We all go through changes. Jobs come and go, positions come and go, age creeps up on us as years go by, and the list goes on. What is so ironic to me is that change is occurring all around us, but for the most part people don't embrace change. Status quo seems to be fine for most folks. Go to your pantry and check the food items - do you have the same type of cereal today that you have been eating for the last year, or two, or three? Me too - you are not alone.
The idea of embracing change, rather than coping with it, seems to be a farfetched idea for some people. Over the years I have watched hundreds, if not thousands, of employees at all levels deal with change, and they were all different. The ones I watched grow, become educated, promote, create a following, and deliver the best cutting edge results were the ones that embraced change, and actually worked at making change happen.
I have always said "you are in one of two places in life: you are either making decisions for others to live by, or you are living by decisions other people make... I want to be in the first group"... That has been my mantra for years. I like to be in control and driving change. I embrace moving from the status quo into the unknown. Don't get me wrong, I still live by decisions other people make, I am not atonomous in my life, but I work hard at creating change for others.
Think about your work life for a moment. Each time a change comes around (a new system comes out, you are moved to a new team, your job goes away and you have to change, your leader lets you know your job description has changed, etc.)how do you handle it? Do you jump in the middle of it and work at helping others see a clear vision of what the future looks like and a path to get there, or do you automatically put up the walls of resistance and skepticism, dig in your heels, and act like a pack mule being pulled from the corral?
Embracing change is a mindset. It is a way of life. Today I am taking my daughter to ASU to start her first year of college. Her vision is wrapped around classes, books, financial aide, what will her dorm look like, who will she be rooming with, and the list goes on. For me, I am thinking about the foundation she is laying for her future. The lifelong friends she is going to make, the education that will pave the way for her career, the cutting edge concepts she will learn about her field, how she will use this as a catalyst for driving change for others to live by.
Being a leader is a tough role. You get the glory, but you also get the challenge of (as Warren Bennis put it - "herding cats"). If you accept a role as a leader then don't be a resister to change. Embrace it. Ask yourself how you can constantly change your business, what will help you become more profitable, what will help you be more efficient, where can you bring new concepts to the table, how can you get better at delivering the idea of change to your team/organization and how can you make change easier for people to swallow.
Getting stuck in the same ol' day to day routine, and thinking your job/life are secure will only bring one thing, a huge wake-up call at some point. You live amass changes all the time (i.e. you are reading my thoughts on this page and I may not even know you - 5 years ago this wasn't even possible) - technology, lifestyles, businesses, neighborhoods, relationships, careers, etc. The sands are ever shifting and while you don't have full control in life, you do have the ability to accept change, and to create little waves here and there that will make a difference in your own life and the lives of those around you.
Final thought for the day - when was the last time you read a book that caused you to think differently about the work you do, prompted you to change how you interact with others, and helped you make a difference in your workplace. If you can't remember the last time this happened then you are probably living status quo, and if you can remember the last time it happened you are probably one of those people who is on the edge of, or fully involved in, being a change leader.
Don't wait for changes and then adapt. Get out there and make things happen - shake it up a little - make your workplace a breeding ground for new ideas, concepts, technologies, and spend more time making decisions that affect other people, rather than just living by the decisions other people make.
See you on the left...
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Friday, August 14, 2009
What did you mean by that...
I have an important presentation coming up soon. Don't get me wrong, it is not about solving our healthcare system issues, I'm not introducing a cure for breast cancer (wish I could have, Mom), or even figuring out how to ensure Social Security will be funded so those little slips of paper I get from the government on how much I will earn when I retire at 75 are worth more than the litter box liner I use them for today.
Nope, my presentation is simply another in a string of thousands I have done in which I have a finite amount of time, a couple of ideas I need to get across to some important folks in our company, and an audience who I am sure are sitting at home right now, or in the office, thinking to themselves "oh god, I can't believe in a week I am going to hear John speak"... Geez, only if I was E.F. Hutton in real life ;o)
I have no dilusions of grandeur that when I speak people lock in on my words like a fighter pilot on his target, just waiting for the right moment to be epiphenized (I made that word up, so don't even go to dictionary.com and try to find it...). However, it is quite different. I do care about my audience and the value of their time, and my goal is always to provide something that will resonate with them and either put them at ease that "things" are covered, or inspire them to action beyond what they were doing when they entered the room. So, how do you bring the right balance of style, content, passion, and inspiration to your presentation.
Easy - plan it out. I am amazed at the number of speakers I have heard who think they have something to say, yet put on the spot they have much to speak about, but they are only taking up other tax payers oxygen and I am sure strip-mining the mental landscape of those around them. I like to think that preparation is not about being "canned" in how you present your info, whether in an elevator, on the car lot with a potential customer, in the meeting room, or any other venue of choice in which your mental garble gets woven into the fabric of getting your point across in a meaningul fashion.
So, learn to "frame it up" (normally I would use the term "f it up" to shorten the phrase, and allow for creative licsensing in how you present, but for now I will keep this once cleaned up a little). Framing is just what you think it is - a framework that, when shared with others, allows them to follow a natural progression of logic and understand your point in a way that is not like putting together a 1000 piece puzzle of similar colored kittens with your grandma (even though I used to love that...). Framing for success is as simple as thinking at the right altitude for your audience at 3 levels: What is important, How are we doing, and What is our priority to improve. Now, listen close men, your wife already does this with you, but you really need to know how to do this with her if you ever want to be successful in staying out of a therapists office because you are simply "misunderstood"...
What is important is where most people get stuck. Human nature likes to jump down to the priorities to improve, and hope everyone listening understands what is important, and how we are doing today... but, that assumption has led to many leaders getting the mental crap kicked out of them with a barrage of questions that could have been answered by framing it right the first time. I have never seen a house where they installed the carpet first, then the plumbing, then the carpenters started the roof, then the frame and drywall... HALT! - you get my point. There is a natural progression to building a house that if not handled correctly and coordinated effectively will lead to overuse of the warranty within the first 3 months.
I know, I know... get to the point, John... The point is, What is important requires thinking, pontificating, mental tennis on the courts of reason, etc., etc., etc. If you know what is important and you can portray that to your audience they are going to feel more comfortable that everything that follows is geared towards that pinnacle idea. To do this, find out what is important (hint - it usually relates to one or more stakeholders - Employees/Customers/Shareholders, and it also usually relates to one of the three parts of your business - Financial/Operational/Relational). Once you frame up a few points of "what's important" you can move on to answering the question of "how are we doing" because now you have the framework so you can put on the siding of performance to expectation.
