The power of humility.

Frank Blake, the new CEO of Home Depot, understands it.

Here’s a few quick takes following a story on how he’s quickly winning valuable credibility points in all corners of Home Depot — customers, managers, Wall Street, and more than 355,000 employees. (Home Depot boss takes page from founders’ book, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 2/25/07)

1. Honor the Legacy - In his first address to employees of his first day on the job, Mr. Blake chose to read directly from Built From Scratch, the Home Depot biography penned by revered founders Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank. According to [1] BusinessWeek, since 2001, his predecessor, Bob Nardelli, had seen that 98% of Home Depot’s top 170 managers were in new positions; more than half of whom came from outside the company. Blake’s message is, “I respect and admire who you are as a company and what you’ve accomplished, and I look forward to learning, too.”
2. Understand the Environment - Mr. Nardelli had been the central identity figure of the company for years and it was clear that Home Depot was being refashioned as he saw fit. Mr. Blake immediately inverted the pyramid. “You’ll see associates and customers at the top, and me as CEO at the bottom. Blake also took a salary at less than the board offered, abandoned the executive dining room for employee cafeteria and on business trips, eats takeout with employees in the break room.
3. Listen and Connect - Mr. Blake met with some of the company’s most vitriolic detractors — not from his powerbase at Atlanta HQ — but at Home Depot stores. One of which was shareholder activist and attorney, Leigh Baier, who considered a proxy battle not long ago.

Listen to Baier: “We just stood in the lumber department and talked. I basically told him that people are running out of patience and that he needs to lay out a plan to fix the problems pretty quickly. He really seemed to listen and agree. There’s a warmth and comfort level that I just didn’t get from Bob (Nardelli).”

Baier later received a handwritten note from Blake, thanking him for his thoughts and time.

“I operate in the world of big law firms. Everything is faxed or e-mailed. He’s the only person I’ve gotten a handritten note from in a long time. That tells me it’s straight from him an not screened or cleaned up by somebody. I’m pretty impressed so far.”