and neck massage.

Other pleasures to the senses were the trips that many of the ladies took to Bangkok for beauty treatments. The salon offered massages, hair and nail services, and pedicures. It was heaven to spend the day being pampered. If you were in a hurry it was the best place to go. To gain entrance you had to ring a buzzer, wherein the manager would greet you at the door and ask you three questions: (1) Are you in a hurry? (2) What services do you want? And (3) Whom would you like to have work on you? If the answer to number one was in the affirmative, the manager would assign as many girls to you as you had appendages; one girl for each hand for manicures, one girl for each foot for pedicures, one girl for cutting, curling and blow drying your hair. Watching all these girls working on me, I felt I was being prepared for a Thai barbecue.

It was marvelous if you needed to be in and out quickly, but made it quite difficult to read a book.

(Reprinted with permission from A Broad Abroad in Thailand by Dodie Cross).

The modifications look great! You say your client and his buddy did it? Well I can see they are very talented. I just have one question. Did they get the proper permits and have the job inspected?

Maybe it’s just me, but I seem to have run into more than my fair share of home renovation projects lately that have the “missing permit syndrome”.

I sell Charlotte NC real estate. One home I came across yesterday had a recent major renovation done. The tax records didn’t jive with the square footage listed in the MLS. Tax records not consistant with the actual home size, happens all the time. So do home renovations. The flag for you as a real estate agent, is the obvious home renovation, like this one.

The garage was converted and an extra bathroom was added. They must have been inspired by HGTV because everything looked over the top gorgeous. This was a beautiful job. It looks great on the surface, but how can you tell if there are any underlying problems?

After talking with the listing agent, he said he “was sure the updates had permits. My seller did a professional job! Heck, look at the workmanship”. I persisted after his puffing and insisted he get verification from his sellers. Two hours later I get the call back. “We may have a problem”.

I told him “There is no we, and there is no may. You and your Sellers definitely have a problem”.

The Seller never pulled electrical, structural, HVAC, or plumbing permits. They didn’t “think” there was a need as they knew how to do it right.

So the extra 400sqft, and the beautiful bathroom, and the new cool breeze, have a red badge of courage.

Here in Charlotte NC, you can still have all of this inspected and permitted retro. It just takes time and extra work (if the work was done up to code). And even if it’s not up to code, it can still be fixed. Again, more time and extra work.

But what if nobody asked? What if assumptions were common practice?

Permits and inspections are for everyone’s benefit. They are to insure the quality of the work and safety of the occupants of the house. You may be surprised on how many homes are infected with the missing permit syndrome.

Some real estate agents take the visually pleasing addition way too casually and take many things for granted.

I recommend you make darned sure you ask if permits and inspections were completed. In addition, let your Sellers know the ramifications if they weren’t. If the house burns down after closing…or it floods due to an excessive rain; your sellers can look for a non-disclosure lawsuit. Pretty serious stuff. Failure to Disclose about building permits is a big issue that puts the Sellers (and everybody involved in the sales transaction-you, the sellers agent) in jeopardy. There may be homeowner insurance issues as well.

These questions should ring true for Buyer agents as well. It can also prove to be a big problem for future buyers down the road when they go to sell the property. I’m sure many of you can think of other ramifications.

And for the unfortunate buyer who bypasses an agent and deals directly with Mr. FSBO, Caveat Emptor.

Failure to Disclose about building permits is a big issue that puts the Sellers (and everybody involved in the sales transaction) in jeopardy. God forbid an electrical problem from the work causes a fire or the plumbing causes some awful backup or costly leak. There may be homeowner insurance issues as well. It can also prove to be a big problem for future buyers down the road when they go to sell the property. I’m sure many of you can think of other ramifications.

We all know the mantra chanted by brokers: disclosure, disclosure, disclosure.

But how do you disclose if you don’t ask the right questions? Ignorance is not bliss concerning the basics of building permits and not when it comes to Charlotte NC Real Estate.