Framing up how you are doing is not that hard. It can be qualitative or quantitative - even though most quantitative data requires a qualitative discussion (outputs are only measurements of the result of inputs, and numbers are ultimately an output of behaviors of people, the org, the market, etc. - don't over complicate the issue here)... The real test of a good framing incident is when the "how we are doing" does not include anything about what we are going to do next. It is the yellow brick road that leads to the Emerald City of "so what are we going to do about it"...
Priorities to improve. Ahhhhh, finally, we got to where I wanted to start - (this is how most people think - I knew I was going to say this, why waste my time doing the other stuff?). Well, it's pretty simple Skippy, people are smart, they have questions, they think using logic, data, and they need to see the pieces of the puzzle as it goes together so the picture has more meaning. PTI, as I will call it, should always relate back to what's important, and should always be a natural response to how we are doing. Let me share an example before I close this blog out...
It is important that when you read a blog you get some meaning from it that will allow you to either feel good, go take action in life, laugh out loud, or cause you to think in a way you didn't before.
Today I am writing about things I love, that are dear to me, and have some meaningful application to life. I also include content that makes you chuckle, think, and sometimes motivates you to watch mindless You Tube garble just to clean out your mental closet.
My priority to improve is to keep writing, keep sharing, and keep taking feedback to ensure I include meaningful, fun and actionable content for those so daring to read my writing.
That's important, that's how I am doing today, and that is what drives me to be different (and hopefully better tomorrow).
So, go forth and start framing. Frame up your emails, your presentations, your conversations with your kids or spouse or friends or family pet, and see if you get the result of less meaningless questions, and start getting more meaning out of your interaction (or more face licks from the pooch).
See you on the left...
Nope, my presentation is simply another in a string of thousands I have done in which I have a finite amount of time, a couple of ideas I need to get across to some important folks in our company, and an audience who I am sure are sitting at home right now, or in the office, thinking to themselves "oh god, I can't believe in a week I am going to hear John speak"... Geez, only if I was E.F. Hutton in real life ;o)
I have no dilusions of grandeur that when I speak people lock in on my words like a fighter pilot on his target, just waiting for the right moment to be epiphenized (I made that word up, so don't even go to dictionary.com and try to find it...). However, it is quite different. I do care about my audience and the value of their time, and my goal is always to provide something that will resonate with them and either put them at ease that "things" are covered, or inspire them to action beyond what they were doing when they entered the room. So, how do you bring the right balance of style, content, passion, and inspiration to your presentation.
Easy - plan it out. I am amazed at the number of speakers I have heard who think they have something to say, yet put on the spot they have much to speak about, but they are only taking up other tax payers oxygen and I am sure strip-mining the mental landscape of those around them. I like to think that preparation is not about being "canned" in how you present your info, whether in an elevator, on the car lot with a potential customer, in the meeting room, or any other venue of choice in which your mental garble gets woven into the fabric of getting your point across in a meaningul fashion.
So, learn to "frame it up" (normally I would use the term "f it up" to shorten the phrase, and allow for creative licsensing in how you present, but for now I will keep this once cleaned up a little). Framing is just what you think it is - a framework that, when shared with others, allows them to follow a natural progression of logic and understand your point in a way that is not like putting together a 1000 piece puzzle of similar colored kittens with your grandma (even though I used to love that...). Framing for success is as simple as thinking at the right altitude for your audience at 3 levels: What is important, How are we doing, and What is our priority to improve. Now, listen close men, your wife already does this with you, but you really need to know how to do this with her if you ever want to be successful in staying out of a therapists office because you are simply "misunderstood"...
What is important is where most people get stuck. Human nature likes to jump down to the priorities to improve, and hope everyone listening understands what is important, and how we are doing today... but, that assumption has led to many leaders getting the mental crap kicked out of them with a barrage of questions that could have been answered by framing it right the first time. I have never seen a house where they installed the carpet first, then the plumbing, then the carpenters started the roof, then the frame and drywall... HALT! - you get my point. There is a natural progression to building a house that if not handled correctly and coordinated effectively will lead to overuse of the warranty within the first 3 months.
I know, I know... get to the point, John... The point is, What is important requires thinking, pontificating, mental tennis on the courts of reason, etc., etc., etc. If you know what is important and you can portray that to your audience they are going to feel more comfortable that everything that follows is geared towards that pinnacle idea. To do this, find out what is important (hint - it usually relates to one or more stakeholders - Employees/Customers/Shareholders, and it also usually relates to one of the three parts of your business - Financial/Operational/Relational). Once you frame up a few points of "what's important" you can move on to answering the question of "how are we doing" because now you have the framework so you can put on the siding of performance to expectation.
Framing up how you are doing is not that hard. It can be qualitative or quantitative - even though most quantitative data requires a qualitative discussion (outputs are only measurements of the result of inputs, and numbers are ultimately an output of behaviors of people, the org, the market, etc. - don't over complicate the issue here)... The real test of a good framing incident is when the "how we are doing" does not include anything about what we are going to do next. It is the yellow brick road that leads to the Emerald City of "so what are we going to do about it"...
Priorities to improve. Ahhhhh, finally, we got to where I wanted to start - (this is how most people think - I knew I was going to say this, why waste my time doing the other stuff?). Well, it's pretty simple Skippy, people are smart, they have questions, they think using logic, data, and they need to see the pieces of the puzzle as it goes together so the picture has more meaning. PTI, as I will call it, should always relate back to what's important, and should always be a natural response to how we are doing. Let me share an example before I close this blog out...
It is important that when you read a blog you get some meaning from it that will allow you to either feel good, go take action in life, laugh out loud, or cause you to think in a way you didn't before.
Today I am writing about things I love, that are dear to me, and have some meaningful application to life. I also include content that makes you chuckle, think, and sometimes motivates you to watch mindless You Tube garble just to clean out your mental closet.
My priority to improve is to keep writing, keep sharing, and keep taking feedback to ensure I include meaningful, fun and actionable content for those so daring to read my writing.
That's important, that's how I am doing today, and that is what drives me to be different (and hopefully better tomorrow).
