More on Strategic Complexity

Revised thoughts from my previous post.

In many organizations today, strategy has become increasing sophisticated as companies struggle with the complexities and variables in the market.  We often believe that a complex environment requires a complex strategy; this is far from the truth.  In practice, complex strategies become nightmares to execute because if it's difficult to explain, it will be nearly impossible to get an organization engaged and supporting it.  A good strategy comes in layers with simplicity at the most visible point.  When you can simplify your strategy so that nearly everyone's efforts can be aligned to it in some way, you can dramatically improve results sometimes in a short period of time.  Simplicity makes strategy difficult to formulate and execute, not complexity.  The more complex and detailed a strategy is, the more likely it will fail to ignite the kind of action that delivers results.

Everyone talks about the importance of aligning strategy with results and establishing accountability and metrics to drive performance, but how many companies actually do this?  Based on informal discussions I've had with executives over the years, the anecdotal evidence would lead one to conclude that few companies actually achieve this degree of alignment.  In my experience, one of the most significant challenges facing strategy practitioners and executives is translating strategic elements into operational plans down to and including front line employees.   This process is made more difficult as the size of the organization grows.  For example, a large company's strategy may seem abstract when they attempt to cram their entire strategic plan into something that is compiled and extrapolated from the many (often diverse) operating businesses.  This kind of bottom-up/top-down process (much like a yo-yo) can result in a corporate level strategy that has no meat to it and could describe any number of companies by simply removing the company logo and replacing it with another.  On the other hand, a plan may be very complex with lots of moving parts broken into an excruciating degree of detail.  I've seen plans at the corporate level that came equipped with several dozen 'strategic objectives' that after propagated to the LOB level grew to so many objectives that it required an entirely new process to track them all.  Really???

Another challenge is in the translation process itself.  Even when there is a strong strategic plan at the company/corporate level, it often loses its impact as strategic objectives undergo a progression of translations when propagated.  Many companies attempt to cascade objectives through their performance management systems, but without context, employees may not understand the significance of an objective with respect to strategic execution.  Complicating the process is that managers often lack strategic acumen skills and knowledge and can therefore mis-translate an objective.  It's very similar to the exercise most of us have gone through where a fact is whispered at one end of a line of people and passed along - more times than not, what was put in at one end isn't what comes out on the other.  If your strategic objectives are that critical to your success (and they should be), wouldn't it make sense to ensure that those objectives are accurately and effectively communicated and applied throughout?

What can an executive or strategy leader do to improve execution consistency of their strategy?  First, each organization is unique in many ways and culture and context are vitally important.  What worked well in one group may not be a simple lift and reuse in another.  There are however some basic principles to consider.

1.  Wherever possible, leverage the diversity of your workforce in the strategy development phase.  Employees across the wide range of skills, levels, and functions each have a unique perspective on the business.  Engaging them directly can help you understand how particular strategy elements appear and are interpreted by others.  Don't wait until you finalize your strategy to do this.  

2.  Find a strategic leader in each major part of the organization and ask them to be responsible for interpreting and translating for their respective areas.  When you need something translated accurately, you don't typically pick someone who has a casual command of the language - you use an expert.  

3.  Don't consider communicating your strategic plan at employee briefings, all-hands, or other media forms sufficient to meeting the need.  In fact, if all you do is brief the same plan you use at the executive level or with investors, you may be doing more harm than good.  People want and need to see themselves in the plan.  Therefore, care should be exercised to make the plan relevant and useful in the context of people's work.

4.  Lastly, make sure people know where they can help.  Connect the work they do with the direction and success of the company.  Align performance management and reward systems in ways that allow people to see the direct path from effort to objective.  Keep it simple. 

Duane Grove is founder of Connect2Action, a strategy execution specialist at the intersection of employee engagement and executive leadership igniting innovation as a lever to accelerate your growth.  Follow Duane on Twitter @connect2action.  To learn more, visit www.connect2action.com or email at info@connect2action.com.

Are you ready for the storm?

We’re all familiar with preparations for a coming storm.  We stock up on provisions, prepare our home for the weather, and make alternative plans should we be without electricity, be unable to get to work, and a host of other concerns.  Some view an incoming storm with measured prudence and others in a near panic.  Scenes of home improvement stores getting cleaned out of storm-related materials are common as the forecast becomes more accurate.  But do we exercise the same degree of caution when it comes to our business or do we do choose to stick our heads in the sand hoping the approaching weather will turn away and not hit us?

The approaching storm in the aerospace and defense (A&D) community is sequestration, but it goes beyond that.  In hurricane parlance, you could categorize the approaching weather as nothing short of a Category 4 or 5 event with potentially devastating results.  But there’s more to it than just sequestration.  In fact, I would submit that the convergence of issues facing political decision-makers looks more like the conditions depicted in the 1997 book by Sebastian Junger, “The Perfect Storm” where the convergence of conditions created a monster event.  All indicators support conclusions that without a dramatic shift in the political and economic conditions, two or more of these factors will meet at about the same time to create a significant fiscal mess.

