PSU, Pitsco CEO partner on leadership course

  Monday, August 28, 2017 2:00 AM
  News

Pittsburg, KS

Before Harvey Dean was the successful CEO of Pitsco, he was a failed track coach.

“Most of the boys who had signed up for the team dropped out before the season was over,” Dean said. “Of the 35 kids that started, only eight or nine finished. We certainly didn’t win any track meets.”

After mulling over the situation and talking to successful athletes and coaches, the solution was clear: instead of coaching harder, he needed to coach smarter. He needed to make the athletes responsible for their own training and success. The only way his athletes could win races and meets would be if they were personally motivated to succeed.

“Being empowered within a structure of responsibility for their individual advancement somehow also fueled their sense of responsibility for the team,” Dean said, “and the boys became each other’s greatest source of support.

“Over the next three years, the Weleetka boys’ track team won three conference meets and three regional meets and placed as runner-up for the Oklahoma State Championship in their division.”

Moving the “locus of responsibility to the individual/employee and the teams,” is the core component of The HOT Plan, a leadership structure that Dean developed and credits with helping Pitsco become the successful business it is today.

“The HOT Plan was the beginning of the transformation of our company culture, our growth, and the secret of our continued success today,” Dean said. “Today, one of our company goals for all of our employees is to help them find their place of ownership and leadership at Pitsco and accept the locus of responsibility for their work.

“When the locus of responsibility is granted and accepted across an entire organization, productivity multiplies and engagement increased and success is magnified.”

This fall, Dean and Pittsburg State University are partnering to promote The HOT Plan and help other organizations learn and benefit from it.

Beginning Sept. 12, Enterprise PSU and America’s Small Business Development Center Kansas are offering an eight-week course based on “The HOT Plan” book that Dean wrote to explain and promote this leadership framework.

The purpose of the course is to help organizations learn about The HOT Plan and understand how its key components can promote innovation, greater productivity and improved workplace morale.

Those who complete the course can earn 1.5 continuing education credits through Pitt State’s Graduate and Continuing Studies office.

“Dr. Dean’s HOT Plan is a wonderful leadership tool that would be very beneficial for our clients, and this program is designed to help small businesses implement all or key components of the HOT Plan in their own companies,” said Sydney Anselmi, director of operations and director of student initiatives for Pitt State’s University Strategic Initiatives unit.

Steve Scott, president of Pittsburg State, has described The HOT Plan program as “magic” that benefits businesses in multiple ways. 

“The HOT Plan gives essential lessons that will make a difference in the top line, bottom line and long-term viability of any organization,” Scott said. “Dr. Dean’s experiences and his insights are difference-makers ready for the taking.”

Registration for the eight-week course is now open and costs $250 per person includes 80 page Hot Plan Action Guide and signed Hot Plan textbook. Organizations that register three individuals can enroll a fourth for free.

For more information or to register, visit http://enterprise.pittstate.edu.