So, go forth and start framing. Frame up your emails, your presentations, your conversations with your kids or spouse or friends or family pet, and see if you get the result of less meaningless questions, and start getting more meaning out of your interaction (or more face licks from the pooch).
See you on the left...
Friday, August 7, 2009
What did I come here for again?
I was in a meeting with a team of "newbies" to the company yesterday. It was my chance to introduce myself, tell them about the company, let them know about our culture, and impress them with some of my whitty humor (I am still convinced more people in this case laugh from nervousness rather than my quippy humor... but my ego tells me I am the Jay Leno of the conference room)... After all was said and done I did the normal question and answer session [dead silence - as usual]. Then from the back of the table came a rather profound question that I hadn't been asked in this situation in a long time - "how do you motivate your people?".
Now you have to understand something about what I hold as my values and opinions about employees (at any level). I believe people want to get three things out of the work they do. 1) they want to do something they are passionate about (this is a tough one), 2) they want to feel their daily contribution of the work they do is part of a bigger cause, and 3) they want to make money to support their lifestyle.
Most leaders asked about how they motivate people will give you the same age old answers: "I make it fun to work here", "I joke with my people (love the term "my people" - I call it the Moses syndrome - so, if that is how you refer to the people you work with - let your people go)", and my all time favorite "I try to be their friend as well as their boss" - there are thousands more ways people try to answer that question, some good, some not so good; in any case my goal is to answer that question here. How do I motivate people?
People, for the most part, want to be inspired. Why do you think Barnes and Noble has done so well over the years? It is an inspiration hub. People are inspired by other people, places, things, etc. Some people are inspired by music, some by their favorite authors, some by great speakers, some by their own reflection in the mirror, some by nature, some by giving to others, some by teaching, some by being taught, and the list goes on. We live our lives to be inspired, we seek the next adventure of having our hearts and minds enlightened by an event, a spoken word, something that causes our emotional meters to go haywire and drives us to return to that form of euphoric energy that compels us to feel, assess, act, and want to be more than the sum of our parts. Inspiration moves us to action...
So, when asked how I motivate people, the answer is simple - I find out what inspires them (either in the moment, or in their lives) and then I empower them to release their passion while doing their day to day job. Sounds complicated, but it really is not. For some of the people I work with music is important to them. They know their favorite genre, the bands/singers/musicians, that really get to them, and listening to music while at work allows them to engage inspiration while working (thank goodness for the iPod and personal MP3s - used to everyone had radios and that sparked a whole new set of issues with one persons inspiration being another person irritant). Some people like to read their favorite authors, some enjoy surfing the web, some love gadgets, computers, geeky things like stats (oh, that's me - I just raised my hand)... whatever the case I create an environment ripe for inspiration.
Then I provide vision. What is to come - how we are part of a bigger cause. My goal this year is to bring in customers we have the priviledge of serving and let them meet with the folks that are responsible for interacting with them every day. I have done this several times over the years in different situations and what I find is that empathy for the customers situation, mixed with the reality of their experience from their own words, inspires people to act differently with the other customers they deal with.
Not a tough concept, but execution of the idea is key. Being part of a bigger picture is an age old concept. The idea that my action/thoughts shared/ideas/etc are input to a larger more powerful machine that can accomplish what I believe to be bigger than life itself is important. People serve God (yes - I did use that term in the singular) because it satisfies a personal need to be driven/forgiven/loved by a being that is the ultimate in power and universal control. Any work they do because they are inspired by the power of their experience means they are contributing to a cause that is eternal, much larger than they are, more complex than they will ever be... but to be a part of that is spiritual, moving, and satisfying. It is the same in the workplace. "People don't leave companies, they leave Managers"... I have heard this line oh so many times in my career and each time I do my BS meter goes off...
People leave companies because they lack good insight to a bigger vision, a connection to a larger cause through the work they do (and usally a low-life, non-caring, micro-managing, egotistical manager is not good at sharing vision - but I won't pick on them at this point). A relationship with the person you work "for" is good, but the people we are drawn to are the ones who make us feel special, like we matter, and they follow those who lead with vision. You don't even really need charisma, but you do have to posess the ability to instill visions of serving a larger cause to move people to action.
For years, I put in 10-14 hours a day without blinking (mind you, it did catch up with me after awhile and I cut back to 10-13 hours a day), but during that time I was inspired by my leaders - those people who showed me "line of site" into why the work I was doing was chaning the face of business. People in the business world were counting on my ideas, my inspiration of a staff of people... I belonged to a cause that was much greater than the sum of it's part. I was motivated by that, I was inspired by the customers, business leaders, speakers, employees (even the gal behind the coffee counter that was working to make her way in the world by supplying the java habit of other inspired laborious hacks like me...), and that inspiration fueled my fire... What I was doing "mattered" and that is what counts...
So, find your inspiration, seek out the fuel that drives your very reason for being, and if you are not in a job that is satisfying you, helping you reach your dreams, making you feel you are part of something special and great, well, get out. Find a new place to rest your laurals so you can be inspired and inspire others.
I have found that it isn't love that makes the world go round (it actually has to do with some force in the universe that allows us to spin at a high rate of speed and through gravitational pull we stay put, but that wouldn't be a quippy close), it is the act of inspiring and being inspired. So, take notes, find out what inspires you, and go forth, be inspired, and find a way to inspire others....
See you on the left...
Now you have to understand something about what I hold as my values and opinions about employees (at any level). I believe people want to get three things out of the work they do. 1) they want to do something they are passionate about (this is a tough one), 2) they want to feel their daily contribution of the work they do is part of a bigger cause, and 3) they want to make money to support their lifestyle.
Most leaders asked about how they motivate people will give you the same age old answers: "I make it fun to work here", "I joke with my people (love the term "my people" - I call it the Moses syndrome - so, if that is how you refer to the people you work with - let your people go)", and my all time favorite "I try to be their friend as well as their boss" - there are thousands more ways people try to answer that question, some good, some not so good; in any case my goal is to answer that question here. How do I motivate people?