With only months left before these issues begin to coalesce and force decisions and actions, some A&D companies continue to ignore the signs believing they can weather the storm with minimal damage or worse believe the whole thing will be averted.  For larger companies, they may surmise that while they may be damaged, their sheer size will allow them to survive.  For mid-size or smaller companies, they may feel helpless in the face of the approaching storm and conclude they just have to take their chances.  In the midst of all this are conflicting forecasts from analysts, political insiders, and anyone with an opinion.  The ensuing confusion makes it even more difficult to make decisions with some only listening to analysis that shows the storm weakening or taking a different track. 

One simple way for A&D companies to exercise prudent preparations without panic and chaos is to spend some time doing some scenario analysis.  The macro conditions are sufficiently understood to identify one of several scenarios that are likely to emerge.  From that point, companies can internalize what impact each scenario might have on their portfolio and what actions would be necessary should that situation unfold.  Using a range of scenarios from positive to catastrophic, companies can conduct sensitivity analysis against which they can compare the fiscal health of their organization.  After careful analysis and prioritization, you can develop a set of watch points or indicators that will allow you to make adjustments as facts emerge and certain storm tracks become more or less likely to unfold.  This disciplined approach has the added benefit of mentally preparing executives to accurately read the weather indicators and make informed decisions as opposed to panic and reacting to every little shift in the wind.

In my experience such scenario analysis is a proven and highly valuable exercise not only in the face of ominous financial weather, but even when the skies are blue and the forecast sunny.  Companies can capitalize more quickly on emergent opportunities when they have invested time to anticipate how changes might affect them.  It makes decision-making more effective when you realize you’ve evaluated a similar pattern before and know with greater certainty what your options are.  In the words of Dwight D. Eisenhower, “In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.”  Use scenario analysis and your ability to be prepared for the approaching storm will improve your ability to not only survive, but thrive regardless of what unfolds.

Connect2Action has extensive experience helping organizations structure and conduct scenario analysis.  With over 30 years experience in A&D, they can assist you in tailoring an approach that will help you and your organization prepare for the approaching storm.  Contact us at:  info@connect2action.com for more information.

Duane Grove is founder of Connect2Action, a strategy execution specialist at the intersection of employee engagement and executive leadership, igniting innovation as a lever to accelerate your growth.  Follow Duane on Twitter @connect2action and connect with him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Google+.  Learn more by visiting www.connect2action.com.

Have we Destroyed Common Sense?

My father has always been a strong believer in plain 'ol common sense.  I can't begin to count the number of times he would look at something shake his head and declare someone just wasn't thinking.  A recent experience a colleague related to me reminded me of just this point.  She had boarded a plane to return home.  Moments before pulling back from the gate, the flight crew found an inoperable seat.  Now the procedure for dealing with a broken seat is to simply place a white sign on it with red ink saying 'seat inoperable' and let the flight continue until it can be fixed.  This is where common sense gets thrown to the wind.  You see, despite the fact that a flight attendant had a red pen and was ready and willing to place the sign on the seat, she was told that only a union certified mechanic was authorized to do this.  After hours of waiting, a union mechanic boarded the plane and on a sheet of white paper with red ink, wrote "seat inoperable".  The airline and their union inconvenienced several hundred passengers making them even less likely to patronize this airline in the future all because procedure dictated what should have been a common sense solution.  Now the name of the airline is somewhat irrelevant because in all likelihood, any of the major airlines would have probably followed the same silly rule.

It reminds me of a situation several years ago while working for a large aerospace corporation that had unionized facilities personnel.  The policy stated that only union personnel were authorized to move a piece of furniture even if it was to shift a bookshelf from one corner of a room to another.  There were instances when the union filed grievances when they discovered that someone had moved something without a work order.  Now certainly, there are safety reasons and other factors that made this policy reasonable, but not for every circumstance.  It made no common sense and in fact made the policy and the union the brunt of jokes and disdain.  I'm sure any of you could add to this list.  But I'm not here to bash unions.  There are numerous policies, rules, and procedures that make absolutely no sense and in fact result in more inefficiency and stupid decision making than you can imagine.

One important question to ponder is whether or not we have destroyed common sense in the workplace.  Most rules and procedures were originally put in place for good reasons.  But like most things, their time has past and yet the rules persist.  Think about all the laws still on the books that have no relevance to our modern society.  Once enshrined, these rules take on a life of their own and no one dare question their utility or legitimacy.  Another colleague once told me he was shocked to learn a supplier was charging the company 3X for a part he knew didn't cost that much.  Figuring he was going to skewer the supplier for gouging, the supplier explained to him the part cost that much because 10+ years ago they had a quality problem and the company insisted that the supplier add additional testing before delivery.  What's really stupid about this situation though was the original part was an analog device that had since been upgraded to digital.  The testing the company insisted on was only applicable to analog devices yet the terms and conditions in their contract had never changed - and no one ever had the sense or courage to question it.  For years, the company had been insisting on (and paying for) testing that made no sense.

