Defining Moments Reveal to Others Who We Are

Major changes can be defining moments for a company. Whether launching a new product, acquiring new customers, the arrival of competitors, countless circumstances can bring us to defining moments.  How the organization and its leaders respond or react can be a defining moment. Yes, this is more insight from Leadership Gold...one of my (Cindy) favorite books!

Maybe you have heard of Joel Manby who was a high level executive for 20 years in the auto industry, spent time as CEO of Herschend Family entertainment which owns Dollywood and other theme parks, was the CEO of SeaWorld for a number of years and is now a faculty member of Maxwell Leadership.

While I have fond memories of taking our daughter Renee to SeaWorld when she was quite young, it was before the time SeaWorld was in a national controversy after the release of the documentary Blackfish.

Don Yaeger, a sportswriter, author, and speaker shared Joel’s story in ChiefExecutive.net and what I heard him describing were defining moments within the organization as well as for Manby himself.

When Joel took over as CEO of SeaWorld they were in the middle of this controversy.  The Blackfish documentary had brought forth concerns around the dangers of having captive orcas and highlighted safety concerns to humans including several trainers who had been killed by their orcas.  Concerns were mounting for trainers but they also documented concerns for the safety and well being of these killer whales kept in captivity.

One of SeaWorld’s most vocal critics was Wayne Pacelle, the CEO of the Humane Society of the United States, an organization seeking to close SeaWorld.  Both Manby and Pacelle were told not to trust the other.  I’m not sure who initiated the meeting but they each decided to think for themselves and decide on their own to meet up and see if they could find some common ground for the greater good of all involved.

These two leaders started meeting privately and came together to solve problems and find common ground between the two organizations. Coming together for solutions was a defining moment for these organizations and their own leadership.  In what previously looked like potentially millions of dollars in legal fees, the loss of employment for many, and massive losses for stockholders, they came to an agreement that would help not only the people in the middle but also the orcas. For the agreement to stop their breeding program of these killer whales, the Humane Society would support SeaWorld publicly.

As a result of their partnership, SeaWorld’s favorability rose from 35% to 70 percent positive in 6 months!  And SeaWorld was worth far more after Blackfish came out and improvements were made than before. 

Rather than creating a more polarizing environment, these CEO’s defined their leadership as they chose to trust one another and together work out something that was better for America.  They are a great example of a quote in Leadership Gold which says, when leaders respond to defining moments correctly, everyone wins.  When they respond incorrectly, everyone loses.