People, for the most part, want to be inspired. Why do you think Barnes and Noble has done so well over the years? It is an inspiration hub. People are inspired by other people, places, things, etc. Some people are inspired by music, some by their favorite authors, some by great speakers, some by their own reflection in the mirror, some by nature, some by giving to others, some by teaching, some by being taught, and the list goes on. We live our lives to be inspired, we seek the next adventure of having our hearts and minds enlightened by an event, a spoken word, something that causes our emotional meters to go haywire and drives us to return to that form of euphoric energy that compels us to feel, assess, act, and want to be more than the sum of our parts. Inspiration moves us to action...
So, when asked how I motivate people, the answer is simple - I find out what inspires them (either in the moment, or in their lives) and then I empower them to release their passion while doing their day to day job. Sounds complicated, but it really is not. For some of the people I work with music is important to them. They know their favorite genre, the bands/singers/musicians, that really get to them, and listening to music while at work allows them to engage inspiration while working (thank goodness for the iPod and personal MP3s - used to everyone had radios and that sparked a whole new set of issues with one persons inspiration being another person irritant). Some people like to read their favorite authors, some enjoy surfing the web, some love gadgets, computers, geeky things like stats (oh, that's me - I just raised my hand)... whatever the case I create an environment ripe for inspiration.
Then I provide vision. What is to come - how we are part of a bigger cause. My goal this year is to bring in customers we have the priviledge of serving and let them meet with the folks that are responsible for interacting with them every day. I have done this several times over the years in different situations and what I find is that empathy for the customers situation, mixed with the reality of their experience from their own words, inspires people to act differently with the other customers they deal with.
Not a tough concept, but execution of the idea is key. Being part of a bigger picture is an age old concept. The idea that my action/thoughts shared/ideas/etc are input to a larger more powerful machine that can accomplish what I believe to be bigger than life itself is important. People serve God (yes - I did use that term in the singular) because it satisfies a personal need to be driven/forgiven/loved by a being that is the ultimate in power and universal control. Any work they do because they are inspired by the power of their experience means they are contributing to a cause that is eternal, much larger than they are, more complex than they will ever be... but to be a part of that is spiritual, moving, and satisfying. It is the same in the workplace. "People don't leave companies, they leave Managers"... I have heard this line oh so many times in my career and each time I do my BS meter goes off...
People leave companies because they lack good insight to a bigger vision, a connection to a larger cause through the work they do (and usally a low-life, non-caring, micro-managing, egotistical manager is not good at sharing vision - but I won't pick on them at this point). A relationship with the person you work "for" is good, but the people we are drawn to are the ones who make us feel special, like we matter, and they follow those who lead with vision. You don't even really need charisma, but you do have to posess the ability to instill visions of serving a larger cause to move people to action.
For years, I put in 10-14 hours a day without blinking (mind you, it did catch up with me after awhile and I cut back to 10-13 hours a day), but during that time I was inspired by my leaders - those people who showed me "line of site" into why the work I was doing was chaning the face of business. People in the business world were counting on my ideas, my inspiration of a staff of people... I belonged to a cause that was much greater than the sum of it's part. I was motivated by that, I was inspired by the customers, business leaders, speakers, employees (even the gal behind the coffee counter that was working to make her way in the world by supplying the java habit of other inspired laborious hacks like me...), and that inspiration fueled my fire... What I was doing "mattered" and that is what counts...
So, find your inspiration, seek out the fuel that drives your very reason for being, and if you are not in a job that is satisfying you, helping you reach your dreams, making you feel you are part of something special and great, well, get out. Find a new place to rest your laurals so you can be inspired and inspire others.
I have found that it isn't love that makes the world go round (it actually has to do with some force in the universe that allows us to spin at a high rate of speed and through gravitational pull we stay put, but that wouldn't be a quippy close), it is the act of inspiring and being inspired. So, take notes, find out what inspires you, and go forth, be inspired, and find a way to inspire others....
See you on the left...
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Pushing the noodle uphill...
As I look back on my career (as early as last week) and think about the number of times I believed I had the power to alter someone's behaviors/character through my actions I have to laugh. I started 20+ years ago in Leadership and honestly I had the belief I could change people. I was wrong, but it took me years to realize that. (So let me bring the 800 lb. gorilla into the room so we don't have to go outside to see it...) Coaching, while the intent is good, is useless when your aim is at quantum growth. There, I said it - and now everyone can take a deep breath and start thinking of how egotistical I must be.
Okay, I am introspectively narcissistic (it's kind of like being a narcoleptic insomniac - talk to your doctor if you need more info). I really value my own opinion, but I value the fact it is right above just the fact I have one (I like myself - and it took me thousands of dollars and years on a counselor's couch to finally admit that - so don't take that away from me...). Enough about me, let's get back to coaching for ineffectiveness...
Just like Sesame Street's version of "one of these things doesn't belong here..." when it comes to making quantum change in an organization and sticking with the old form of "coaching for results" your quantum leap can quickly become trivial drudgery. Don’t get me wrong – there is a place in the workforce at all levels for identifying behaviors, telling someone what behaviors you see them exemplify, telling them the behavior they need to exemplify and then pulling a Professor Cluso (standing back and watching them through your legitimate power magnifying glass – otherwise known in some circles as micro-management). Based on the 1920’s idea of the “Hawthorne Effect” (Google it…) people will tend to do better when you pay attention to them.
But, and this is a big but, one to one development will never get the quantum change you can get by taking a one to many approach. People are smart, and so often, the front line of the organization is viewed as expendable labor. What’s funny is “expendable labor” comes right after revenue on the top line of your favorite financial report. So, sometimes we look at the frontline as this hunk of labor cheese and when it is time to cut cost the best way is to “cut the cheese” (had to throw that in for my daughter Madison) and push the other parts of the team to do more work. Seems logical, and for most sweatshops, and outsourcers, it seems to work just fine; again, no quantum leaps here, just playing trivial hop-scotch in your organization again.
So, how do you accomplish one to many developments? Simple, it comes from tapping into the very essence of what is happening in every moment of truth with your customers. You have to define what is important, define how you are doing against those things today, and put priorities in place to improve. If customer experience is most important to you and creating a better experience that yields higher satisfaction levels, or sales you need to go to the source – go where the action is… TPS calls this genchi genbutsu – or go to where the work is being done (another blog all together).
If you define your needs by thinking “customer:back” and tap into the teaching and learning power of your frontline by engaging their knowledge and expertise and helping them become teachers of knowledge you will win.