I believe at the root of this lack of common sense is a lack of accountability.  You see, if people can point to a rule or procedure that requires a certain action, they can deny accountability and blame someone or something else for the decision, especially when something goes wrong.  Even when it's obvious that something doesn't make sense, it's far more convenient to ignore it than it is to challenge "the system" for being out of whack.  Had the flight attendant chosen to take the same action the mechanic did, she most certainly would have been reprimanded or penalized later even though it was a common sense thing to do and would have made their customers much happier to have been on their way on time.  People become conditioned by the rules and procedures to a level that is ludicrous.  Fear of reprimand or even loss of job for stretching or breaking the rules no matter how stupid or irrelevant they are is a powerful force that erodes accountability.  The safe thing to do is to blindly follow the rules, don't fight city hall, do your job, and let someone else worry about the consequences.  If the phrase "it's not my job" is heard frequently in your organization, you have lost all common sense.  Wonder why you don't have a high level of accountability in your organization?  Look no further than the rules and procedures you have shackled people with or the penalties delivered for those who dared to test them.  Most employees could probably relate horror stories of someone who attempted to exercise common sense only to have been demoted, fired, or punished in some way.

There are companies though that are exemplars of accountability and common sense.  When employees are empowered to do the right thing and exercise common sense, things have a tendency to get done faster and better.  Companies whose policies allow employees to address customer complaints and needs without consulting a rule book first generally have higher levels of satisfaction both by customers and employees.  This actually makes a lot of sense.  I'm not advocating that companies throw out the book - that would likely devolve into chaos.  What I am suggesting is that they maintain an open mind and routinely prune and revise their procedures to make sure that what they do and how they do it passes a reason test.  Most organizations continue to run on policy autopilot not appreciating the drain it creates on employee morale and customer satisfaction.  The sheer weight and drag of corporate policies results in stagnation and hinders innovation.  If you can't figure out why your employees can't or won't innovate, perhaps you should examine the policies and procedures they have to navigate to even get started.  If it's simply too hard, complicated, or just plain stupid to push something through the system, then you won't harvest too many great ideas because people just won't waste the time trying.

I would encourage you to do a little rules and policy housecleaning at least once a year.  Ask your employees what policies are getting in their way and try to strike the right balance.  Give employees a bit more flexibility - increased accountability will likely follow.

Doesn't that just make common sense?

Duane Grove is founder of Connect2Action, a strategy execution specialist at the intersection of employee engagement and executive leadership, igniting innovation as a lever to accelerate your growth.  Follow Duane on Twitter @connect2action and connect with him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Google+.  Learn more by visiting www.connect2action.com.

Enough of the Chess/Strategy Metaphor!

I'm tired of seeing companies use a chess motif to adorn their strategic plan or used in consulting practices!  Chess has got to be one of the worst visual images used to depict business strategy.  Sure there’s strategy involved in a game of chess, but to compare it with serious business strategy is a big stretch.  Before you dismiss this perspective, let me explain.

Chess is a great game and one that requires both skill and strategy.  A key in prevailing in chess is an ability to think multiple moves ahead and anticipate how the other player may respond to any given decision.  Certainly, there are similarities to how a company formulates its moves in the market and anticipates how others will respond.  But the analogy should end there.  You see in chess, there are only a certain number of legal moves in each turn; there are specific rules under which a legitimate game can be played.  In the business world, aside from regulatory constraints, the number of ‘legal’ moves is relatively unbounded.  A company’s decision in the market is sure to evoke a reaction (or at least one would hope) and while there may be several logical reactions one can anticipate, there are always those that can completely disrupt and change the entire game.  You may think you’re playing chess but someone else may be playing a game of checkers or something entirely new.

When people use the chess metaphor in strategy, they are creating artificial boundaries around the field of play, and more times than not, the other players aren’t willing to play by your rules.  Remember playing games growing up when you set the rules in advance (say a game of tag where areas were declared out of bounds).  Unless you were absolutely sure that everyone agreed to your rules, there was no way of forcing people to play exactly as you wanted them to.  How did you feel when in the middle of the game, someone ‘cheated’ by breaking your rules?  Sure, you could try to toss them out of the game, throw a temper tantrum, or place a penalty on them, but did it really change the outcome?  In business, it’s normal for companies to run out of bounds to reach the objective and in most cases, they’re not playing by your rules in the first place and it’s usually perfectly legal and ethical.

So next time you’re tempted to find some nifty chess motif for your strategic plan or in some way associate your consulting practice with the game, think about what message you’re subtly sending.  Are you someone who intends on playing just one kind of game and willing to live within the boundaries set by the board and the rules, or do you chose instead to create your own game?

