Applying the Samurai Code in Your Daily Life

Many have asked for suggestions on how to apply The Code of the Executive in their lives so that this ancient wisdom comes alive on a daily basis. The following are a collection of ideas for moving forward gathered from our executive workshops, corporate retreats, and members of TEC, the worldwide CEO membership organization:

• Take five minutes in your weekly management meetings to share an insight from the book and engage everyone in dialogue. Have everyone on the team take turns bringing an insight. Everyone may see something different and relevant. Questions that may help stimulate discussion are:

• How well is this principle working in our organization?
• What impact would this principle have on our company if we behaved this way?
• What can we do to improve this way of being? Or, what is stopping this way of being from occurring in our organization?
• What would have to change to have this principle be part of the fabric of our culture?
• Who will lead this change?

• Hold a two day retreat away from the office to develop a Code for your team:

• Review the strategic context of your business and understand what is at stake.
• Surface the “real issues” everyone is thinking but no one is saying.
• Create Code consisting of behavioral agreements around those areas of critical importance for team success.

• Engage your customers in conversation around principles that would further improve the value of your relationship with them. These could be focused on areas of shared value or on areas where you are having difficulty. Then develop a Code for each other focused on these issues. These behavioral agreements could even address issues of integrity, honor, cooperation, respect, and reliability.

• Add the sentences you highlighted in this book to your daily planner, screen saver, or outgoing voicemail message as gentle reminders of the Code.

• Have a Code of the Executive workshop session at your next professional or industry association meeting to explore:

• What common principles are valued in your association? Develop behavioral agreements around those areas?  Where are the weakest areas in member companies that a theme conference or workshops could address?

• Conduct an annual retreat for executives to discover how to create an organization-wide Code that guides the implementation of the core values of your organization.

• Explore with other executives in other firms how applying principles of the Code could effect positive change in your community, or the world at large. For instance, in what project could apply the principles of Bravery and Honor make a difference?

• For a peer or subordinate you are having a conflict with, identify what elements of the Code are being violated that is causing you stress. Have them read the chapters in question and then schedule a meeting where you:

• Review the behaviors you expected to see from honoring such a Code
• Review the observed behaviors that are causing you stress.
• Ask why there is a gap, and what suggestions they have for improvement.

• Review the text you highlighted in this book with your spouse and family. Where could agreements on principles help improve your relationship and quality of life as a family?

• Start a Code of the Executive support group of like-minded individuals from different departments or companies.

• Join a professional support organization that continues to challenge your thinking

FAMILY: Working Better with Family Members
HONOR & RESPECT: Ways of Integrity, Bravery and Honor

ACCOUNTABILITY: Maintaining Integrity Around Results

Excerpt from the Best-Selling book The Code of the Executive by Don Schmincke.