Here is what that looks like. I had the opportunity to change a decent sales force into a much better sales force while with a company I worked for. When I started I could read the back of the box we sent to the customer and get the same conversation on the phone (“our product will… it is great because… you can save time by…) and the ABC (always be closing) concept was grating my nerves like nails on a chalk board. So, I took a "one to many" training approach to alter the overall thinking of my organization. Long story short, I built bridges and relationships with all of my internal and external suppliers and customers that were aimed at developing my sales force.
I certified them in the product so they knew it inside out (how it worked, what it did, how to install it, why it did it) and then I married my sales force to the marketing team (I mean, who better understands the customer than those folks using demo/psychographics to divide customers into yummy little segments that are willing to improve our wallet share with the right messaging…). We created a partnership that actually allowed those people interacting with the customer thousands of times per year (frontline) to produce their own marketing materials to target customers. Marketing spruced up the winner and sent it out to 250K customers (not a huge segment, but the right segment), and my sales force started to understand branding, messaging, engaging, segmenting, and all the other fantastic tools to identify and reach customers. They became hungry for more info coming from marketing that would help them target better identification of their customers and improved sales.
Now that we understood the customer better from a marketing perspective, and the tools were second nature to use, I tackled the idea of “easy to install and use”. This was our mantra and wow did it get used like a pair of Michelins on a teenager’s car. I spent days during the week taking sales people away from their normal day and placing them in the customer’s process (at their place of business). We would install product (threw out the idea of easy to install), brought existing data into the product or put new info in (killed the thought of ease of use) and then we would use the systems to interact with customers. Long story short – quantum change in sales because of how we positioned our product when we talked to customers. We now knew everything a customer went through and we could honestly answer the "what's important" questions for customers.
Finally – we married ourselves to the support team. At one point we were very siloed. We sold it, someone shipped it, and then all the promises we made in saes were handled by the support team (some promises true, others were pie in the sky). By having sales folks interact “in the moment” with customers they started seeing the downstream effect their sales process. Conversations changed, realism set in, and customers started feeling cohesion in their shop/buy/use process.
Overall, we were able to make quantum leaps into double digit sales above budget. All it took was stepping away from the ol’ one on one coaching (even though that is still helpful – I will admit) and took a holistic approach to teaching an organization (a one: many approach) and from there the quantum leap happened.
See you on the left…
Okay, I am introspectively narcissistic (it's kind of like being a narcoleptic insomniac - talk to your doctor if you need more info). I really value my own opinion, but I value the fact it is right above just the fact I have one (I like myself - and it took me thousands of dollars and years on a counselor's couch to finally admit that - so don't take that away from me...). Enough about me, let's get back to coaching for ineffectiveness...
Just like Sesame Street's version of "one of these things doesn't belong here..." when it comes to making quantum change in an organization and sticking with the old form of "coaching for results" your quantum leap can quickly become trivial drudgery. Don’t get me wrong – there is a place in the workforce at all levels for identifying behaviors, telling someone what behaviors you see them exemplify, telling them the behavior they need to exemplify and then pulling a Professor Cluso (standing back and watching them through your legitimate power magnifying glass – otherwise known in some circles as micro-management). Based on the 1920’s idea of the “Hawthorne Effect” (Google it…) people will tend to do better when you pay attention to them.
But, and this is a big but, one to one development will never get the quantum change you can get by taking a one to many approach. People are smart, and so often, the front line of the organization is viewed as expendable labor. What’s funny is “expendable labor” comes right after revenue on the top line of your favorite financial report. So, sometimes we look at the frontline as this hunk of labor cheese and when it is time to cut cost the best way is to “cut the cheese” (had to throw that in for my daughter Madison) and push the other parts of the team to do more work. Seems logical, and for most sweatshops, and outsourcers, it seems to work just fine; again, no quantum leaps here, just playing trivial hop-scotch in your organization again.
So, how do you accomplish one to many developments? Simple, it comes from tapping into the very essence of what is happening in every moment of truth with your customers. You have to define what is important, define how you are doing against those things today, and put priorities in place to improve. If customer experience is most important to you and creating a better experience that yields higher satisfaction levels, or sales you need to go to the source – go where the action is… TPS calls this genchi genbutsu – or go to where the work is being done (another blog all together).
If you define your needs by thinking “customer:back” and tap into the teaching and learning power of your frontline by engaging their knowledge and expertise and helping them become teachers of knowledge you will win.
Here is what that looks like. I had the opportunity to change a decent sales force into a much better sales force while with a company I worked for. When I started I could read the back of the box we sent to the customer and get the same conversation on the phone (“our product will… it is great because… you can save time by…) and the ABC (always be closing) concept was grating my nerves like nails on a chalk board. So, I took a "one to many" training approach to alter the overall thinking of my organization. Long story short, I built bridges and relationships with all of my internal and external suppliers and customers that were aimed at developing my sales force.
I certified them in the product so they knew it inside out (how it worked, what it did, how to install it, why it did it) and then I married my sales force to the marketing team (I mean, who better understands the customer than those folks using demo/psychographics to divide customers into yummy little segments that are willing to improve our wallet share with the right messaging…). We created a partnership that actually allowed those people interacting with the customer thousands of times per year (frontline) to produce their own marketing materials to target customers. Marketing spruced up the winner and sent it out to 250K customers (not a huge segment, but the right segment), and my sales force started to understand branding, messaging, engaging, segmenting, and all the other fantastic tools to identify and reach customers. They became hungry for more info coming from marketing that would help them target better identification of their customers and improved sales.
Now that we understood the customer better from a marketing perspective, and the tools were second nature to use, I tackled the idea of “easy to install and use”. This was our mantra and wow did it get used like a pair of Michelins on a teenager’s car. I spent days during the week taking sales people away from their normal day and placing them in the customer’s process (at their place of business). We would install product (threw out the idea of easy to install), brought existing data into the product or put new info in (killed the thought of ease of use) and then we would use the systems to interact with customers. Long story short – quantum change in sales because of how we positioned our product when we talked to customers. We now knew everything a customer went through and we could honestly answer the "what's important" questions for customers.
Finally – we married ourselves to the support team. At one point we were very siloed. We sold it, someone shipped it, and then all the promises we made in saes were handled by the support team (some promises true, others were pie in the sky). By having sales folks interact “in the moment” with customers they started seeing the downstream effect their sales process. Conversations changed, realism set in, and customers started feeling cohesion in their shop/buy/use process.