At Connect2Action, we work to help our clients understand the entire board of play and craft a strategic approach tailored to their unique needs and circumstances – developing the board and setting the rules of play.  So start playing your game and leave the chess to those less creative.

Duane Grove is founder of Connect2Action, a strategy execution specialist at the intersection of employee engagement and executive leadership, igniting innovation as a lever to accelerate your growth.  Follow Duane on Twitter @connect2action and connect with him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Google+.  Learn more by visiting www.connect2action.com.

Can You Connect the Dots?

Most of us can remember solving ‘connect the dots’ puzzles as children.  They were often used as a fun way to learn counting skills by simply starting at the number one, then drawing lines between the numbered dots in the right sequence.  In the end, you would end up with a visual of some sort that you could then color; all great fun and educational.  However, life isn’t usually that simple and the dots we see before us aren’t typically numbered.  How do you connect the dots then when there seems to be no start point and little context to guide you?

I love puzzles and the more obscure the better.  When you do a picture puzzle for instance, you often have the box top with the finished representation as context.  This helps get you started but the hundreds (or even thousands) of individual pieces laid out on the table may at first look overwhelming.  With the context set before you, most start by finding all the edge pieces and working from the outside in, eventually finding the right place for each piece.  This is a great strategy if you have the context and can identify the edge pieces, but what if you don’t even have that?

The technique I use most often is to create one or more plausible contexts and look for patterns that begin to paint a picture.  If you start by assuming only one context, then you will just as likely end up with a jumbled mess as you will a finished product.  Keep an open mind in the beginning and be willing to consider multiple scenarios.  Second, as you begin connecting dots, you’ll find ways to build one upon the other.  In other words, if you connect these three dots in this way, it creates an intermediate result that you can then use to consider how others may fit in with it.  It’s a very similar approach to a picture puzzle where you build out sections as they fit only to later put them into the larger puzzle where it makes sense.  It’s a highly iterative approach and you often find yourself pulling the pieces apart and reconfiguring them over and over again.  Rarely do you find things just ‘falling into place’ the first or even second time around.

It’s good every once in a while to walk away and come back with fresh eyes or even better, use someone else’s eyes on the puzzle.  How many times have you been working on a puzzle and reached a brick wall only to return to it sometime later and the solution jumps right out at you?  It’s the old ‘forest through the trees’ analogy and stepping back occasionally allows you to view the situation from a different vantage point.  Using other people is also helpful because they bring their own perspectives and a simple ‘have you considered?’ question can open entirely new possibilities.

Developing a strategy is no different than solving a puzzle with a multitude of unnumbered dots on a blank paper.  If strategy was as easy as those childhood connect the numbers types of problems, then every company would look similar and it would be difficult to differentiate yourself.  This is one reason why strategy can be a very significant challenge for organizations.  How you choose to connect the dots will result in the picture you paint.  Where the analogy departs though is that a strategy (unlike a puzzle) consists of ‘dots’ that are constantly changing and many of those changing dots are living human beings.  Further, it often seems that at the point your picture starts to come into focus, the market changes, a new technology gets introduced, or people change their minds.  Imagine if you will a puzzle where the pieces were floating in free space and moving around; it's often like in business.  Therefore, it’s important to latch onto some of the key pieces and leave the others to fit in where/when it makes sense.  And in business, you don’t have to connect every dot on the page as long as the ones you use make sense and create a consistent image.

For context, use the vision of the organization and make sure the dots you connect are consistent with the company’s intent.  This is very similar to finding the edge pieces first and working from the outside, in.  Beyond that, begin iterating through potential connections until a picture begins to emerge.  Keep your options open and don’t rush too quickly to what seems to be a logical end.  Evaluate how other companies in your market have chosen to connect the dots or postulate how they might solve the puzzle then look for new connections they may have overlooked.  Use non-traditional resources for inspiration.  I often look outside the industry my client is in including things like sports, science, academia, and even nature.  Connections are accessible to you everywhere if you keep your eyes and minds open.  Finally, even if you’ve invested significant time and energy in building out the puzzle you have, be willing to tear parts of it (or even the entire thing) apart if the picture that starts to emerge isn’t going to work.

Duane Grove is founder of Connect2Action, a strategy execution specialist at the intersection of employee engagement and executive leadership, igniting innovation as a lever to accelerate your growth.  Follow Duane on Twitter @connect2action and connect with him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Google+.  Learn more by visiting www.connect2action.com.

Is it Just About Sequestration?

Articles and blogs on the topic of sequestration have been loud and voluminous.  For most executives in the aerospace and defense (A&D) industry, it may feel as if you’re on a boat headed somewhere in the midst of a raging storm and no way to get off.  A feeling of helplessness is explainable yet it seems most have chosen to take the ostrich approach – head in the sand hoping the turmoil around them will just pass.  Is this really your best strategy?

