by Peter Wolf.

We just finished a major event this past weekend (September 29-30). We hosted Experience PRS with more than 700 visitors from all over the world who attended this two day event at our premises on Kent Island. If you didn’t get a chance to be there please catch some of the footage available online and the upcoming coverage in many guitar magazines. I’m sure Modern Guitars has quite a bit of coverage going up in the next few days that will provide you with an inside scoop.

What was it all about? Some people may say it was about introducing the Mira, a new solid body electric guitar we launched this past weekend (press release). Others may say it was about selling guitars and doing business. Some folks may have attended because we had quite an impressive list of artists as our guests or wanted to see how we make guitars, take a factory tour or watch our craftsmen carve away. It was all of the above and it seems people really enjoyed being here and learning more about who we are, what we do and how we do it.

Most importantly, I think we have deepened our relationships with our customers and friends, consumers, dealers, distributors, media and artists. In my opinion, this (creating and deepening relationships) is the single most important thing. Relationships are everything.

We received the following letter Monday after the open house and I would like to share it with you. The letter was received by our customer service wizard Shawn Nuthall who forwarded it to everyone at PRS:

I wanted to write this while still basking in the afterglow of the last few days, so here goes:

Religious discussion is not allowed here, and for good reason. But spirituality is, and the last few days have provided me with a spiritual experience. I feel the way I suspect devout followers of any faith must feel after a particularly inspiring service.

Before you write me off as a nut job, read on…

Paul himself says his vision is fulfilled when a player puts down the guitar he’s been playing in favor of a new PRS. He and his employees have striven to attain that goal for years, and it’s an endless quest. The success of PRS is due to the continuously-reinvented artistic vision and unbelievable work ethic that has embodied PRS for all these years. PRS talks about the ego-crushing experience of being rejected out-of-hand by “Rock stars” long ago. Maybe that’s why it’s so rare to find players with that kind of attitude in the PRS stable.

I had an epiphany this weekend. Most of the people who play PRS guitars are… different. Johnny H is always using the word ‘family’, and if I was standing on the outside, I would probably find it trite, but… he’s right.

The PRS endorsers don’t get paid. They play these guitars because they believe in them. And for the first time, this weekend I noticed something about them – a unifying attribute that they seem to share. Most PRS endorsers are, for want of a better descriptor, good people. They are positive forces in the universe. From Carlos Santana to Johnny Hiland; from the ever-smiling Gary Grainger to the soft-spoken David Grissom, these guys have genuine love in their hearts: for music, for these instruments, and for others who share their philosophy.

I find it to be a stunning revelation that in a world obsessed with a digital-plastic-pop, ‘next-big-thing’ mentality, this oasis of sincerity not only exists, but thrives, fueled by a simple combination of things that seem to have fallen out of favor elsewhere; things like love, dedication, devotion and respect.

I’ve been playing PRS guitars for 22 years, and I’ve never been prouder to say that. I’ve never wavered, because they’ve never wavered.

So thanks to all the PRS employees (you know who you are) who, when I’ve spoken to them about guitars (over the years, and particularly the last few days), exude the same excitement and passion I have always felt for these instruments. Who all seem to understand that guitars have souls, and that they are organic creations that are imbued with the spirit of those who create them.

Thanks to all the players – the big-time guys, and the local heroes; the working stiffs and the collectors – who I spent time with this weekend, and who I never heard utter a word of negativity. Not about another manufacturer, not about a player, not about anything. It was my privilege and honor to shake your hands and spend time with you.

And thanks to Paul Smith, for creating the original vision, and for never resting. For giving me an instrument that lets me soar and for designing and building new chapters in the book that is his vision. For hosting a gathering that transcended its ostensible purpose and became much more, to many people. For providing a time and place where there were no clouds in the sky, and music in everyone’s hearts. Thanks for changing the world.

—Frankie Clarke

To read something like this makes me very happy and proud to be working with a team and for a company that receives such letters, which brings me to the subject I wanted to originally talk about.

Years ago, during my first visit to Hong Kong, I was sitting in a high-rise building office with John and Frank Lee, the owners of Tom Lee Music in Hong Kong who we’ve been working with for a very long time. John had a quote on his desk, which I found fascinating and which prompted a deep interest in their culture and teachings. The quote is: “Do you come to me with a solution or are you part of the problem?”