Overall, we were able to make quantum leaps into double digit sales above budget. All it took was stepping away from the ol’ one on one coaching (even though that is still helpful – I will admit) and took a holistic approach to teaching an organization (a one: many approach) and from there the quantum leap happened.
See you on the left…
Friday, July 31, 2009
Digging for gold...
Data, Data, Data!!!! Does it ever end. A running joke in the BlackBelt world, when asked "what did the data tell you?" is to respond with "what do you want the data to say?" Data can be minipulated to tell your story. Creating fancy charts and graphs that woo the people around the conference table is as age old as using two pieces of flint rock to start a fire.
Many times I have seen people build a deck (this is a common term for a powerpoint presentation that is designed to provide much more commentary than the time for your meeting allows - you put the easy stuff in the front, and leave the harder stuff in the back - and if the presentation gods are shining down on you, you never get to the latter part during your meeting and through a sweat drenched smile you end with "wow, we covered alot. I will have to set up another meeting to go over the rest"... situation avoided for now)that is designed to tell their story and get them out from under the spotlight as quickly as possible. The more big words and intricate pictures you use, and the faster you skim through information on the slide, the faster you numbify your audience and get them to do the synchronized swimming nod of agreement. Stupify your audience into not asking questions and you win. That's the game, right?
Wrong. Even though we have all set through these types of presentations we know that is about as effective as trying to blow up a car tire with a bike pump. So, when presented with the fact you need to present information, and data is required, how should it be approached?
Here is the first thing to remember. Data is an output. Outputs have inputs. Inputs are the foundation for identifying root cause. I have never seen root cause in an output, it is only the fossil in the rock that tells me there was life here at one time. Inputs are the real deal.
Let me explain. In any given contact center around the world, on any given day, quality is measured. Quality of conversation, of information given to customers, of sales, of blah blah blah. How many times have you seen a manager (this is where I call out the difference between a manager and a leader - managers are easy to spot by the way they scuttle around like little squirrels finding things to keep them busy and saying things like "you need to improve your game", or "you need to get better at delivering quality", or some other phrase that allows for no more growth than you have seen from the rocks in your driveway) talk about numbers? Numbers are nothing more than indicators, outputs, results... results from what? Inputs, of course.
Inputs in the service/sales world are usually behaviors. The act of doing something that results in a quantifiable indicator. I worked with a Sales Manager at one time that came to me and wanted to let one of his worst sales people go. "She's just not doing as well as I thought she would - her numbers are low and she is not closing the deal". Well, 'nuff said. Bring out the proverbial data noose and let's have a hangin', right? I decided to take a different route.
I believe in the idea "it is 90% your process and only 10% people" (another blog in iteself). I agreed to spend time listening to her with him, so we dialed into her calls, unannounced and without detection (I love that part), and we sat. What was heard was a young lady stumbling all over herself like Otis on Andy Griffith (google it...). He turned to me and said "see, she just can't have a good conversation"... After several calls I picked up on what I thought might be a root cause to this broken legged balarina's dance with the customer, and asked him to go sit with her, turn her away from the computer and have her do nothing but talk to the customer. He needed to drive the system, enter the data, input the sale, etc. A little dismayed that I didn't call her in and ax her on the spot he did so.
Long story short she sold 3 of the next 5 customers she talked to. So, what did I hear that made me take that route. It was simple. Throughout each call I heard over and over "...um, let me find that screen... hold on, my screen is coming up... I am looking for that... wow, my system is slow". Over and over she was trying to do what she had learned in training. Intertwine your conversation with a customer along with navigating a rather complex system that allows you to "build the sale" as you move along. It was a disaster. By removing the hinderance of the system, and allowing her to do what she was great at, which was having conversation, she became a top sales person. Yes, it meant in the short term she would talk, sell, and then navigate the system and that takes a little more time, but we used that as a catalyst for changing our systems and tools to be easier to use "in the moment of truth" with the customer.
If I would have only focused on the output "low sales" I would have lost a great talent in my organization. Taking the output into consideration, defining the root cause to the output, allowed me to alter the input, or in this case a behavior, that created the desired output.
So, for now, don't allow data to be your down-fall. Allow yourself the time to define what is important in your business, measure it, and with those outputs ask the question "why"... and dig until you strike oil. You might just find that driving change through identifying triggers, digging to root cause, and adjusting the inputs will have a meaningful impact on your organizations performance.
See you on the left....
Many times I have seen people build a deck (this is a common term for a powerpoint presentation that is designed to provide much more commentary than the time for your meeting allows - you put the easy stuff in the front, and leave the harder stuff in the back - and if the presentation gods are shining down on you, you never get to the latter part during your meeting and through a sweat drenched smile you end with "wow, we covered alot. I will have to set up another meeting to go over the rest"... situation avoided for now)that is designed to tell their story and get them out from under the spotlight as quickly as possible. The more big words and intricate pictures you use, and the faster you skim through information on the slide, the faster you numbify your audience and get them to do the synchronized swimming nod of agreement. Stupify your audience into not asking questions and you win. That's the game, right?
Wrong. Even though we have all set through these types of presentations we know that is about as effective as trying to blow up a car tire with a bike pump. So, when presented with the fact you need to present information, and data is required, how should it be approached?
Here is the first thing to remember. Data is an output. Outputs have inputs. Inputs are the foundation for identifying root cause. I have never seen root cause in an output, it is only the fossil in the rock that tells me there was life here at one time. Inputs are the real deal.
Let me explain. In any given contact center around the world, on any given day, quality is measured. Quality of conversation, of information given to customers, of sales, of blah blah blah. How many times have you seen a manager (this is where I call out the difference between a manager and a leader - managers are easy to spot by the way they scuttle around like little squirrels finding things to keep them busy and saying things like "you need to improve your game", or "you need to get better at delivering quality", or some other phrase that allows for no more growth than you have seen from the rocks in your driveway) talk about numbers? Numbers are nothing more than indicators, outputs, results... results from what? Inputs, of course.
Inputs in the service/sales world are usually behaviors. The act of doing something that results in a quantifiable indicator. I worked with a Sales Manager at one time that came to me and wanted to let one of his worst sales people go. "She's just not doing as well as I thought she would - her numbers are low and she is not closing the deal". Well, 'nuff said. Bring out the proverbial data noose and let's have a hangin', right? I decided to take a different route.