For most A&D companies, their portfolios are particularly vulnerable to the whims of Government decision makers.  This places financial performance equally in the hands of those for whom a company has little control over.  The traditional model has been to leverage influence to ensure that key programs remain adequately funded through a combination of legislative engagement and working directly with Government officials.  When funds have been robust, this strategy worked – most of the time.  However, we’ve entered a period where these tried and tested methods are no longer effective.  For any A&D company that hopes to not only survive this fiscal train wreck, but to grow through it, a new approach is called for.

The conventional wisdom circulating around the “Beltway” is that Congress will simply delay the effects of sequestration by ‘kicking the can’ down the road for a few months.  In practical terms, that means a continuing resolution (CR) under which current programs are only partially funded and new program starts are delayed further.  Regardless of the election’s results, it’s highly unlikely that sufficient clarity will emerge to prevent additional deep cuts to defense spending nor will a clear path with greater stability emerge.  Keep in mind that sequestration is only one factor in a complex web of fiscal policy decisions.

Many A&D companies have placed their bets on the global market.  While in past defense contractions this may have softened the blow, the global financial crisis makes this strategy tenuous at best.  The Middle East and Asian markets may have calmer waters, but in the global web of finance, even these nations will be slow to make major financial investments in defense, and the European market will continue to create a drag.  My advice – be cautious in placing your bets on exports as a primary strategy to fill the gap of decreasing US sales.  It can be very expensive to implement an international campaign and the timetable for decisions can drag out for years while you’re draining your budgets chasing customers.

Another option for some A&D companies is the commercial market.  Most A&D executives can tell you horror stories about trying to break into the commercial market and failing in grand fashion.  One of the key reasons for this is that A&D companies are wired to comply with FAR and other Government policies and trying to adapt those internal governance mechanisms for commercial markets is nearly impossible.  This is why any commercial endeavor has to be a break-away strategy from the Government-compliant model.

If you’re an A&D company whose portfolio is currently dependent upon Defense spending, here are some things to consider as you revise your strategy for the years ahead.  First, do some scenario analysis around the potential impacts of sequestration and the increasing likelihood that years of uncertainty in Defense budgets lie ahead – this is the new reality and the sooner you can understand the downside (and occasional upside) of these scenarios the better.  If you’ve been keeping your head in the sand, it’s time to look up and embrace the environment.  Second, if your firm has international sales opportunities then by all means pursue them.  However, select a few markets where your potential is high and you can manage the investment required.  In addition, be realistic about timing and understand that procurement cycles don’t follow the US model and you should expect numerous delays, opaque decision processes, and setbacks.  Lastly, if you chose to consider a commercial play, be prepared to make a clean start.  Separate your commercial endeavors from your core A&D approach.  Consider setting aside a new team and perhaps even bring in new talent that is more experienced in commercial pursuits.

If your team is wresting with the issue of navigating the current budget environment and are interested in help, contact Connect2Action at info@connect2action.com or visit our website at www.connect2action.com.

Duane Grove is founder of Connect2Action, a strategy execution specialist at the intersection of employee engagement and executive leadership, igniting innovation as a lever to accelerate your growth.  Follow Duane on Twitter @connect2action, his blog at connect2action.blogspot.com, or follow him on Google+ at connect2action@gmail.com and Facebook at duane@connect2action.com.

In Tough Times-Silence Is NOT Golden

Here's a piece by Eileen McDargh republished with her permission.  Learn more about Eileen below.

In Tough Times-Silence Is NOT Golden

In the face of this severe, take-no-prisoners economic downturn, far too many organizations are responding in knee-jerk reaction to the thought of holding all but the smallest of meetings. Training budgets are slashed. Employees hunker behind their desk, hoping that no one from HR can find them or else they’re huddled around a PDA, text messaging about possible layoff scenarios, pending mergers, or hiring freezes. Performance? Productivity?  I think not.

Now more than ever, managers at all levels of the organization need to do that which separates us from the rest of the animal kingdom: TALK!

Here’s why:

(1) In the absence of information, we connect the dots in the most pathological way possible.

(2) E-mail works fine for data but when emotions are involved, only face-to-face really carries the day

(3) There’s a huge benefit when people gather to share ideas, brainstorm new procedures, learn more about team members, have questions answered, or explore ways to streamline work loads.

(4) Smart companies will use this downtime to cross train, to coach for performance and career development, and involve employees in corporate decisions.

(5) Diverse perspectives are critical for innovation and these are best gleaned through conversation.

Bottom Line:  The organization will have a solid, committed employee base, poised to move into front position when the turnaround comes.

But this will only happen if TALK becomes the preferred vehicle of  communication.

Four Communication strategies to increase your Talk Quotient (TQ).

STRATEGY # 1: CONDUCT A TALKING STICK MEETING

A talking stick meeting allows everyone to hear a wide variety of ideas and inputs because each person who “holds the stick” is assured free speech, no reprisals, no humiliations, and no interruptions.   Many native American tribes used the stick as a way of allowing all voices to be heard. 