One of the books I started to read when I got home was about the different levels of leadership and how they impact the well being and success of individuals, organizations and companies.

Essentially, every organization can only be as efficient and successful as possible if every individual is treating it (the company, work place, organization, and hierarchy) as if it was his/her own. Since the majority of people around the world are not self-employed, this camera angle becomes very important.

The Chinese speak of 5 levels of leadership when viewed from an employee’s or subordinate view (5 being the lowest and 1 being the highest level):

#5: People who work for you hate you

# 4: People who work for like you

# 3: People who work for you respect you

# 2: People who work for you love you

# 1: People who work for you think it is their own (company, organization, hierarchy)

Most people who are employed (including their supervisors) can relate to 5, 4, 3 and 2 but it is surprising how many top level executives do not understand the power of this (level 1) basic philosophy when it comes to the daily work environment.

Essentially, it means that you need to make your employee feel like he/she owns and runs the show. Obviously, early on it forces you to be careful in making the right decisions as to who will be promoted or made someone’s supervisor. For example, if you choose an employee to head a certain department or lead a team but he/she doesn’t have the same view, it won’t really help you run a smooth operation no matter how much attention you pay to it.

When I did my apprenticeship in an insurance and banking company a long time ago, I worked with many supervisors and learned to separate different types of people who were in a position of (more) power. Back then, things weren’t as clear to me as they are now. Most of the time I was confused and didn’t understand what was going on, but somehow I knew things weren’t right. What I didn’t know as a young man was that I had contact with supervisors who were weak and incapable. Amongst some of the characters (and I didn’t know any of the following descriptions back then, I learned about them in a more recent publication) I dealt with were Avoiders, Absentees, Egomaniacs, Shoot-the-messengers and Credit stealers, to name a few. I can say that none of these supervisors earned my respect let alone love, and my engagement with these individuals was usually short term, unpleasant and ended rather abruptly.

I was more impressed with supervisors and bosses who I felt were comfortable and confident with themselves, knowledgeable, smart, with a great sense of justice and fair play, who kept their promises and who were honestly interested in mentoring/teaching me. Even if they didn’t understand all the details or levels of an issue, they used their common sense and more importantly, they trusted and followed suggestions of lower ranking team members who were experts in a certain area.

Part of mentoring somebody is that you should know more about the subject than the person you’re trying to mentor and have the willingness to provide all the means to let the mentored person succeed and give them credit for their accomplishments.

Bosses and supervisors who are insecure or incapable don’t really know what to do most of the time (and most of the time do nothing because of it), rarely take a stand and usually wait for their subordinates to provide solutions. They are far too concerned with their own issues to have any time to be leaders who are supporting and developing their team and supporting the career of each individual by helping them to grow. After a while, the usual consequences are frustration and high staff turn-over, which is not helping anybody. The more people are frustrated and de-motivated, the worse it gets and the worse are the results.

Level 1 bosses and leaders are people who know what and who they are (that includes knowing what they are not) and are genuinely interested in improving structures, teams, departments, companies and organizations beyond personal agendas. They are dedicated to their organization (as if it belonged to them) and show a broader responsibility than just their own department or field of responsibility. They are also instrumental in putting the right people in place in order to achieve and improve results for the organization as a whole. They are aware that every individual and team member needs attention and they support their subordinates as best as possible and help them reach their given goals and tasks. These leaders are usually working more in the back ground. They are satisfied with getting good results for the team or organization and do not have to stand in the spotlight because they know there’s enough sun for everybody. Take Mick Jagger and Keith Richards as an example and you know what I’m talking about.

Besides the commitment, it takes time to support your people and if you don’t seem to have it, you need to find ways to make time. True leaders never use up all of their time. They leave enough of it to look further down the road, plan and communicate their plans and ideas with their teams, get feedback and make decisions. Bosses who are always incredibly busy and seem to not have time for anything are not necessarily good leaders. It’s probably more the opposite. What shows is that they are not using their time efficiently, are obviously not delegating enough and are constantly behind the eight ball.

One way of making time is delegating tasks and letting people run with the ball once they have been given the position/task. They may not always do it your way though, and you have to be comfortable with that. Being successful and happy at work motivates people enormously and are strong, positive forces, which impact everyone’s professional and personal life - even one’s physical health.

Peter Wolf