I believe in the idea "it is 90% your process and only 10% people" (another blog in iteself). I agreed to spend time listening to her with him, so we dialed into her calls, unannounced and without detection (I love that part), and we sat. What was heard was a young lady stumbling all over herself like Otis on Andy Griffith (google it...). He turned to me and said "see, she just can't have a good conversation"... After several calls I picked up on what I thought might be a root cause to this broken legged balarina's dance with the customer, and asked him to go sit with her, turn her away from the computer and have her do nothing but talk to the customer. He needed to drive the system, enter the data, input the sale, etc. A little dismayed that I didn't call her in and ax her on the spot he did so.
Long story short she sold 3 of the next 5 customers she talked to. So, what did I hear that made me take that route. It was simple. Throughout each call I heard over and over "...um, let me find that screen... hold on, my screen is coming up... I am looking for that... wow, my system is slow". Over and over she was trying to do what she had learned in training. Intertwine your conversation with a customer along with navigating a rather complex system that allows you to "build the sale" as you move along. It was a disaster. By removing the hinderance of the system, and allowing her to do what she was great at, which was having conversation, she became a top sales person. Yes, it meant in the short term she would talk, sell, and then navigate the system and that takes a little more time, but we used that as a catalyst for changing our systems and tools to be easier to use "in the moment of truth" with the customer.
If I would have only focused on the output "low sales" I would have lost a great talent in my organization. Taking the output into consideration, defining the root cause to the output, allowed me to alter the input, or in this case a behavior, that created the desired output.
So, for now, don't allow data to be your down-fall. Allow yourself the time to define what is important in your business, measure it, and with those outputs ask the question "why"... and dig until you strike oil. You might just find that driving change through identifying triggers, digging to root cause, and adjusting the inputs will have a meaningful impact on your organizations performance.
See you on the left....
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Can't pull the trigger if you can't find it...
The thought prevailing most in my head today is execution (before you send in my writing to the blog police, I am not not referring to the electric chair - I am talking about the "art" of getting things done). I have heard this phrase over and over in my career - "execution is the art of getting things done". The last time I checked art had little to do with getting things done in the work place. As a matter of fact, most inefective leaders I have seen over the years execute about as well as a ballerina in a mosh pit (did I just age myself with that statement?). I am not just talking about going to work and getting your work done, checking off your personal list, and then going home with the thought "whew! I got my work done - I live yet another day"... I am referring to executing plans that change organizations, teams, and individuals. Being able to amoebically challenge and move your business into the future in a way that is going to be profitable, focus on "customer-back" improvements to service delivery, and drive a feeling of satisfaction to those folks that keep the ship afloat day in and day out.
Where the mark is missed most time is in effective planning. During my career life I have seen several, okay - hundreds, of best laid plans that were poorly executed and resulted in less than desireable outcomes. I have to admit, that I have done this also. Intentions are only good if they fuel the action required to execute. So, how does this work. How do you engage people to jump on board and row in the same way to get you across the sea of change?
It is comprised of well thought out plans, learning before you teach, sharing vision that allows people to understand why change is needed, awakening them to the fact change is coming, allowing them to engage in envisioning what change will look like, and then re-architecting, or executing, the change. So many times large ideas are put in place by those in the decision making realms (I always say it is better to be the person making the decisions, rather than being the person living by decisions made - but I just like to be in charge), and then the shotgun approach to execution causes an organization, and individuals, to try to keep up to the changes taking place, without understand what triggered the thinking, why we are changing, and everyone asks the same question, "why didn't they ask me about this - I could have told them what we needed to do". Remember that critics are cheap and plentiful, and chances are, if you don't include them in the take-off they won't want to be included in the crash...
There is so much to cover when it comes to visioning and execution. The first piece I will tackle here is the "art" of identifying triggers. Triggers for change are usually outputs noticed by someone in the organization that causes them to say "hey, that's not the way it should be...", thus, with that one simple phrase a trigger is born. It could be lower than budgeted margins, lower than desired customer satisfaction scores, external competition is driving increased demand for better engineering/design/marketing/etc., less ball-bearings coming from the line than what the supplier needs, employee morale seems down, and there are a million other outputs that become triggers.
Remember, outputs are what you get from your processes - the act of selling yeilds $$s and movement of product, customer touch points yield satisfaction results, and the list goes on. Outputs are usually the trigger for change, but hold on - it's not time to act because you found a trigger. Just like a good game of Clue, you have to ask questions to see if Colonel Mustard really did kill Ms. Peacock with the candlestick in the billiard room... In business you have to ask "what process caused this to happen" and "what are the inputs to that process"?
Being able to articulate a "trigger" is the first step to successful execution. Sometimes that means digging to root cause (whole other topic in itself) to see what is really going on. Pulling out the "why" shovel and digging into data is the quickest way to diagnose a trigger to see if there is need for change. So, go on a trigger hunt in your company. Find a reason for change, and then put it on paper. One very strong leader I worked with always told me, "if it is not on paper it doesn't exist".
Enough for now - I am sure that was alot to absorb. So, when you are bored and need a good "night cap" to put you at rest, read through this again... ;o) See you on the left...
Where the mark is missed most time is in effective planning. During my career life I have seen several, okay - hundreds, of best laid plans that were poorly executed and resulted in less than desireable outcomes. I have to admit, that I have done this also. Intentions are only good if they fuel the action required to execute. So, how does this work. How do you engage people to jump on board and row in the same way to get you across the sea of change?
It is comprised of well thought out plans, learning before you teach, sharing vision that allows people to understand why change is needed, awakening them to the fact change is coming, allowing them to engage in envisioning what change will look like, and then re-architecting, or executing, the change. So many times large ideas are put in place by those in the decision making realms (I always say it is better to be the person making the decisions, rather than being the person living by decisions made - but I just like to be in charge), and then the shotgun approach to execution causes an organization, and individuals, to try to keep up to the changes taking place, without understand what triggered the thinking, why we are changing, and everyone asks the same question, "why didn't they ask me about this - I could have told them what we needed to do". Remember that critics are cheap and plentiful, and chances are, if you don't include them in the take-off they won't want to be included in the crash...