Talking Stick Meeting Checklist:

(1) Create a focus question to present to the group, assuring them that all are invited to speak, without interruption or humiliation.

(2) Form a real circle with everyone in the circle. This brings equality

(3) When everyone who wishes to has spoken, summarize the conversation and what you will do with the information. 

STRATEGY #2:  SEEK OUT THE “ORANGE BATONS”

If you happen to get a window seat on a plane that is coming into the terminal, look out and find the man or woman who is guiding a 737 aircraft (weighing over 90,710 pounds) into position. Those small orange batons wield plenty of authority in the moment.  And well they should.

You see, there’s a line painted on the tarmac to show exactly where the front wheel of the 737 MUST stop.  Otherwise, passengers at the gate literally would have a pilot in their laps. The problem:  the pilot sits too high to see that line. The pilot depends upon the “orange Batons” –those closest to the situation—to move the craft into position.

Everyone has orange batons in the workplace. The higher up an organization a manager sits, the more crucial is the conversation.  As customers, we’ve all been privy to disgruntled customer service reps who can’t help us because senior managers have created practices that tie their hands. Recently, I asked to speak to the support service personnel on a Delta Sky Miles Account. The agent informed me that even THEY can’t TALK to support personnel. “We can only use FAX and Courier service,” was the response.  I was angry and so was the agent.  “They” had made decisions without asking the Orange Batons what the ramifications might be.

STRATEGY #3  PAY ATTENTION TO LITTLE DAVIDS

When Patrick Harker, now the former Dean of Wharton School, was asked what made the critical difference in the school’s most successful fund-raising campaign ($425 million in six years), he replied that he made it a priority to engage the next generation of alumni leadership.

Listening to the voice of David is a tradition from the Middle Ages and the Benedictines. The abbot of a monastery made decisions after getting the input from all the monks, beginning with the youngest monk. Had the elders in the Old Testament listened to the young kid with the slingshot, the giant Goliath would have been dispatched quickly. Little David was right, but it took time for the tribe to understand that young (or new) did not mean “unskilled.”

Who are the newest and/or youngest on the team—your David's? It is often the newest members who ask the most discerning questions. They are not jaded by politics, the past, or protocol. Ask them for their opinions. Tell them that you expect them to teach you something at the end of three months. I guarantee that those employees will search high and wide to bring you innovation or, at the very least, an insight into some of your procedures, products, or services.

“Words of wisdom are spoken by children at least as often as scientists.” —James Newman, American Astronaut

STRATEGY #4 LAUGHTER LIFTS THE LOAD

In tough times, humor is an essential survival skill. Talk can also be funny. Not the sarcastic biting humor of put-downs and inside jokes, but rather the humor that can lighten a difficult situation or put something in perspective.

A travel agency was known for helping its agents get through difficult customers by awarding the Order of the SALMON. At the end of the week, agents would know which agent had the most challenging week with customers yet still managed to keep a positive interaction going.

With much fanfare, the agent explained the challenge and was urged to exaggerate and use as much humor as possible. She was then awarded a plastic salmon for her ability to SWIM UP STREAM. Being able to talk about the week, laugh at the difficulties, and be rewarded for staying calm helped generate both fun and connection within the office.

Laughter can put people at ease if it is used to acknowledge what everyone is thinking. I was asked to speak at a convention in which the main session room temperature hovered around 50 degrees. People were wrapped in tablecloths. By the end of the second day, it still had not warmed up.  When it was my turn to talk, I welcomed them by saying, “Welcome to the land of the frozen chosen.”

Gales of laughter and applause burst out. It made a point. The attendees were CHOSEN to be there. It was a privilege.

Humor also lets us divide the serious from the mundane.  Yes—the room was way too cold. But in the scheme of things, it was not as important as gathering to work out a new marketing strategy.  Humor can also point out the trite and the silly things we all do in work, relieve tension, and probably improve a process.  When one group acted out a very funny skit around the various voice mail doom loops a customer had to go through in order to get to a human being, everyone laughed…and the system changed in short order.

BREAK THE SILENCE

The last challenge will be pulling people away from their PDAs and text messaging to actually have a conversation. A number of organizations are experimenting with “topless” meetings—as in laptop-less meetings.  San Francisco design firm, Adaptive Path, has also put a crackdown on “crackberries”, as President Todd Wilkens calls them in his company-wide blog.  He claims that people now look each other in the eye, develop closer connections and meetings are more productive.

Productivity? Performance?   If the talk quotient is increase, you bet.  Talk might very well become the golden key.

(c) 2009, McDargh Communications.  Publication rights granted to all venues so long as article and by-line are reprinted intact and all links are made live.