There is so much to cover when it comes to visioning and execution. The first piece I will tackle here is the "art" of identifying triggers. Triggers for change are usually outputs noticed by someone in the organization that causes them to say "hey, that's not the way it should be...", thus, with that one simple phrase a trigger is born. It could be lower than budgeted margins, lower than desired customer satisfaction scores, external competition is driving increased demand for better engineering/design/marketing/etc., less ball-bearings coming from the line than what the supplier needs, employee morale seems down, and there are a million other outputs that become triggers.
Remember, outputs are what you get from your processes - the act of selling yeilds $$s and movement of product, customer touch points yield satisfaction results, and the list goes on. Outputs are usually the trigger for change, but hold on - it's not time to act because you found a trigger. Just like a good game of Clue, you have to ask questions to see if Colonel Mustard really did kill Ms. Peacock with the candlestick in the billiard room... In business you have to ask "what process caused this to happen" and "what are the inputs to that process"?
Being able to articulate a "trigger" is the first step to successful execution. Sometimes that means digging to root cause (whole other topic in itself) to see what is really going on. Pulling out the "why" shovel and digging into data is the quickest way to diagnose a trigger to see if there is need for change. So, go on a trigger hunt in your company. Find a reason for change, and then put it on paper. One very strong leader I worked with always told me, "if it is not on paper it doesn't exist".
Enough for now - I am sure that was alot to absorb. So, when you are bored and need a good "night cap" to put you at rest, read through this again... ;o) See you on the left...
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
What happened to my ice cream?
Okay, tell me you haven't noticed the change in the size of boxes of food in the stores, while prices remain the same or go up. I used to expect the few miniscule pieces of candy in the super large box at the movie theater (not sure why I accepted it, but since I don't carry a purse I couldn't get candy in another way...) but I have come to realize that "pick me up a half gallon of ice cream while you are at the store" is as out-dated as the cassette player in my daughter's Taurus... My guess is that cows aren't producing as well as they used to, and ice cream manufacturers had to shrink their containers so they could continue to stock the shelves at your local store. Either that, or selling the shrunken ice cream box to the same amount of consumers at the same, or higher price, is allowing them to stay in business during tough times.
In any case, it seems the idea of selling the customer less at the same/higher price to reduce cost to improve margins has crept into every part of consumerism, and as a consumer it bugs me to death (but I still buy ice cream)... Don't get me wrong, I am all for capatilism and those that "do" get to "have" more, but when I am on the purchasing end of that equation it is a little iritating... Okay, enough of my griping on not getting as much ice cream as I would like (taking a look in the mirror tells me that the ice cream companies may actually be doing me a favor - I get less, I eat less; now there is a diet for you...)
In any case, it seems the idea of selling the customer less at the same/higher price to reduce cost to improve margins has crept into every part of consumerism, and as a consumer it bugs me to death (but I still buy ice cream)... Don't get me wrong, I am all for capatilism and those that "do" get to "have" more, but when I am on the purchasing end of that equation it is a little iritating... Okay, enough of my griping on not getting as much ice cream as I would like (taking a look in the mirror tells me that the ice cream companies may actually be doing me a favor - I get less, I eat less; now there is a diet for you...)
Saturday, July 25, 2009
The start of something beautiful...
I remember my history class in high school so well... every night as a 15 year old I would sit on my bed, open my book to the right chapter, plug in my headphones to the huge turntable/dual cassette/turn dial radio/oversized music maker next to my bed and drown my thoughts in rock and roll while convincing myself by looking at the page I was going to learn something. After a couple of lousy grades I came to realize maybe reading the material was a good idea after all. From that point on the hardest part for me was sitting in the silence and "getting started". Like trying to put a 3 year old to bed (20 times a night) I came up with every excuse to find something else to do besides getting started.
Fast forward through 3 kids, a wife of 21 years, countless business meetings, six sigma projects, business papers, powerpoint decks, training sessions, and emails that come in larger groupings than the population of some third world countries, and one thing I have learned is that getting started is still hard for me. So, when I decided to start a blog I spent hours, and several iterations of writing stuff, to determine what I was going to post first. Then I had an idea - start with the beginning in mind... hmmmmmm, seems logical, yet so profound. So, I have turned off my music, stopped getting up to get drinks and eat, quit thinking about the emails and tasks coming up in my work week, and decided to start by talking about starting.
Most of what I have to say is about business, leadership, office politics, relationships, learning, teaching, and all of those things that help people become better at what they do, so they can be smarter, learn faster, apply what they know, and grow in their career. However, what I have noticed over my years of drudging on about "what is important" and watching some people gloss over (a clear sign they have run face-first into a tree in the forest of your discussion) there are two types of people. Those that love to listen, assess what they have heard, apply it with their own distinct prowess, and expand their expertise through the application process (for a lack of a better term I will borrow Nike's idea - it is known as "just do[ing] it"). The other person is the one that likes to learn the terms that are bigger than the terms their audience uses or knows. These folks are as easy to spot as a two headed Shetland pony on the farm. You can identify them by the words coming out of their mouths that require a secret business term decoder ring, and the fact their audience is nodding at a pace that will cause their head to soon pop off, or at least dislocate their neck, yet all of the oxygen is being stolen by the speaker, and has left them feeling smaller than when the conversation started, and a little light headed.
These two types of people are usually different because of, not just what they say, but what they do to execute against "what is important". I have been around hundreds of leaders over the years and the one thing I have learned is that there are "sayers" and "doers". The sayers usually have good ideas, know what to do, have read some books that they rely heavily on for their materials for discussion, and talk a great game. The only thing missing is the execution. It is like buying a Bently and failing to put gas in the tank. It sure looks good in the driveway, people wil be in awe at your buying power (and assume you must be smart to get the money to buy on of those) but it won't get you very far.
The other type of person is the one that understands the art of execution. The person who understands that knowledge is power, but has the ability to plan, simplify what they know so it can be digested and acted on, and amoebically motivate and move an organization to fulfill the vision is the one that is worthy of the term Leader.
As I take off on my journey of thinking outloud for the world (or the few friends and collegues I have) to read I will tackle the idea of execution. Why is it so important, how is it done, what can be expected, and all the other "rocket science" ideas I have in my noggin'.
Okay, wow, I actually "started"... that felt good...
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