Known as a powerful presenter and facilitator, Eileen McDargh, CSP, CPAE has been creating conversations that matter and connections that count since 1980.  Executive Excellence ranks her among the top 100 thought-leaders in leadership development. Her newest book, Gifts from the Mountain, received the 2008 Ben Franklin book award.  To hire Eileen to heal your company as a speaker, coach or retreat leader visit http://www.eileenmcdargh.com

Is Your Strategy Stuck in Park?

Do you feel like your organization’s strategy is stuck in park and you’re going nowhere fast?  Companies often invest large sums of time and money in developing their strategy only to find they just can’t seem to get into gear and moving in the right direction.  What is keeping you from getting on down the road?

It usually isn’t a lack of motivation or intent from the executive team.  What I’ve found is that leaders are ready to put the organization into drive, but when they step on the accelerator, things still don’t move.  One of the biggest sources of being stuck is that the parking brake is still on.  In most organizations, employees not the executive team control the parking brake and no matter how much you press on the accelerator you’re still going nowhere.  Why would employees then keep the brake on?

The function of a parking brake is safety; it keeps the vehicle in place as added protection against the vehicle drifting away.  Even when executives release the brake, it’s the employees that often reset it when a leader is momentarily distracted.  You turn around and push down on the accelerator believing you’re finally ready to go only to find yourself unable to move once again.  Employee motivation for setting the brake is rooted in uncertainty and risk; it is one of the few safety measures they have some control over.  It’s not that they want the organization to fail, they're just uncertain of the road ahead and the risks they cannot see around the corner.

Getting employees then to release the brake must be a key element of your strategy execution.  To do so requires a deliberate plan to explain to them what the plans are.  It’s like planning a family vacation.  Yes there will be long stretches of driving across relatively dull scenery, but the excitement builds when you describe the destinations, the things they will experience, and how you will celebrate each arrival.  Even experiencing unexpected problems like a flat tire or car trouble doesn’t dampen the enthusiasm for the road that lies ahead.  Reducing or alleviating the feelings of uncertainty and risk employees may experience then must be a part of your plan.

One of many road trips with the family - 1972

I can remember growing up when we often spent our summers driving across the United States to visit National Parks and other exciting destinations.  I dreaded those long stretches of highway that seemed to go on forever, but the excitement at arriving at each planned stop along the way made the trip worthwhile.  Each spring my parents would sit down with a map and taking our input, chart out the summer trip.  Being a part of the planning made the journey more enjoyable; we were always ready to get into the car and go.  Getting your team then to not only get into the car, but to be an active part of the journey is a key factor in your ability to get on the road and eventually arrive at your destination.

So as you think about the trip you’re planning for your company, include your employees in the planning process.  Find out what destinations excite them and include them wherever possible along the way.  Create excitement and anticipation and talk about what it will be like to celebrate the arrival at each stop along the way.  Don’t overlook the potential issues you may face along the way.  Be transparent and realistic.  After all, most trips aren’t flawless.  Cars break down, accidents may happen, weather may delay your arrival, or detours may require you to make adjustments along the way.  A road trip is almost always an adventure.  After each destination, you will have new stories to tell that will sustain your team until you arrive at the next stop.  If you can do this, you’ll find your team less likely to push down on the parking break and more prepared for the trip.

If you have a strategy stuck in park and are interested in help, contact Connect2Action at info@connect2action.com or visit our website at www.connect2action.com.

Duane Grove is founder of Connect2Action, a strategy execution specialist at the intersection of employee engagement and executive leadership, igniting innovation as a lever to accelerate your growth.  Follow Duane on Twitter @connect2action, his blog at connect2action.blogspot.com, or follow him on Google+ at connect2action@gmail.com and Facebook at duane@connect2action.com.

Leaders Don’t Have to be Competent

In my blog on 31 July titled Cultivating Mindful Leaders (http://bit.ly/Qtf2MQ), I addressed the importance the quality of mindfulness should be in how you select and develop strong leaders.  In this post, I’d like to consider the issue of competence with respect to leadership.  As I mentioned in my earlier article, organizations often select or promote people into positions of leadership based largely on their technical competence.  Most companies have not established alternative means of rewarding technical competence and therefore promote people as a means of recognizing their performance.  Leadership responsibilities usually come with promotion for which many are not well prepared.  Through successive reward cycles, a highly competent individual in their field of expertise can find themselves in a senior position but without the requisite relationship skills to lead a team.  Sound familiar?  I’ve seen this situation repeated time and time again not only in hi-tech companies, but others as well.

Within the executive ranks, the selection process often considers someone whose specific technical skills matter less.  You may have been puzzled when a senior executive from a completely different industry is selected over highly competent internal candidates; this happens on a frequent basis.  Certainly, the new executive isn’t expected to know the industry, customers, or company at a level and depth of knowledge where they would be considered ‘competent’ from a technical perspective.  However, where these individuals are often competent is leading people and it’s their skills, mindfulness, and ability to motivate others that is sought.  Mindful leaders are aware of both their strengths and weaknesses and are unafraid to rely on others where their own competence is lacking; they don’t have to be technically competent, just aware enough to know where to get assistance and who to rely on.  Great leaders can make the transition not only across organizations, but industries and roles as well. 

There are many options you can consider to break the cycle of rewarding technical competence with leadership positions; people can be recognized through other financial and non-financial means that don’t automatically require promotion.  Depending on your company, cash rewards, stock grants or options, or other forms of reward (such as company sponsored travel) can be considered.  Non-financial incentives can (and should) include public recognition celebrations, employee of the month awards, prizes, or products (such as a tablet or laptop).  You should consider seeking employee input into the types of recognition they believe strikes the right balance.  The key point is that superior technical competence should not be the sole or even primary reason for selecting someone for a leadership role unless you’re fully prepared to surround them with the tools and resources for them to grow into the expectations you have for your leaders.  As I highlighted in my earlier blog, thrusting someone into a leadership position when they’re not ready will almost guarantee they grow into mediocre or ineffective managers causing more harm than good in the future.

And when you find yourself in a situation where you have a highly competent individual from a technical perspective who is equally prepared to be a mindful leader, you have a potential rock star on your hands.  When you can combine those two qualities in a single package, magic can happen.  Leadership is a people intensive responsibility and people in those positions have the highest potential to impact entire organizations either for the positive or the negative.  Selecting and growing leaders requires the highest degree of care and deliberation and should never be a matter of checking a technically ‘competent’ box.

Duane Grove is founder of Connect2Action, a strategy execution specialist at the intersection of employee engagement and executive leadership, igniting innovation as a lever to accelerate your growth.  Follow Duane on Twitter @connect2action.

Take Your Strategy into the Gym!

Strategy is incomplete without employee alignment and ignition, and that is one of the principle reasons why companies find themselves with a potentially great strategy sitting on a shelf collecting dust.  A fundamental mistake some companies make when attempting to get employees engaged in strategic execution is they confuse communicating the plan with action.  Simply communicating a strategic plan does little to secure alignment and engagement.  In fact, the net result is often confusion and apathy.  It's like talking about getting back in shape but never going to the gym.  If your strategy isn’t readily understandable and relevant to your employees, then briefing them on what it is just wastes everyone’s time.  Further, you get no credit for the effort.   Ever had a friend that keeps talking about doing something but never gets started?  Sooner or later, you quit listening altogether. As employee surveys have shown time and again, simply sharing your strategic plan doesn’t equate to strategic engagement and won't automatically get people ignited.

Here’s a simple analogy.  I’ve redoubled my own efforts lately to get myself into better physical shape.  We all recognize that improving our physical condition is always a long-term process.   After all, you didn't gain all that weight overnight and you're sure not going to lose it quickly either.  Once you’ve reached your goals you then need a strategy to prevent yourself from losing ground.  One of the most effective ways for me has been to use interval training.  You see interval training is a long-term strategy that features sustained effort interspersed with periods of intense exercise.  Interval training is designed to build both strength and endurance.  Getting strategic alignment within an organization has some striking similarities with interval training.

First of all, effective interval training regimens (like most physical fitness programs) are planned in advance, not ad hoc.  Therefore, you decide in the beginning what specific strength exercises are to be interspersed with periods of intense effort.  From there, you have to execute your plan while making adjustments along the way as necessary.  The interval training approach builds stamina that will carry you through and enable you to establish a path to sustainment.  It all starts though with getting into the gym and implementing your plan!

Here are similarities between interval training and strategic alignment worth considering. When you plan your strategy deployment, you need to take the long view of your effort and not allow yourself to get easily discouraged when early results don’t seem to meet your expectation (or more like your fantasies).  Carefully lay out a plan that looks at the next 12-18 months at a minimum.  Determine exactly what periods of intense activity (specific initiatives) you will use as well as how you will capitalize on those initiatives to solidify gains and build organizational strength in the interval between periods.  Monitor your progress but don’t get discouraged if you’re not experiencing great results in the beginning.  Remember, you didn’t get stuck in a strategic hole overnight, and just like losing weight, you won’t return to health in an instant.  Capitalize on things that are working and make adjustments when you need to.  A good regimen does not have to be overly prescriptive; consistency is far more important.  Finally, share your progress as well as setbacks.  Be accountable to others and you’re far more likely to stick to the plan.  They say in exercise routines, that being transparent and allowing others to hold you accountable is key to staying on course - the same is true for your strategy deployment.

Just like persistent, quality effort in the gym will ultimately deliver results, you may be surprised at your strategic transformation if you develop a plan, implement it consistently, monitor your progress, and be transparent and accountable to others.  So what are you waiting for?  Get into the strategic interval training gym!

Duane Grove is founder of Connect2Action, a strategy execution specialist at the intersection of employee engagement and executive leadership, igniting innovation as a lever to accelerate your growth.  Follow Duane on Twitter @connect2action.